Enterprise Workload Management

On Time, Every Time

As a result of advances in server technology and decentralized, autonomous IT purchases, today's organizations have a heterogeneous mix of server platforms. Regardless of the mix, there must be seamless operations able to conduct business. Enterprise-wide applications are a vehicle to enable agile and efficient operations.

Over time, organizations have right-sized their applications to a multitude of different server platforms. Therefore, they need workload management solutions with a breadth of coverage that span the server platforms, as well as support application-specific scheduling needs. ASG's workload solutions manage multiple scheduling points from diverse platforms through a single automated console.

(ASG Workload Solutions listed below)

ASG Workload Solutions

Workload Enablement

As mentioned previously, the execution of batch processes serves as the core function within the data center, but additional components are required to truly enable and manage enterprise workloads.

• Allows batch workloads executed on the mainframe requiring JCL to instruct the z/OS operating system as to its specific processing requirements. (JCL is structured, in that it requires parameters in specific columns. However, it also maintains a level of flexibility that allows differing solution paths. As such, JCL standardization and error checking is a vital piece of managing mainframe-centric batch processes.)
• Provides efficient workload procesing by ensuring batch workloads continuously request and write data to tape media - the ability to easily identify where data resides for retrieval and where it can be written to
• Allows for optimal and timely execution of batch workloads by transferring data coupled with compression and encryption

Workload Planning

Since IT operations performance is based on service levels and the ability to meet business commitments, changes to the existing processing environment need to be handled proactively. Ability to proactively forecast the impact of change to both workloads and processing assets becomes very important. Additionally, the ability to analyze post-processing results to ensure peak processing performance is required.

• Allows for proactive workload forecasting
• Allows for monitoring of processing assets (batch workloads require several processing assets (e.g., data sets, programs) and these should be viewed as shared resources to be used by multiple batch processes)

Workload Scheduling and Automation

The actual execution of batch processes across multiple disparate platforms and operating systems may involve mainframe and distributed environments, such as UNIX, Windows and Linux. These workloads could be interrelated on dependencies (i.e., a batch process on the mainframe is dependant on a batch process on UNIX, etc.). Batch requirements from ERP systems such as SAP and Oracle also need to be managed and may also have these dependency requirements. All of this enterprise workload needs to be centrally managed in a standardized fashion. In the case of a failed execution of one of these batch processes (abend), automated rerun/restart capabilities are required.

• Provides proven mainframe scheduling capabilities
• Provides extensive distributed platform support
• Allows automated rerun/restart capabilities
• Ensures centralized workload management

Workload Analysis and Delivery

Workload analysis and delivery tools are simple, flexible, and powerful solutions designed to manage and analyze workload and output performance. Graphic interfaces and clear reports make quick work of identifying and implementing enterprise-wide solutions.

• Verifies optimized execution through processing performance
• Delivers results from the execution of batch processes in report form
• Ensures minimal print costs through report bundling, selective printing, or even eliminates printing entirely through online viewing