PC Tools for z/OS

Despite being z/OS experts, we spend more time on our PCs than logged onto z/OS. In this issue, we take a look at what we do on our PCs,and what we use.

In our technical article, we looks at the five most common PC tools we use, and why.

In our second technical article we show step-by-step how to quickly creates tables, graphs and charts from SMF data using Excel.

Finally, in our opinion article David Stephens argues that many graphs aren't great, and shows what he does to bring them up to a standard that is good enought for sharing with clients.

This month we also add a new entry to our Tools section: a sample Excel spreadsheet with functions for z/OS.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

technical: My Five Best PC Tools for z/OS

As a z/OS consultant, I do more work on my PC than I do on z/OS systems. In many ways this is because I'm analysing and advising, rather than doing the day-to-day administration. This may also be because I don't have a logon (and get data from a client), or because working on the PC is faster or easier than on z/OS. For example, I use Word on my laptop to create documents, not something like DCF on z/OS.

So, I use PC tools a lot. But the tools I use the most may come as a surprise. Excluding things like TN3270 emulators and FTP clients, here are the five PC tools I use the most when working with z/OS.

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technical: How I Process SMF Records with Excel

It seems that every day I'm processing SMF records, producing tables and charts for my clients. The most common are SMF type 70, 72 and 30 to analyse workloads, but SMF type 14, 15, 42 and 64 (dataset activity) are also common, as are type 118/119 (TCP/IP) and type 80 (RACF). In fact, I do this so often that I have a process that I follow to quickly get the tables and charts I need. My tools of choice: Excel and Pivot tables.

So, in this article, I will show you how I quickly generate charts, using SMF Type 70 records as an example.

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opinion: Tips to Create Better Graphs

As a z/OS consultant, one of the most important things I do is to explain things to my clients. Showing data as graphs or charts is one of the most powerful ways of showing a situation or issue.

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