Mainframe departments in larger enterprises are challenged to keep up with rising data volumes from ever-changing applications running on the mainframe and even in hybrid cloud environments. There is continued pressure to squeeze more performance out of their existing mainframes to reduce costs and defer major upgrades. Obvious measures to get relief from these pressures revolve around the mundane processing tasks (sort, copy, merge, compression, report generation) that take up a large and disproportionate share of CPU processing time and related mainframe resources
That’s where Precisely’s Syncsort MFX has always delivered key benefits like optimized sorting, reduced CPU usage and faster job completion. Precisely has a 50 year history of innovation in this area and we continue to innovate our Syncsort MFX solution. We have several important enhancements coming for our customers. In addition, to highlighting this new functionality we want to share some powerful tips and tricks we have seen our customers use to improve their IBM z/System sorting.
Watch this on-demand webinar and learn:
• How Syncsort MFX can improve your sort performance and efficiency
• What enhancements are coming for Syncsort MFX customers
• Some tips and tricks for getting the most out of Syncsort MFX
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Continued Innovation in IBM z/System Sort Optimization with Syncsort MFX
1. Continued Innovation
in IBM z/System Sort
Optimization with
Syncsort MFX
Denise Tabor | Senior Product Manager Director
Alissa Margulies | Principal Sales Engineer
2. Today’s Agenda
• Syncsort MFX overview
• Tips for Syncsort MFX optimization
• Important enhancements for Syncsort MFX
customers
2
4. IBM® z Integrated Information
Processor (zIIP):
• Helps improve GP utilization
• Allows customers to purchase additional processing
power
• Removes IBM software charges on zIIP capacity
Bottom line:
• Pay once, use often, without any additional cost
• Eligible workloads moved to zIIP reduce license
costs
• HOWEVER, MOST workloads are not enabled to
run on zIIP
4
IBM zIIP Engines
5. Syncsort MFX
• Exploits z/OS hardware and software AND zIIP
• Reduces CPU utilization for sort operations
• Optimizes I/O activity
Delivers
• Improved processor and DASD capacity
• Reduced cost
5
6. Syncsort MFX
Reduces CPU time
and I/O activity
Syncsort ZPSaver
zIIP-enabled sort
operations
Syncsort MFX
PipeSort
Reduces elapsed time
6
7. Syncsort MFX
Almost 50 years of continual
development and enhancements
Performance
The high-performance
sort/copy/join solution
that delivers better
performance and
saves money
Proven Solution
Improves sort performance while
optimizing overall system efficiency
zIIP Offload
Sort workloads can be directed to
the zIIP, thereby lowering the CPU
time and costs
Encryption
Enhanced security and compliance
with regulations such as GDPR
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10. Tuning Objectives for Syncsort
MFX
10
• Tuning sort requires evaluation of your current applications and defining
your objectives
• Consider what you are willing to trade in order to get better performance.
• What is the primary outcome/goal?
• Reduced CPU?
• Reduced Elapsed time?
• Avoiding contention with other workloads?
• Reducing DASD contention?
• Are you willing to:
• Trade CPU for elapsed time improvements and visa versa?
• Reschedule your sort jobs?
• Move data sets to isolate DASD to be used by the sort?
• Pass run-time parameters to the sort?
• Change priorities of applications?
11. Tuning Options and Recommendation
11
Control Statements
• Ensure you are using the optimal
control statements for an
application.
• Evaluate errors in control
statements that can adversely
affect performance
Optimization Mode
• Select the proper mode for
the desired outcome
• Mode selection may affect
other areas of performance.
• Performance outcome
between modes may need
some experimentation.
Virtual Storage
• Most critical resource
in determining how well the
sort will run.
• One of the most dangerous
• Using too much can lead to
system storage shortages and
system outages.
12. Tuning Options and Recommendation
12
Rescheduling Work
• Evaluate your overall concurrent
workload
• Is your CPU capacity, real
storage and I/O resources
impacted?
• Determine if your sort work needs
to be rescheduled to a quieter
period.
PARASORT
• PARASORT improves the elapsed
time performance for sorts whose
input is a multi-volume tape data set
and/or concatenated tape data set.
• Uses parallel processing of the
SORTIN input volumes.
• Results in up to 33% reduction in
elapsed time
FILESIZE Estimates
• Use of the FILSZ
parameter provides the sort with
an estimate of the amount
of data to be sorted
• Can significantly improve
the optimization
and performance of very
large sorts.
13. Syncsort MFX Data Manipulation
Reformatting Records
• INREC, OUTREC and OUTFIL OUTREC
control statements.
• Used when information
in the input record is not required
by the applications, or the data
needs to be a different format.
• Allows you to:
• Delete or repeat segments of record
• Insert new field
• Convert data
• Perform arithmetic operations with
numeric fields and/or constants
• Perform MIN/MAX functions on
numeric data
• Change RECFM of output data set
from fixed to variable or the reverse
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Record Selection
• INPUT PHASE: Selection of records
in the order in which they appear in
the input data set.
• OUTPUT PHASE: Selection of
records seen in sorted sequence.
• These selections can be specified:
• Skip the first “n” number of records
• Stop after processing “n” number
of records
• Include/omit records based
on comparisons of the contents of
one or more fields within the record
• Include a sample of “m”
records after an interval of every “n”
records
• Distribute the records in
rotation among all of the files in an
OUTFIL group
• Create a file that contains
only those records that were
not included in any other OUTFIL
14. Syncsort MFX Data Manipulation
14
Summation
• Special processing done on records
with equal sort keys.
• Detailed records are replaced with
a summary record, containing sum,
average, maximum or minimum
values
• Detail records can be written to a
separate data set
Report Writer
• Generate ad-hoc or
scheduled reports.
• Easy to use functionality with powerful
record selection and formatting
Join Records
• Records created by joining 2 files
that contain a common join key.
• Join processing produces 3 types
of records:
• Paired records,
• Unpaired from the first file
• Unpaired from the second file
15. Additional
Syncsort MFX
product
options
Syncsort
PipeSort
Can simultaneously execute up to
eight differently sequenced sorts
from a single pass of the input data
Syncsort
PROCSort
High performance, transparent
replacement for the SAS®-provided
PROC SORT.
Presentation name
15
Syncsort
ZPSaver
A set of enhanced technologies to
offload copy, SMS compression, and
sort processing to zIIP processors
17. IBM Z Sort Accelerator Support
(delivered)
17
• IBM’s Integrated Accelerator for Z Sort
• New coprocessor designed for the z15
• Accelerates internal sorts
• Precisely partnership w/IBM
• Worked with HW architects
• Developed new algorithms in Syncsort MFX
• Results
• Sort performance improvements
18. IBM Z Pervasive Encryption Support
(delivered)
18
• The IBM Z Pervasive Encryption enables
• Powerful encryption of data in-flight and at-rest
• Highly secure ways to help deal with today’s compliance and
regulatory requirements
• Requires additional resources
• Consumes processor cycles
• Forces Syncsort MFX to use less performant I/O methods
(BSAM)
• Solution
• For Basic/Large datasets, we can continue to use our low-level
I/O
19. MFX Operational Visibility
19
• Customers need more insights into their sort
workloads
• Unexpected delays
• Diagnostic information is frequently needed
• Rerun a job and just to gather “debug” information
• Provide more visibility
• Expedite/streamline/improve troubleshooting for large/important
jobs.
• Examine both real-time and historical data
• Port the data to an analytical tool for analysis
IBM® z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP):
A purpose-built processor designed to operate asynchronously with the general processors in the mainframe to help improve utilization of computing capacity and control costs.
zIIPs allow customers to purchase additional processing power without affecting the total million service units (MSU) rating
IBM does not impose IBM software charges on zIIP capacity, but charges apply when additional general purpose engines capacity is used
Bottom line:
Once zIIPs are purchased they are used without any additional cost
Moving eligible workloads to zIIP reduces general purpose engine utilization and can save SW license costs
The big challenge is that most workloads are not enabled to run on zIIP
Offers a high-performance sort, copy, and join utility designed to exploit the advanced facilities of the z/OS operating system and IBM Z, including zIIP engines.
Can significantly reduce CPU utilization for sort operations and optimize I/O activity to reduce contention to control software costs and delay CPU upgrades
Frees up general purpose MIPS for handling increased data volumes and new workloads
Drive cost reduction strategies by delaying CPU upgrades and reducing software charges.
Sort operations are resource intensive
Syncsort MFX uses less CPU time than DFSORT
Syncsort MFX optimizes I/O better than DFSORT
Syncsort MFX encrypts sort work for required security and compliance
Faster execution means more work can execute in the same amount of time
===
Significantly reduces general processor operation
Makes use of under-utilized zIIP engines
Helps control MLC costs and delay/prevent CPU upgrades
Allows sort work encryption to be completed on zIIP, reducing CPU utilization dramatically and reducing costs
===
Simultaneously executes up to eight differently sequenced sorts from a single pass of the input data
Uses advanced parallel sorting technology
Cuts total elapsed time by more than 50% compared to running separate sorts
In certain circumstances, sort may be unable to get a good filesize estimate, which may be an issue when the amount of data to be sorted is over 1 gigabyte.
PARASORT requires additional tape drives and will automatically manage the tape drives and optimize their usage.
Notes on Record Selection: Once again it isimportant to understand the flow of the sort and where the particular feature fits into this flow.
The resulting output from the sort can be dramatically different if the record selection is performed
in the output phase instead of the input phase.
Notes on Join Records: The disposition of records in each category can be controlled independently. The output from join processing can contain any combination of these record
types. This feature is similar to the join processing found in relational data bases.
JOIN RECORDS: If there are “m” number of records from the first file and “n” records in the second file that contain the same value in the join key, m*n records will be created.
SUMMATION: This processing will produce a data set that has only 1 record per sort key value unless an overflow occurs
If summation or averaging is requested and the resulting calculation will cause an overflow condition the summation or averaging is not done
Notes on Record Selection: Once again it isimportant to understand the flow of the sort and where the particular feature fits into this flow.
The resulting output from the sort can be dramatically different if the record selection is performed
in the output phase instead of the input phase.
Notes on Join Records: The disposition of records in each category can be controlled independently. The output from join processing can contain any combination of these record
types. This feature is similar to the join processing found in relational data bases.
USE CASES for REPORTS: An example of a report that provides three separate invoice status reports. These reports, titled “Unpaid Invoices,” “Partially Paid Invoices,” and “Fully Paid Invoices,” represent three output files generated with a single pass of the sort. For this example, you can print these reports or write them to disk or tape.
Syncsort ZPSaver is a set of enhanced technologies for MFX to offload copy, SMS compression,
and sort sort processing to zIIP processors, effectively reducing the workload on the main CPU.
ZPSaver can reduce TCB CPU time up to 95% in eligible Syncsort MFX applications
IBM’s Integrated Accelerator for Z Sort
New coprocessor designed for the z15 that reduces CPU usage and improves elapsed time
Speeds up sorting, shortens batch windows, and improves select database functions.
Precisely worked closely with IBM
Worked with HW architects in z/OS Poughkeepsie team to develop support for the sort accelerator.
Developed new algorithms in Syncsort MFX to take advantage of the coprocessor
Customers can expect to see dramatic improvements to batch sort job performance.
In our lab, we are seeing CPU and elapsed time improvements of up to 35% depending on the key length, record length, file size and some other factors.
The IBM Z Pervasive Encryption enables
Powerful encryption of data in-flight and at-rest
Highly secure ways to help deal with today’s compliance and regulatory requirements
Customers love the pervasive encryption approach, no one likes the additional resource consumption
The challenge to implementing data encryption is it consumes processor cycles, so it doesn’t come without penalty.
For Syncsort MFX users, the input or output data set is encrypted, BSAM must be used instead of our high performant low level IO access methods, and there is an extra cost from that perspective.
Once again working closely with IBM, we have identified a way to continue to use our low-level IO for encrypted data sets and improve encryption performance.
We have seen great performance improvement from our benchmark testing Although mainframe customers love the pervasive encryption approach, no one likes the additional resource consumption. .
Syncsort MFX alone, we have seen up to 45% CPU and 40% elapsed savings,
Combing Syncsort MFX with the Syncsort ZPSaver capability we have seen up to 80% CPU and 40% elapsed time savings.
Are you faced with the challenge of providing the right diagnostic information when reporting a failure?
Would you like a way to expedite the troubleshooting process?
Are you constrained by where you can store job information for further analysis?
What types of repositories or tools do you currently use for collecting job information for analysis?
Would you like more visibility into your sorting workloads?
What kind of analytical tools are you utilizing in other areas of the business to do analysis?
Splunk? Elastic?
What type of information would you like to see when evaluating your workloads?
Would you benefit from a solution that:
Identifies the key pieces of information to submit to support for review?
Limits or specifies the jobs or groups of jobs to analyze?
Provides examples of ways to view the information, or define your own reports/dashboards?
What other types of details would you like us to know?