New Tango/04 LPAR Tuner Features 'Self Tuning' Algorithm

by Alex Woodie

OS/400 shops looking for a way to get the most out of their LPAR-enabled server may want to check out a new utility announced last week by Tango/04 Computing Group. The Spanish OS/400 software developer officially launched its new VISUAL Control LPAR Tuner, a utility that constantly monitors the performance of OS/400 logical partitions and continually adjusts the processor and memory resources available to the partition through a "self tuning" algorithm, to achieve optimum efficiency.

If there's a "gotta have" feature on the new iSeries range, it's LPAR. The capability to run multiple, distinct servers inside a single box (both uniprocessor and multiprocessor machines) is the perfect compliment to the platform's advanced single-level-storage architecture, its scalability, and its legendary reliability and dependability. And the popularity of LPAR is growing. IBM tells us that 100 percent of iSeries Model 870 buyers, and nearly all Model 890 buyers, have ordered LPAR-enabled machines, and its use is growing on smaller boxes, too.

IBM first brought LPAR capabilities to the box with OS/400 V4R4, and delivered significant improvements, such as the capability to dynamically reallocate LPAR resources and support for Linux in a secondary partition, with OS/400 V5R1 and V5R2. Even with these enhancements, however, the LPAR management software in OS/400 (iSeries Navigator and System Service Tools) doesn't provide guidance on how to automate the allocation of those resources. This is what Tango/04 tackled with VISUAL Control LPAR Tuner, a component of Tango/04's larger VISUAL Control Performance Management line.

Partitioning is a great solution, but it is difficult for companies to react to ever-changing workloads in real time, says Raul Aguirre, Tango/04's chief executive. "You cannot predict how end users are going to use the system," he says. "CPU, for instance, is a terribly expensive thing to waste." In addition to wasting precious resources, some companies are hesitant to let their administrators manually adjust LPAR resource settings for fear of making a mistake and causing a disruption to a program.

Tango/04 developed VISUAL Control LPAR Tuner to make sure that one partition isn't left starving for processing and memory resources, while they sit idle in another partition. The software works by asking users to set up a series of policies that will dictate how the software manages the logical partitions. These policies set each partition's importance, its priority, its stability, and the speed of movement between partitions, the company says. Users also can set rules that vary dynamically throughout the day, providing for different tuning scenarios. When the LPAR Tuner policy is activated, the software's "self-tuning" algorithm works to balance resources among logical partitions within the policy's guidelines.

LPAR Monitor supports the dynamic allocation of total processor resources, interactive processor resources, and main memory. It can monitor and manage up to 256 partitions simultaneously. As a component of Tango/04's VISUAL Control Performance Management product, LPAR Tuner users interact with the software through a Windows-based management console, which features colorful graphics that give administrators real-time information on the state of their network. The new software also generates historical performance data to track resource allocation, and it predicts future trends, Tango/04 says.

Tango/04 also points out the self-tuning algorithm gives LPAR Tuner a big advantage over other LPAR tuning utilities that have recently hit the market. These other utilities only move resources among logical partitions on a fixed schedule, or as a reaction to a poor-performance event; whereas LPAR Tuner is more proactive in the way that it monitors and manages resource allocation, Tango/04 says.

Tango/04 is a partner in IBM's autonomic computing initiative and it developed LPAR Tuner with help from the IBM Rochester Labs and with funding from the European PROFIT project. For more information, go to www.tango04.com.

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