Benefits of Easy Visibility into CICS Statistics and Transactions Data

CICS SMF Transaction data is a rich source of performance insights, but its volume can make analysis challenging using traditional approaches that rely on static reports. Proactive assessment of key Statistics metrics across all regions is essential to identify potential risks to availability.

With IntelliMagic Vision, you will be able to:

  • Profile CICS transactions and analyze response times
  • Save time with quick access to interactive reports by transaction/CICS region
  • Proactively assess the health of CICS regions
  • Get access to CICS raw data to filter, compare, and find problems

IntelliMagic Vision offers you the out-of-the-box visibility and seamless navigation to manage every component of your z Systems infrastructure under a single solution.

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CICS Transactions

CICS stands for customer information control system and is used to build customer transaction applications. The CICS transaction definition describes a processing unit initiated by one request that may impact one or more objects. CICS transactions supplied by IBM include CADP, CIDP, and CKAM. In addition to supporting transaction programs, CICS offers integrated translator capabilities. The CICS translator enables users to translate high-level source code in one step. There are many reasons that companies still use CICS. For one, it helps ensure consistency. Sometimes there are discrepancies between the amount of cash exchanged and the transaction processed, but CICS helps keep things aligned. It also offers robust security, protecting the privacy of those making transactions.

IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS allows users to manage and analyze their CICS transaction data to monitor performance. In order to ensure continuous availability for your applications, you need intelligent analytics, and IntelliMagic helps users get the most out of their operational data. With IntelliMagic you can prevent service disruptions, identifying risks in your infrastructure before they cause problems. You can uncover areas of high risk and work to fix these issues early on so as to avoid disruption down the road. The platform also makes it possible for users to quickly find the root cause. IntelliMagic helps users optimize costs without sacrificing availability.

With IntelliMagic you can boost your IT staff’s productivity by providing them with automated tools. You can automatically analyze data and predict issues before they spiral out of control. This allows staff to spend more time on preventative measures and less time in fire-fighting mode. Gaining full visibility into your CICS data is crucial to maintaining accuracy, troubleshooting issues, and even preventing errors before they arise. Being able to stay on top of your items and see what’s happening at all times is important when it comes to data management.

Monitor CICS Performance

When managing and monitoring CICS transaction data, it can be helpful to utilize a CICS performance solution or other user-friendly interface. Your CICS mainframe and CIS data can be of greater use to your team if you are able to get full visibility into that data, which is what a CICS solution offers. In order to properly manage CICS, you need to be on top of everything from transactions to system errors. A CICS solution can help you monitor CICS performance and ensure that everything is taken care of so that you can focus more time and attention on more pressing business matters.

IntelliMagic’s tools for CICS performance management allow users to monitor their transactions and regions more efficiently. This helps them save time and access their data more easily. With IntelliMagic you can also optimize your transactions and performance, identifying ways to improve your response times and reduce risk. While CICS data offers rich insight, it can be difficult to analyze this data and make good use of it. IntelliMagic helps users dig into their data, assess system health, and uncover new ways to manage your system for maximum efficiency.

CICS Transaction Commands

CICS transaction commands are categorized according to their respective functions. APPC basic conversation commands, for instance, include GDS ALLOCATE and GDS RECEIVE. Authentication commands include everything from CHANGE PASSWORD to VERIFY TOKEN. There are several additional categories that make sorting through commands easier for users. The CECI command in CICS checks for correct syntax and the CECI load command in CICS can be used to load application programs. Each of these transaction commands makes it easier for users to complete transactions. This can be especially useful if you’re dealing with a complex workflow.

Transaction commands are just one way to get the most out of your CICS system. IntelliMagic offers additional tools and features to help you optimize your application and extract meaningful insights from your data. With IntelliMagic you can quickly access interactive reports by transaction or CICS region. You get total visibility and simple navigation with a single solution, eliminating the need to switch between platforms in order to access different types of data. What’s more, you can perform detailed health assessments of each of your CICS regions in order to stay on top of your system’s health and identify any weak spots in the system.

CICS Commands

CICS commands make it simple for users to execute commands. Browsing a CICS command list can give you a better idea of the various commands included with CICS and how to use them for greater efficiency. For example, one of the storage control commands is FREEMAIN, which releases the main storage that was acquired through a GETMAIN request. CICS commands also include web services such as INVOKE SERVICE, which can be used to call services from CICS applications. Another commonly-used command is LINK. This allows you to link to other programs expecting a return.

If you want to learn more about CICS transactions and commands you can download a CICS commands PDF, which goes into more detail about what each command means and how they are organized. Having a good understanding of CICS commands and transactions can also be useful when it comes time to perform assessments. IntelliMagic helps users assess key metrics to determine availability and identify risk. These assessments are grouped according to region and presented in a color-coded way so that users can easily pinpoint availability. This is a great tool for monitoring and managing your CICS data in the most convenient way possible.

CICS CEMT Commands

CEMT is known as CICS Execute Master Terminal. CEMT in CICS is used to inquire and update the status of CICS environments, as well as other system operations. Using the CEMT command, users can manage transactions, tasks, files, programs, and more. Viewing different CICS CEMT command examples can give you a better idea of CICS CEMT commands and how they function within the broader system. For example, the CECI command in CICS is used to check command syntax. They can also help you better understand CICS transactions and how to ensure accuracy.

There are several benefits of reporting features with IntelliMagic to monitor CICS performance. You can view transaction workloads, analyzing response times, and other important elements of the transaction process. Additionally, users can sort transaction response times by categories. Analyzing your response time distribution can provide deeper insight into the system and allow you to identify areas that need improvement. This can be especially helpful for those that lack other tools and resources to perform thorough assessments of their CICS system. Being able to really dig into this information can offer revealing insights that can then be used to make better decisions down the road.

CICS CEDA Commands

CEDA is known as CICS Executive Definition and Administration. It is used by CICS system administrators to define CICS table entries and other administration activities. CICS CEDA examples include subtopics related to command syntax, CSD compatibility panel, security checking, and CEDB and CEDC. The CEDA command in CICS can also be used to make resource definitions available. Other CICS CEDA commands include the CEDA ADD command, which adds groups to a list on the CSD, and the CEDA RENAME command, which is used to change resource names or move them to different groups.

IntelliMagic offers graphics and charts for CICS performance reporting. The platform integrates metrics and compiles charts based on both the CICS and DB2 perspectives. The former is based on transaction ID, while the latter is found using the correlation name. Charts and graphics can be a great way to visualize your data and can help you improve all aspects of your CICS system, including CEDA transactions. With IntelliMagic you can find what you need without having to sort through piles of meaningless data. You can gain deeper insights into the process and get a better sense of your response times, transactions, and more.

CEDF in CICS

CEDF in CICS is the transaction identifier that’s used to start or stop an execution diagnostic facility (EDF) session on a terminal or region. EDF enables you to test an application program online that has been preprocessed without modifying the program. This means that it often takes a couple of sample transactions and tests the functionality of a customer transaction application built with CICS. Whether you’re performing a CEDF command in CICS, a CECI command in CICS, or otherwise, it’s important to know the difference between each command and transaction type in order to perform the correct functions at the right time. This can also be useful when assessing system health.

IntelliMagic can test the health of CICS regions using IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS to monitor CICS performance. The remaining non-timing fields of the CICS 110.1 records, organized into subgroups, are also available to help users perform detailed analyses. With IntelliMagic you can access transaction-level metrics, including Db2 SQL calls, program loads, and more. With these tools, you can stay on top of your transactions and access detailed insights into your metrics. This can help you take action to improve the process, solve problems, and prevent errors from occurring in the future.

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