Advanced Tools for AIX Performance Analysis

Develop the skills to use kernel traces, trace based utilities, and svmon to measure and analyze CPU, memory, and I/O performance issues on IBM systems running AIX.

Reinforce each lecture during extensive hands-on lab exercises and get practical experience applicable to their performance management requirements.

This course provides lectures and hands on labs in a face-to-face classroom setting.

The course is also offered in a live virtual classroom environment (ILO - Instructor Led Online) with hands-on labs Advanced Tools for AIX Performance Analysis (ILO) (AX520).

You are expected to have extensive AIX skills. These skills can be obtained by attending the following courses:

·        Power Systems for AIX IV: Performance Management (AN510)

·        Power Systems for AIX IV: Performance Management (ILO) (AX510)

• Use the trace facility to collect data and create a trace report
• Use the kernel trace facilities to analyze CPU performance issues
• Describe causes and impacts of high context switching rates
• Identify what causes a thread to block and what causes a later wake up
• Explain the relationship between the output of svmon -G, svmon -P, and svmon -S
• Calculate the amount of memory in use on the system
• Explain the relationship between svmon, vmstat, and ipcs output
• Categorize the memory in use on the system by segment type
• Identify which processes are using the most memory
• Identify which segments are using the most paging space
• Describe the characteristics of asynchronous I/O, synchronous I/O, direct I/O and concurrent I/O
• Identify if the expected type of I/O is being executed
• Tune asynchronous I/O

The audience for this advanced training include AIX technical support personnel, performance benchmark personnel, and AIX system administrators.

Day 1

·        (00:30) Welcome

·        (01:00) Unit 1 - Trace Facilities

·        (01:00) Exercise 1 - Trace Facilities

·        (02:30) Unit 2 - Advanced Memory Topics - I

·        (00:20) Exercise 2 - Advanced Memory Topics - I

Day 2

·        (02:30) Unit 3 - Advanced Memory Topics - II

·        (00:40) Exercise 3 - Advanced Memory Topics - II

·        (02:00) Unit 4 - Advanced CPU Topics - I

·        (00:30) Exercise 4 - Advanced CPU Topics - I

·        (00:25) (optional) Exercise 4 - Advanced CPU Topics - I (Part 2)

Day 3

·        (02:00) Unit 5 - Advanced CPU Topics - II

·        (00:30) Exercise 5 - Advanced CPU Topics - II

·        (02:00) Unit 6 - Advanced I/O Topics - I

·        (00:45) Exercise 6 - Advanced I/O Topics - I - Part 1

·        (00:30) (optional) Exercise 5 - Advanced CPU Topics - II (Parts 2 & 3)

Day 4

·        (00:35) Exercise 6 - Advanced I/O Topics - I - Part 2

·        (02:00) Unit 7 - Advanced I/O Topics - II

·        (01:45) Exercise 7 - Advanced I/O Topics - II

·        (00:20) (optional) Exercise 7 - Advanced I/O Topics - II - (Part 3)