ILMT Central Team Performance tuning IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Questions & Answers
ILMT Central Team Contact details LMTHelp@us.ibm.com https://ibm.biz/ilmt_forum https://ibm.biz/ilmt_wiki https://ibm.biz/ilmt_youtube https://ibm.biz/ilmt_twitter https://ibm.biz/ilmt_linkedin 2
Table of Contents Software scanning mechanism Software scan data flow Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) Scan groups Configuring ILMT and its database for medium and large environments Configuring transaction log size Configuring transaction log location Increasing Java heap size Improving scrolling mechanism Additional considerations Using relays Recovering from accumulated scans REST API considerations 3
Software scanning mechanism 4
Software scan data flow 5
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT data flow ILMT/IEM architecture ILMT Fixlets IEM Client ILMT Fixlets IEM Client IBM Endpoint Manager Console ILMT Web UI ILMT Fixlets IEM Client ETL IBM Endpoint Manager Server IBM License Metric Tool 9 6
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow User starts the fixlet Initiate Software Scan Catalog-based scan Package data scan Software identification tags scan IBM Endpoint Manager Console IBM Endpoint Manager Server 7
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow IEM server interprets the command IEM server sends appropriate scripts to the right endpoints ILMT Fixlets IEM Client IBM Endpoint Manager Server 8
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow ILMT software scan is run on IEM clients ILMT software scan results are gathered by IEM clients ILMT Fixlets IEM Client 9
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow ILMT software scan results are sent to IEM server ILMT software scan results are stored in IEM server s file system and database ILMT Fixlets IEM Client IBM Endpoint Manager Server 10
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow Software scan data is transferred form IEM server to ILMT server Process is called Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) Process is scheduled once a day by default Process can also be manually triggered from ILMT Web UI ETL IBM Endpoint Manager Server IBM License Metric Tool 9 11
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ILMT software scan data flow Results are visible on IBM License Metric Tool Web User Interface ILMT Web UI IBM License Metric Tool 9 12
Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) 13
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ETL Extract Reading and extracting data from Endpoint Manager server Information about the infrastructure Installed agents Software scan data Capacity scan data (hardware) Files with VM manager information Transform Converting the data from its original form into the form that meets the requirements of ILMT database Processing the information that is contained in the XML files Transforming data to a single format Matching software scan results with the software catalog Processing the capacity scan (hardware scan) Calculating processor value units (PVUs) and Resource Value Units for Managed Activated Processor Cores (MAPC RVUs) Load Saving the new data into the ILMT server s database ETL IBM Endpoint Manager Server IBM License Metric Tool 9 14
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning ETL ETL performance mainly depends on Number of scan files and number of package analyses that are processed in one ETL import Storage performance ETL performance improvement requires Proper distribution of endpoints among the scan groups To have them evenly distributed Proper scan schedule Finding time when IEM and ILMT machines are relatively idle ETL IBM Endpoint Manager Server IBM License Metric Tool 9 15
Scan groups 16
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Scan groups - Introduction Scan group also called computer group is manageable unit that consists of computers Scan groups are created to simplify management of endpoints in IEM console Computers should be divided between different scan groups according to some well-defined rules Scan groups are very useful in solving performance problems, however if the whole ILMT environment does not exceed 35,000 endpoints, default scan group should be enough Scan groups might be created regardless of the size of an environment, however performance is the most common trigger of such action Some important indicators of need of scan groups are the time of ETL varies a lot from day to day the time of ETL is too long 17
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Scan groups - Distribution While creating scan groups, very important role plays appropriate distribution of the computers among scan groups. Some hints regarding this task: Agents should be evenly distributed between all scan groups however also amount of software installed on particular endpoint should be taken into account here Agents from different scan groups should send software scans on different days The rule of thumb is to create 7 scan groups (to have one load per day) and place all the endpoints inside those scan groups In large environments, one scan group should not exceed 20,000 endpoints 18
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Scan groups - Schedule After you the optimal size of the scan group is found, the scanning schedule should be set - the frequency of software scan on endpoints. The default value is once a week. Some hints regarding this task: The frequency of scans depends both on how often software products change on the endpoints reporting needs Systems that have dynamically-changing software, can be group together into a scan group (or groups) and set more frequent scans, for example once a week The remaining scan groups that contain computers with a more stable set of software can be scanned less frequently, for example once a month 19
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Scan groups Large scale Some additional hints for large environments: Leaving default value of software scans frequency, ILMT server supports up to 100,000 endpoints If the environment has more than 100,000 endpoints, consider performing scans less frequently, for example monthly Having set monthly software scans (for obvious reasons cannot be applied to dynamic environments), ILMT server supports up to 250,000 endpoints 20
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Scan groups - Example Example: Depends on the needs and the specification of monitored environment, the computers should be appropriately divided into scan groups for instance 70,000 computers might be divided in the following way among: 7 scan groups with about 10,000 endpoints in each This way software scan results from each group can be uploaded on different day of the week 6 scan groups with about 12,000 endpoints in each This way software scan results from each group mignt be uploaded on different day of the week and additionally we can use one day for different load/performance sensitive activity 21
Configuring ILMT and its database for medium and large environments 22
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning - Environment size Small environment Up to 5 000 endpoints Medium environment 5 000-50 000 endpoints Large environment 50 000-250 000 endpoints 23
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning - Environment size Performance tuning entry point: Hardware requirements for the IBM License Metric Tool server 24
Configuring transaction log 25
IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Performance tuning 26th Questions & Answers Version 1.0.2 ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Configuring transaction log Configuration of transaction log may help to improve performance Two aspects should be tunned when significant delays are observed Size Location 26
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Configuring transaction log Size The transaction logs size can be configured through the LOGFILSIZ DB2 parameter Procedure: Use the formula to calculate the disk space for transaction logs disk_space = <# of endpoints> x 1 MB + <# of endpoints for which new scan results are imported> x 1 MB + 1 GB Divide the result by 0.00054 to obtain the size of a single transaction log file log_space = disk_space / 0.00054 Run the command to update the transaction log size in your database UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION FOR SUADB USING LOGFILSIZ log_space Example of transaction log for environment with 70k endpoints and 10k scans 27
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Configuring transaction log Size Demo 28
IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Performance tuning 26th Questions & Answers Version 1.0.2 ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Configuring transaction log Location To improve DB2 operation, move the DB2 transaction log to a file system that is separate from the DB2 file system The transaction logs location can be configured through the NEWLOGPATH DB2 parameter Procedure: Run the command to update the transaction log size in your database UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION FOR SUADB USING NEWLOGPATH path_value 29
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Configuring transaction log Location Demo 30
Increasing Java heap size 31
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Increasing Java heap size Java heap size can be a bottle neck in some cases Increase the heap if ILMT environment consists of more 5k endpoints Procedure Go to the <INSTALL_DIR>/wlp/usr/servers/server1/ directory and edit the jvm.options file Set the maximum Java heap size (Xmx) to one of the following values, depending on the size of your environment: For medium environments (5000-50 000 endpoints), set the heap size to 6144m For large environments (over 50 000 endpoints), set the heap size to 8192m Restart the IBM License Metric Tool server 32
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Increasing Java heap size Demo 33
Improving scrolling mechanism 34
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Improving scrolling mechanism When you open any report, 50 rows of data are loaded to the user interface by default When you scroll past those 50 rows, next 50 rows must be loaded To improve the response time of the user interface, you can increase the number of rows that are loaded to the user interface 35
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Improving scrolling mechanism Procedure: Stop the IBM License Metric Tool server On the computer where the ILMT server is installed go to this directory ILMT_installation_dir\...\javascripts\report_components, eg. /opt/ibm/lmt/wlp/usr/servers/server1/apps/tema.war/javascripts/report_components Open the grid.js file for editing and find the following lines: $.widget("bigfix.grid", {options: {pagesize: 50, gridoptions: {} } Increase the value of the pagesize parameter according to the size of your environment and save the change Start the ILMT server Clear the cache in the web browser 36
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Improving scrolling mechanism Demo 37
Additional considerations 38
Using relays 39
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Using relays To take advantage of the speed and scalability that is offered by IBM Endpoint Manager, it is often necessary to tune also the settings of the IEM deployment A relay is a client that is enhanced with a relay service Relays perform all client actions to protect the host computer, and in addition, deliver content and software downloads to child clients and other child relays Instead of requiring every networked computer to directly access the server, relays can be used to offload much of the burden Hundreds of clients can point to a relay for downloads, which in turn makes only a single request to the server Hints: Configure 500-1000 clients per relay Connect relays to other relays when available - parent child configuration http://www- 01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSKLLW_9.1.0/com.ibm.tivoli.tem.doc_9.1/Platform/ Adm/c_using_relays.html%23c_using_relays 40
Recovering from accumulated scans 41
IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Performance tuning 26th Questions & Answers Version 1.0.2 ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Recovering from accumulated scans There is possibility to recover from issue with many accumulated scans Three steps precede recovery process Backup of databases and accumulated scan files Deleting some data Verification Procedure: Back up BFEnterprise database SUADB database All files from the UploadManager/sha1 directory on the IBM Endpoint Manager server Delete All files from the UploadManager/sha1 directory on the IEM server Scan files entries from BFEnterprise database by running the following SQL query: use BFEnterprise delete from dbo.uploads where (FileName LIKE %itsitsearch% OR FileName LIKE %citsearch% ) delete from dbo.uploads_availability where (FileName LIKE %itsitsearch% OR FileName LIKE %citsearch% ) Verify Run data import task in ILMT Web UI 42
IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Performance tuning 26th Questions & Answers Version 1.0.2 ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Recovering from accumulated scans Recovery process Restore IBM License Metric Tool scans in sha1 directory of IBM Endpoint Manager in chunks of about 10,000 scans Manually trigger data import via ILMT Web UI Repeat above two steps for all saved scans FillDB process of IEM monitors changes in UploadManager\sha1 directory and updates dbo.uploads and dbo.uploads_availability tables (those tables we clean before recovery process begins) Alternative recovery process (with possible loss of data) 43 Rescan computers Upload new scan files Run data import Repeat the procedure for every 10 000 computers
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning Recovering from accumulated scans Summary If imports of data from IBM Endpoint Manager to ILMT are not running, the unprocessed scan data is accumulated on the IEM server. After turning on the ILMT server, a large amount of data has to be processed This leads to a long import time Preventive action Turn off scans if the IBM License Metric Tool server is to be unavailable for a few days due to routine maintenance or scheduled backups 44
REST API considerations 45
ILMT 9.0 Performance tuning REST API considerations You can use REST API for software licensing information to retrieve large amounts of data that is related to computer systems, software instances, and license usage in your environment Such information can be used for further processing and analysis Hints: The API requests should not be used together with other performance intensive tasks, like software scans or data imports Use the limit parameter to specify the number of retrieved results, eg. 70,000: https://hostname:port/api/sam/computer_systems?token=token&limit=70000 If you limit the first request to 70k results, append the next request with the offset=70,000 parameter to omit the records that you already retrieved: https://hostname:port/api/sam/computer_systems?token=token&limit=100000&offset=100000 46
Questions & Answers 47
ILMT Central Team Thank you Performance tuning IBM License Metric Tool 9.0 Questions & Answers