This paper addresses the computer problems at the Office of Information Resources

Strock, Larry P.

South Carolina State Documents Depository

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COMPUTER SYSTEM AVAILABILITY
Larry P. Strock
Office of Information Resources
Submitted
December 9, 1996
Manager's Approval:~~'~
S. C. STATE LIBRARY
..STATE DOCUMENTS
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COMPUTER SYSTEM AVAILABILITY
All mechanical systems worldwide share a common thread; they periodically need
maintenance, tuning, and changes/upgrades. Our data center at OIR is no
exception. Due to new customers and the inflexible operational needs their
agency's mission dictates, our mainframe maintenance windows have diminished.
OIR's host processor and software products require periodic maintenance and user
changes. Application or network modifications requested by our customers require
downtime to implement. OIR is a service, non-appropriated agency and depends on
its customer base for revenue. We have new and existing customers that cannot
afford downtime for changes or maintenance. several examples are the Department
of Corrections, the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Public Safety.
Due to the nature of our business, downtime for modifications and maintenance is a
necessity. However, we have customers that cannot experience downtime, such as
the Department of Public Safety'S Highway Patrol officers cannot issue citations if
the system is inaccessible. Another example is the Department of Corrections uses
our computer systems to automate many antiquated manual functions. If the
system is down, statewide prisons cannot efficiently operate. The impact is
tremendous on our customers and OIR staff.
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Vendors that support OIR and its customer base are also affected. Vendors such as
IBM, Hitachi, Unisys, electricians, plumbers, communications equipment folks all
need certain periods of downtime to perform their needed duties.
Without downtime, hardware and software levels become static. Performance,
creativity, and expansion ceases to exist due to the lack of necessary change. Most
customers depend on our staff to make their needed changes. We add/delete
terminals, printers, new users, and add new functions to their software programs.
We presently test and implement changes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday nights.
With the addition of new customers and additional functions of existing ones, we
may lose the Sunday night window we presently have. A true 24-hour by 7 day per
week availability is necessary. When can changes be tested and implemented?
This is the problem we face: a methodology to implement system changes and
system maintenance with minimum to no inconvenience for our customers/
community. We also must be sensitive to our technical support staff and equipment
vendors who make the majority of those changes. Late night and weekend
maintenance windows are not widely accepted. Budget considerations are
necessary because a solution must be cost effective.
Our goals were as follows:
A. To establish a mechanism to test and implement system changes with
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minimal customer disruption.
B. To avoid solutions that involve extreme hours or heavy weekend
workloads.
The objectives were clear. We had to design and implement a solution to a very
sensitive problem. I proposed this problem to OIR's management and the support
staff. It was apparent this needed to become a priority item. Management proposed
that we proceed immediately to resolve the situation. A team was created to explore
and evaluate ideas. The team members were comprised of all personnel that were
directly affected. A meeting was scheduled and team meeting techniques were
encouraged. A team leader was chosen and all team rules were observed. They
used the "L.E.A.D. Model" (Fran Rees) as an example for team involvement.
They exercised the round-robin style of brainstorming to evaluate all possibilities.
Advantages of this type are minimal domination; participants may pass; discussion
is focused; participation is encouraged. Results of the brainstorming sessions
were as follows:
A. Continue to implement and test late Sunday nights.
B. Purchase a second processor and configure it to parallel our
production processor. This second processor would then be our test
vehicle.
C. Partition a portion of our existing processor for testing purposes.
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The team felt that these were our best and only options to solve our problem. Now
that there were three clear objectives, the team used force field analysis techniques
to identify forces that would influence our goal.
A flip chart was used and labeled with restraining and driving forces as the two
headings. Each possibility discovered in the brainstorming session was analyzed.
Results were as follows.
Objective - Continue as normal
Restraining Forces
- Personnel overworked
- Only 52 chances per year
- Work all week with only 3 hrs. to test
- Less productive
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Driving Forces
- Nothing needs to be done
- Inexpensive
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Objective - Purchase Second Processor
Restraining Forces
- Very expensive
- 2 copies of all software must be
purchased & maintained
- Much up-front work would still
be needed
Driving Forces
- Able to test during the day
- Less weekend & after hrs. work
- More productive
Objective - Use Portion of Existing Processor
Restraining Forces
- System resources would diminish
- setup requires much initial work
- Staff would be required to orient
themselves to change
- Staff will initially resist change
- Staff would need to coordinate testing
- Limitations still exist
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Driving Forces
- More test time availability
- Less expensive if not no-expense
- Less weekend &after hrs. work
- We could facilitate a true 24-hour x
7-dayavailability
- More productive
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A weighted vote was taken. Priority of choices was allotted:
3 points· most important
2 points· next most important
1 point • least important
The team leader recorded each member's ratings and recorded each sum beside the
appropriate item. This method indicated how important each item was to the voter.
A pie chart representing percentages of the voted outcomes are shown in Appendix
A. The selected method to solve our dilemma was too split our current processor
into another partitian and configure it identically to our production system. This will
allow the staff to test and debug during the day. After changes or new products are
rigorously tested, they can be moved to the production system with minimal effort
and downtime. Now that a solution has been chosen, an implementation project
plan was needed. The project draft was developed by the staff involved and is as
noted in Appendix B. The project plan was divided into two sections, preparations
and implementation.
This portion of the project is currently complete. These next actions are what we
proposed to do to achieve an ultimate completion of our endeavor. We will track all
issues and items as we proceed through the plan. We can measure these objectives
by time lines using estimated and actual completion dates. We are not concerned
with costs due to the minimal amount needed to complete the project. Management
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decisions will be needed on several key items such as no-charge contracts and
reporting evaluations.
One major concern is change. The staff will be asked to do basic functions
differently than before. Change must be managed properly. New ways to do old
habits will be necessary. "The Twelve Ways to Manage Change" (CEQA, 1996) will
be used by our management to incorporate new activities. It is imperative we
integrate the new plans immediately. New and different activities involve new
learning characteristics. "The Experimental Learning Model" (CEQA, 1996) is
indicative of what our staff must do to achieve these new functions. If management
observes these techniques, it will go a long way towards achieving new goals.
Monitoring and feedback are two methods we hope to use to measure and evaluate
the process. Management can monitor the progress of the project by using the
completion fields in the project plan. Tracking the development of the new system
should be easily monitored. Upon completion and after several weeks of settling in,
we propose to solicit customer feedback on how the new system functions. Over a
period of time we should also be able to track how long a project takes to implement
compared to previous ways. We will also have internal staff meetings to evaluate
the new system. Feedback from our internal and external customers are essential.
Baseline data will also be used to quantify the measurements. Current maintenance
overtime hours and system downtime will be compared against future projections.
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Assuming 4 hours overtime weekly over the next 6 months, we will work around 96
overtime hours. Upon completion of our project, we project only 24 hours of
overtime devoted to maintenance. Current scheduled system downtime is 12 hours
per month. Upon completion, suggested monthly downtime could be as minimal as
3 hours.
The repercussion from this project will be felt by all customers of OIR. Our internal
staff will now have the mechanism needed to test and implement at will. Our
external customers will also have the necessary platform to perform testing and
changes they need. This project can be completed at a minimal cost to OIR. Almost
nothing needs to be purchased to meet our goals. The benefits definitely outweigh
the disadvantages. Another result of this project is a moral booster for the
Technical Services staff. They should be more productive with less weekend and
after-hours work.
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LIST OF WORKS CITED
Center for Education, Quality, and Assessment. 1996. The Effective Manager.
Columbia, SC.
Rees, F. Activities for Teams.
I:/sdavis/lpscpm
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APPENDIX A
System Availability
(10,0%)
(10,0%)
o Procure
o Normal
o Partition
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APPENDIX B
OIR/IPC
System Availability Preparation and Implementation Plan
Migration to PRISM
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MIGRATION TO PRIsM
1996
I. Preparations
A. Read manuals on PRIsM
B. Contact vendors to get additional authorization
codeslstmts
1. CA - Sherri Patterson (770) 916 -3710
OK - uses last 4 digits of CPU sin
(call 1-800-338-6720 if need temporary key)
2. Allen Systems - Shelly Walker (941) 435-3624
OK - uses last 4 digits of CPU sin
3. SAS - OK - uses last 4 digits of CPU sin
4. Compuware - OK - uses last 4 digits of CPU sin
C. Contract with IBM for hook up of channel cables
No charge
D. Contract with HDS for hookup of channel cables
No charge
E. Channel cables
Est.
Compo
Actual
Compo
1. Determine # of & length of channel cables needed
a. Order channel cables
2. Lay & hookup channel cables per detailed plan
F. Plug addresses in DASD controllers
G. Determine LPAR CPU Ids
1. ESA production - 73844 (no change)
2. ESA test - 13844
H. Determine LPAR setup
1. Partition names MVSPROD MVSTEST
2. ID 7 1
3. Mode ESA ESA
4. Storage INIT 442MB 64MB
RSVD OMB OMB
ORIG OMb 442MB
5. Exp storage INIT 448MB 64MB
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MIGRATION TO PRISM
1996
RSVD OMB OMB
ORIG OMB 448MB
6. CPU Shared Shared
7. #CPs 6 1
8. AutoIPL N N
9. Processing weights 500 100
10. Processor running time Event Event
I. Perform IOGEN to support ESA production
on 1 LPAR & ESA test on 1 LPAR
(A3 IOCDS & 13 IODF)
Est.
Compo
Actual
Compo
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MIGRATION TO PRIsM
1996
II. Implement ESA production as an LPAR
A. Switch from Basic to LPAR
1. Bring down ESA as per TECHNOTE after
Checklist procdures
2. Release current config (CONFIG)
3. Select LPAR IOCDS (IOCDSM)
4. Select LPAR CP Mode (CONFIG)
5. Perform POR (CONFIG)
6. Set up LPAR definitions (LPDEF)
7. Activate logical partition MVSPROD (LPDEF)
8. Activate logical partition MVSTEST (LPDEF)
9. Define Processing weights (LPCTL)
Est.
Compo
Actual
Compo
Note: Must change access level to full (ACCESS)
10. SETLP MVSPROD
11. IPL MVs/ESA as an LPAR
12. LOCKLP ALL
13. Set up SAD display and activate
B. Train operators in use of LPAR
C. Develop documentation & distribute
1. TECHNOTES
2. Memos
D. Evaluate RMF reports to identify PRIsM overhead
E. Update SAS programs displacements
1. CPU utilizations
2. Paging rates
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MIGRATION TO PRIsM
1996
III. Implement ESA test as an LPAR
A. Develop & distribute documentation
1. Technotes
2. Memos
3. Procedures
Est.
Compo
Actual
Compo
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MIGRATION TO PRIsM
1996
IV. Post Implementation
A. Adjust LPAR if needed
l:\sdavis\lpscpml
Est.
Compo
Actual
Compo


Computer system availability

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