Service Integration Bus Performance

1. I have started the tool. What should I do now?

First of all you will see the Server Connection dialog box. You will need to enter the host name of the server you are trying to contact and the port number that it is using (see FAQs below for help on port numbers).

If the server has a single message engine running, the tool will automatically connect to the message engine and display the statistics. Click on the folders in the left hand pane in order to change the statistics being displayed.

If the server has more than one messaging engine running, you will need to select which of the engines you wish to connect to. For performance reasons, the tool allows you to connect to only one messaging engine at a time. You can change messaging engines at any time by clicking on the ME icons in the lefthand panel. This will turn off the PMI (Performance Monitoring Interface) statistics in the current engine before connecting to the new messaging engine.

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2. Which port number should I use?

By default, a single server installation will use the following ports:

• SOAP: 8880
• RMI: 2809

For an ND installation, you can also connect to the deployment manager, which uses the following ports by default:

• SOAP: 8879
• RMI: 2809

For custom installations you can find the port number by viewing the SystemOut.log file. It will have entries similar to the following:

• The SOAP connector is available at port 8880
• The RMI Connector is available at port 2809

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3. Can I connect to a secure server?

The Service Integration Bus Performance tool will connect to secure servers using the SOAP connector.

When the tool first starts up you will see the Server Connection box. Ensure that the WebSphere Security checkbox is checked and then enter the user name and password for the server you are trying to contact.

Notes:

• This action will use the WebSphere security files in the WAS\profile\<profileName>\properties directory of the WebSphere installation (soap.client.props, sas.client.props, ssl.client.props). The WAS directory is set in the SIB Performance env configuration file.
• The first time you connect, a question will pop up about "trust stores" in the command window where you launched Service Integration Bus Performance tool. You must answer "y" in order to connect to WAS. It will never ask again.

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4. How can I find more information about PMI statistics?

The WebSphere Application Server Information Center (provided as part of the WebSphere installation) contains additional information about the statistics.

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5. How do I view additional statistics?

Additional Service Integration Bus statistics can be turned on and off using the Configuration menu. This menu also lists whether the statistics are resettable as well as their performance impact.

Note: This tool is written only for the Service Integration Bus, so statistics outside of that area are not accessible with this tool.

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6. Are the statistics turned off automatically upon shutdown?

When the tool shuts down it will automatically turn off the PMI stats in order to remove any performance overhead. A dialog box will be displayed to verify that this was successful.

If the tool could not turn off the stats, it will display an error message, either in a dialog box or via a message to the command line. In this case you can turn off the stats manually by either of the following methods:

• Simply restart the WAS/WESB Server (the PMI changes made by the tool are not saved after a restart).
• Rerun the Service Integration Bus Performance tool, reconnect to the ME, and then close the tool.
• Use the WAS Admin Console to turn off the stats, as follows: admin console > Monitoring and Tuning > Performance Monitoring Infrastructure > <server> > Select the Run-time tab. > Select the Basic radio button.

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7. What are the performance implications of using the tool?

The performance impact of the messaging PMI statistics will depend upon the workload and the type of statistics that are being collected. The Configuration menu lists the performance impact for each statistic.

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8. Why does the reset stats button not reset all statistics?

Some statistics are not resettable. For example, it would not make sense to make the number of currently connected consumers resettable. The Configuration menu lists which statistics are resettable.

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9. Why are the statistics reported as being "null"?

This can occur if the WebSphere version in the env script and the version of the server you are trying to monitor are at different levels (for example: WAS602 + WAS61). In order to correct the problem, update the WAS entry in your env script to point to a server at the same level as the system being monitored.

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10. Why does the CacheNotStoredDiscardCount (BestEffort Messages Discarded) change value after I restart Service Integration Bus Performance?

Resetting the PMI counters will reset the values on the server, so the changes are permanent. However, CacheNotStoredDiscardCount is reset only locally within the Service Integration Bus Performance tool. So, when a new connection is made to the server (that is, when Service Integration Bus Performance is restarted), the tool picks up the server (non-reset) value.

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