IBM i AS/400

Introduction

The IBM i is a widely used platform for core-banking and wealth and retail systems. It is the current version of the operating system previously called i5/OS and was originally named OS/400 when it was introduced with the AS/400 computer system.

Geneos can monitor the IBM i remotely using the JTOpen library, which is the open-source version of the IBM Toolbox for Java, and is a library of Java classes that allows access to IBM i resources. The JTOpen library is included with the Linux version of the Netprobe.

The following plug-ins for the IBM i are available:

Name	Description
CPU	Displays the CPUs used by the IBM i system/partition.
Disk	Displays the disk status of the IBM i system.
Hardware	Displays the major operating system and hardware resource settings for the IBM i.
File Member	Displays the members of the specified database file of the IBM i system.
JDBC	Displays data from Db2 for i based on configured SQL queries. Each SQL query will have an associated dataview.
Job	Displays the IBM i server jobs.
Log Reader	Displays the status of streams generated by the IBM i Log Reader plugin.
Message	Displays the messages for a configured message queue.
Pool	Displays the storage pools for the IBM i system.
Queue	Displays message queues (MSGQ) for the IBM i system. Message queues are used for system and program messages for the operator.
Subsystem	Displays information about the IBM i subsystems.

Note: Beginning Geneos 5.5.x, the IBM i JDBC plugin is available to query Db2 for i and publish its results to a dataview.

Prerequisites

The following are the requirements for running the Geneos IBM i plugins:

Linux machine running a Netprobe.
Java runtime environment or JavaDevelopment Kits installed in the Linux machine. For information on compatible Java versions, see Application and plug-in specific information in Geneos Compatibility Matrix.
The plugin must be able to connect to a Java application. For guidance, see Configure the Java environment.
A TCP/IP connection to an IBM i server. The IBM i server must have the following:
- Server must be IBM i, i5/OS, or OS/400 V4R3 or higher.
- Server must have the Option 12 host servers installed and running. JTOpen uses the host servers as TCP/IP endpoints to communicate with the server from a client.
- Server must be able to accept connections on ports 8470, 8473, 8475, 8476, and 449. These are the defaults used by the server. If you use non-default ports, make sure those are open to accept connections.

For more information on supported IBM i versions, see Operating system support in 5.x Compatibility Matrix.

Basic configuration

This section lists down configuration fields that are common for all views, as each view is run by a separate IBM i sampler.

Caution: When you update the configuration of certain Java-based plug-ins, including this one, the Netprobe running it has to restart. Be aware of other potentially unrelated plug-ins that can be affected when you configure this particular plug-in.

Field	Description
System name	Defines the IBM i system monitored by the sampler. This can be either an IP address or the actual system name. Mandatory: Yes
Username	IBM i username to use for monitoring. Note: The Subsystem View requires user type SECOFR to return data for all subsystems. Mandatory: Yes
Password	Password of the IBM i user. Mandatory: Yes
Connection timeout	Defines the time-out for the views, in seconds. Mandatory: Yes Default: `30`

System view

The System View combines CPU, Hardware, and Disk.

CPU view

This view shows CPUs being used by an IBM i system/partition.

ibmi_image0

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.

Table legend

Name	Description
currentProcessingCapacity	Number of physical processors that defines the current processing capacity of the partition. For partition sharing physical processors, this attribute represents the shares of the physical processors in the pool it is executing.
percentCurrentInteractivePerformance	The percentage of interactive performance assigned to the logical partition.
percentDBCapability	The percentage of processor database capability that was used during the elapsed time. The value `-1 (Not reported by this system)` indicates that the system does not report the amount of CPU used for processing.
percentProcessingUnitUsed	The average of the elapsed time during which the processing units were in use. For an uncapped partition, this is the percentage of the configured uncapped shared processing capacity for the partition that was used during the elapsed time. This percentage could be greater than 100% for an uncapped partition.
percentSharedProcessorPoolUsed	The percentage of the total shared processor pool capacity used by all partitions using the pool during the elapsed time. The value `-1 (Partition does not share processors)` indicates that the partition does not share processors.
percentUncappedCPUCapacityUsed	The percentage of uncapped shared processing capacity for the partition that was used during the elapsed time. The value `-1 (Partition limited to configured capacity)` indicates that the partition cannot use more than its configured processing capacity.
processors	Number of processors that are currently active in this partition.
processorSharingAttribute	Indicates if the partition is sharing processors. 0 - does not share processors 1 - shares processors (capped - limited to using configured capacity) 2 - shares processors (uncapped - can use more than its configured capacity).

Disk view

The IBM i Disk View monitors disk usage. In IBM i, a disk is represented by an auxiliary storage pool (ASP). An ASP is a software definition of a group of disk units on the IBM i system. This means that an ASP does not necessarily correspond to the physical arrangement of disks.

IBM i disk view

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.

Table legend

Name	Description
unit	Disk unit number. This is a unique identifier for each non-mirrored unit or mirrored pair among the configured disk units. Both mirrored units of a mirrored pair have the same disk unit number. The value of the disk unit number is assigned by the system when the disk unit is assigned to the ASP.
name	The resource name - the unique system-assigned name of the disk unit.
type	The type of disk unit.
freeSpace	Disk storage available. The number of MB of space not currently assigned.
percentUsed	Percentage of disk used.
totalSpace	Disk capacity. The total size of the disk unit in MB.
percentBusy	Percentage of disk busy. This is calculated based on `(sampleCount - notBusyCount) / notBusyCount`, where: `-sampleCount` is the number of times the disk queue was checked to determine whether or not the queue was empty `-notBusyCount` is the number of times the disk queue was empty during the same period that the sample count was taken This is the same as the `%busy` column in the IBM i Work with Disk Status (`WRKDSKSTS`).

Hardware view

The IBM i Hardware View provides the major operating system and hardware resource settings of an IBM i host.

ibmi_image2

Table legend

Name	Description
OS	Details of the operating system of the host. For example, IBM i 6.1.0 where Version = 6, Release = 1, Modification = 0.
countryId	Country identifier. Example: US.
system	The IBM i system name.
languageId	Language identifier. Example: ENU.
mainStorageSize	This is the total RAM in the system, in MB, which is represented by the main storage size in the IBM i. Note: On a partitioned system, the main storage size can change while the system is active.
processorFeature	Processor feature code of the system. This is used to identify the processor used on the system.
systemModel	The model number of the system. Example: MHB, which is a Power 780.
systemSerialNo	This is the seven-digit number that uniquely identifies the System i.
timezone	Current time zone of the machine. This displays either the long version of the time zone, such as `Eastern Standard Time`, or the customID format, such as `GMT±HH:MM`.
totalActiveJobs	This is the number of both user and system jobs active in the system, which have been started and not yet ended.
totalJobs	This is the total number of user and system jobs that are currently in the system. This includes: All jobs on job queues waiting to be processed All jobs currently active (being processed) All jobs that have completed running but still have pending job logs or output on output queues to be produced
upTime	Elapsed time in days since the last IPL (Initial Program Load) / system reboot.

File member view

This view lists all database files specified in the Basic configuration. This also includes member information for each file. To view the record information of the file members, see Member record view.

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.

Table legend

Name	Description
file	Name of the database file.
currentMembers	Total number of members in a file.
memberCapacity	Total number of members that a file member can have.
percentUsage	Percentage of the member capacity that is currently being used.

Basic configuration

Field	Description
Files	Specifies the files to be displayed in the dataview. Mandatory: Yes

Field

Description

Files

Specifies the files to be displayed in the dataview.

Mandatory: Yes

JDBC view

Views under JDBC show data from Db2 for i based on configured SQL queries. Each SQL query will have an associated dataview.

IBM i JDBC view

Headline legend

When streaming is enabled, headlines for stream information appear in the query dataview:

Name	Description
streamName	Name of the stream. Note: Headlines have a length limit; therefore, the displayed value can be truncated. You can retrieve the complete name from the headline, for example, by right-clicking and selecting Copy from <!>streamName > Value.
currentBufferSize	Number of messages that the sampler holds in the stream. The sampler holds these messages until they are consumed by another sampler.
maxBufferSize	Maximum number of messages that the sampler can hold before it starts to drop earlier messages. This value is set by the query Row limit option.
totalMessagesReceived	Total number of messages that the sampler has received in the stream. A row in the query result counts as a message.
totalMessagesLost	Total number of messages that the sampler has dropped because the buffer was full.

Note: Stream messages are stored in the buffer until they are consumed by another component. However, If there are no samplers or clients consuming the stream, then the stream registry purges the messages immediately.

Basic configuration

Queries

Field	Description
Name	Name of the query and the dataview it creates.
Sql	The SQL query that represents what data will be displayed in the dataview. By default, this runs only on the default database file member. In some IBM i machines, database files may have one or more members. A member is similar to a subset of the file and each member contains records. To run a query on a non-default file member, follow these steps: Create an alias that references the file and the member. This can be created within the terminal or via a database client. For example: CREATE ALIAS QSYS.ALIAS1 FOR QSYS.FILENAME(MEMBERNAME) Use the created alias in the query. For example: SELECT * FROM QSYS.ALIAS1
Row limit	Maximum number of rows to be displayed on the dataview. The rows are counted from the results of the query. Default value: `200`
Stream	If ticked, this enables the publishing of query results to a stream. Query result rows are streamed as JSON data containing column name-value pairs. A single row then counts as one stream message. On the first sample, all rows displayed in the dataview are streamed. On succeeding samples, only new and updated rows are streamed. When enabled, the resulting stream has a fully qualified stream name in the following format: `managedEntity-name.sampler-name(type).query-name` For example: `ME.ibmi-jdbc.queryA` This setting is disabled by default. Caution: The stream option is not supported on Linux: Red Hat on IBM POWER8.

Example stream output in FKM plugin

The following dataview shows an example stream from the IBM i JDBC sampler used by an FKM sampler:

Example IBM i JDBC stream in the FKM stream

Connection

Field	Description
Database	IBM i Db2 for i database server option.
Server Name	Host name or IP address of the Db2 for i server.
Port	Configured port of the database application. Default value: `8471`
Database Name	Default database, schema, or catalog to open. Setting a default affects your query usage. For example: If you specify a default database, for example, `MYDB`, containing the table `TBL1`then the query `SELECT * FROM TBL1` in the Sql option would suffice. If you have another database, `MYDB2`, containing the table `TBL2`, then you have to specify `SELECT * FROM MYDB2.TBL2` in the Sql option. Notice that the fully qualified table name was specified, including the database it belongs to.
User Name	Authorised user to connect to the database.
Password	Password for the authorised user. Choose the appropriate field when specifying the password: `stdAES` — use this to input your plaintext password. If you select `stdAES`, you can define your password directly in the sampler and store it in standard AES encryption hash in the Gateway. `var` — use this to pass the password as a variable. The variable is defined in Managed entity > Advanced > Var. This is useful for situations where you have multiple samplers that use the same credentials. `extPwd` — use this for passwords provided by an external provider. For more information, see Securing your Gateway with an external password provider in Secure Passwords.

Advanced configuration

The Advanced tab shows the JDBC settings for the sampler.

Field	Description
Connection pool size	Sets the maximum size that the pool is allowed to reach, including both idle and in-use connections. This option is set per IBM i JDBC sampler. Default value: `5`
Connection timeout	Sets the maximum number of seconds that a query waits for a connection from the pool. A connection may time out when it cannot be established, for example, due to network issues. Default value: `30`
Idle connection timeout	Sets the maximum number of seconds that a connection can be idle in the pool. Default value: `600`

Job view

This view shows IBM i server jobs. Jobs are the basic unit of work on the IBM i. Additional "cpu" statistics can be obtained by enabling this in the configuration.

Note: Enabling cpu statistics will increase data collection time due to additional JTOpen calls in the background. If cpu statistics are enabled, we recommend using filters to limit the number of rows returned in the dataview.

The default dataview is as follows:

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	Name of the IBM i system.
totalJobs	Total number of user and system jobs in the system.
totalActiveJobs	Number of active jobs in the system, including both user and system jobs.
maxJobs	Maximum number of jobs allowed on the system.
totalBatchJobs	Number of batch jobs currently running on the system.
jobsMatchingFilter	Number of jobs that matched filter criteria.
jobsMaxRows	Number of rows that is set in the max rows setting.

Table legend

Name	Description
key	Job name/job number. For example, ADMIN/000294.
name	Name of the job.
number	Number of the job.
user	Name of the user.
type	Type of the job. Possible values are: AUTOSTART BATCH INTERACTIVE SCPF_SYSTEM SPOOLED_READER SPOOLED_WRITER SUBSYSTEM_MONITOR SYSTEM
status	Status of the job. Possible values are: ACTIVE JOBQ - job currently on a job queue OUTQ - completed running but still has output on an output queue
activeJobStatus	Active status of the initial thread of the job. Status is written in a 4-letter code, such as: DEQW - waiting for completion of a dequeue operation DSPW - waiting for input from a work station display MSGW - waiting for a message from a message queue SEMW - waiting for a semaphore (a synchronization function that is used to allow multiple jobs or threads to serialize their access to shared data) TIMA - waiting in a pool activity level for a time interval to end. TIMW - waiting for a time interval to end. A blank field represents a job that is in transition or is not active.
statusInQueue	Status of the job on queue. Possible values are as follows: BLANK HELD READY SCHEDULED RLS - job is ready to be selected
subsystem	Subsystemwhere the job is running.
priority	Priority at which the job is currently running, relative to other jobs on the system, ranges from 0 (highest) to 99 (lowest).
endReason	Describes the reason why a job is ended. Possible values are: 0: Job not ending. 1: Job ending in a normal manner. 2: Job ended while it was still on a job queue. 3: System ended abnormally. 4: Job ending normally after a controlled end was requested. 5: Job ending immediately. 6: Job ending abnormally. 7: Job ended due to the CPU limit being exceeded. 8: Job ended due to the storage limit being exceeded. 9: Job ended due to the message severity level being exceeded. 10: Job ended due to the disconnect time interval being exceeded. 11: Job ended due to the inactivity time interval being exceeded. 12: Job ended due to a device error. 13: Job ended due to a signal. 14: Job ended due to an unhandled error. A blank field represents a job that is not yet ended.
jobEnteredSystemDate	Date when the job entered the system.
jobEnteredSystemTime	Time when the job entered the system.
jobStartDate	Start date of the job.
jobStartTime	Start time of the job.
jobEndDate	End date for the job. This value is for jobs whose status is `JOBQ` or `ACTIVE`. For jobs with a status of `OUTQ`, the value for this field is blank.
jobEndTime	End time for the job, if available. This value is for jobs whose status is `JOBQ` or `ACTIVE`. For jobs with a status of `OUTQ`, the value for this field is blank.
timeElapsed	Time difference between the start datetime and the end datetime or the datetime of the current sample, if the job does not yet have an end datetime. Unit: `dddd:hh:mm:ss`
totalCpuUsed	Total amount of processing time the job used. Unit: `ms` Note: This field will not be displayed if enableCpuStatistics is set to false.
cpuPercentElapsed	Percentage of the processing unit used by the job during the elapsed sampling time. Unit: `%` Note: This field will not be displayed if enableCpuStatistics is set to false.
cpuTimeElapsed	Elapsed sampling time when a processing unit is used by the job. Unit: `ms` Note: This field will not be displayed if enableCpuStatistics is set to false.

Advanced configuration

Note: All filters in this plug-in use Java Regular Expressions.

Field	Description
Job name	Filters the dataview to include only the jobs with names matching the configuration. Mandatory: No
Use regex for job name	By default, plugin filters the dataview using a Java regex as indicated in the Javadoc for java.util.regex.Pattern. If set to false, the Job name filter will expect a list of specific and generic AS/400 job names separated by the pipe symbol. A generic job name is indicated by a prefix, followed by an asterisk. The following are examples of valid job names: QSERVER QSERVER\|QCTL QSERVER\|QU\|QCTL\|QT Q* If the list of job names does not include valid specific or generic names, or if job names are not separated by the pipe symbol, then it will be treated as a regex instead. When using a list of job names, IBM i queries are more specific and relatively faster than when using a regex filter that queries all job names and applies the regex on the search results. Mandatory: No Default: True
Job status	Filters the dataview based on job status. Possible values are as follows: `ACTIVE` `JOBQ` - job currently on a job queue `OUTQ` - completed running but still has output on an output queue Mandatory: No
Job subsystem	Filters the dataview based on the specified subsystem where the job runs. Note: This filter works by regex. If the subsystem filter has a value and enableCpuStatistics is false, then the subsystem filter will be ignored. Mandatory: No Default: none
Job type	Filter the dataview based on the job type. Possible values are as follows: AUTOSTART BATCH INTERACTIVE SCPF_SYSTEM SPOOLED_READER SPOOLED_WRITER SUBSYSTEM_MONITOR SYSTEM Mandatory: No Default: none
Job user	Filter the dataview based on the user name. Note: This filter works by an exact match but is not case sensitive.
Last x hours	Filters the dataview based on jobs with `jobEnteredSystemDate` that falls within the specified last number of hours. Mandatory: No Default: `1`
Max rows	Maximum number of rows that the dataview displays. Mandatory: No Default: `20`
Enable cpu statistics	Determines whether or not the CPU statistics will be retrieved by the plugin. Disabling CPU statistics will improve the performance of the plugin, but the following fields will not be displayed: `totalCpuUsed`, `cpuPercentElapsed`, `cpuTimeElapsed`. Mandatory: No Default: `true`

Log Reader view

This view shows the status of IFS log files and the associated outbound streams coming from the IBM i Log Reader plugin:

IBM i Log Reader dataview

You can configure IBM i Log Reader sampler to read log files from the IBM i IFS, then send the contents of the log files as a stream for consumption by other plugins, such as the FKM and State Tracker plugins.

Headline legend

Headline name	Description
system	Name of the IBM i system that the sampler is connected to.
totalStreams	Number of streams that have been created on the sampler.

Table legend

Headline name	Description
name	Name of the stream. IBM i Log Reader outbound streams have a fully qualified stream name in the following format: `managedEntity-name.sampler-name.file-path`
status	Status of the file stream. Possible values: `OK` — file is being read without issue. `FILE_NOT_FOUND` — file was not found in the file system. `READ_ACCESS_DENIED` — file cannot be read because the logged-in user is not authorised to read the file. `FILE_IO_ERROR` — an error was encountered while reading the file.
currentBufferSize	Number of messages that the sampler holds in the stream. The sampler holds these messages until they are consumed by another sampler.
maxBufferSize	Maximum number of messages per stream that the sampler can hold before it starts to drop earlier messages. This field is set by the Buffer size configuration. For more information, see Basic configuration.
totalMessagesReceived	Total number of messages that the samplers have received in the stream. Every line in the log file counts as a message.
totalMessagesLost	Total number of messages that the sampler has dropped because the buffer was full.

Basic configuration

Field Description

Filename

Field	Description
Filename	Name of the log file to read in the IBM i host. This configuration supports wildcard expressions for filenames. Supported wildcard characters are `*` and `?`. When you use wildcard characters for filenames, the stream rows are added to the Log Reader dataview as these are detected. Only one file will be associated with a wildcard pattern and stream at a time. The newest or most recently updated file matching the wildcard character will be monitored.
Rewind	If ticked, the IBM i Log Reader reads from the beginning of a log file. Otherwise, the IBM i Log Reader reads from the last read position when the Netprobe or sampler is restarted. If both rewind and file position support are disabled, then the Log Reader reads from the end of the file. This option is disabled by default.

Name of the log file to read in the IBM i host.

This configuration supports wildcard expressions for filenames. Supported wildcard characters are * and ?. When you use wildcard characters for filenames, the stream rows are added to the Log Reader dataview as these are detected.

Only one file will be associated with a wildcard pattern and stream at a time. The newest or most recently updated file matching the wildcard character will be monitored.

Rewind

If ticked, the IBM i Log Reader reads from the beginning of a log file. Otherwise, the IBM i Log Reader reads from the last read position when the Netprobe or sampler is restarted.

If both rewind and file position support are disabled, then the Log Reader reads from the end of the file.

This option is disabled by default.

Advanced configuration

Field Description

Field	Description
Buffer size	Sets the maximum number of messages per stream that the IBM i Log Reader sampler holds in memory at a time. Messages clear the buffer when the stream is received by an FKMsampler. You can toggle between entering a numerical value (`data`) or a variable (`var`). Default value: `1000`
Worker pool size	Number of worker tasks that can be executed for reading files concurrently. This enables the IBM i Log Reader sampler to read multiple files at the same time during a sampling. Files are queued and picked up for processing by an available worker. After being read, the files return to the queue for the next sample. You can tune the worker pool size so that the sampling of large or rapidly growing files would not block the sampling of other files. You can toggle between entering a numerical value (`data`) or a variable (`var`). Default value: `10`

Buffer size

Sets the maximum number of messages per stream that the IBM i Log Reader sampler holds in memory at a time. Messages clear the buffer when the stream is received by an FKMsampler.

You can toggle between entering a numerical value (data) or a variable (var).

Default value: 1000

Worker pool size

Number of worker tasks that can be executed for reading files concurrently. This enables the IBM i Log Reader sampler to read multiple files at the same time during a sampling.

Files are queued and picked up for processing by an available worker. After being read, the files return to the queue for the next sample. You can tune the worker pool size so that the sampling of large or rapidly growing files would not block the sampling of other files.

You can toggle between entering a numerical value (data) or a variable (var).

Default value: 10

Log Reader position file

By default, the IBM i Log Reader reads from the last read position of a log file when the Netprobe or sampler is restarted. It does this by maintaining position files, located in a directory called /ibmi-log-position directory under the Netprobe working directory. Position files are managed as follows:

In the /ibmi-log-position directory has subdirectories for each IBM i Log Reader sampler. The directory name format is <ME-name>.<sampler-name>.
There is one position file per file being monitored, and updates immediately after each stream message is sent.
A position file is removed when it has not been updated for a specified number of days. For more information, see Advanced configuration — File position support.

Position files enable you to stop and restart the Netprobe and have it pick up where it left off without missing any new lines added to the log.

Caution: If rewind is enabled, then the IBM i Log Reader plugin will always read the monitored file from the beginning.

Advanced configuration — File position support

Field Description

Enabled

Field	Description
Enabled	If ticked, then the IBM i Log Reader plugin keeps track of the current position of each monitored file. This makes it possible to resume from the last read position when the Netprobe is stopped or restarted. If both rewind and file position support are disabled, then the Log Reader reads from the end of the file. This option is ticked by default.
Remove after inactive for (days)	Number of days that a position file is allowed to be inactive before it is deleted. Default value: `7`

If ticked, then the IBM i Log Reader plugin keeps track of the current position of each monitored file. This makes it possible to resume from the last read position when the Netprobe is stopped or restarted.

If both rewind and file position support are disabled, then the Log Reader reads from the end of the file.

This option is ticked by default.

Remove after inactive for (days)

Number of days that a position file is allowed to be inactive before it is deleted.

Default value: 7

Member record view

In some IBM i machines, database files may have one or more members. A member is similar to a subset of the file and each member contains records.

This view lists all the files and members specified in the Basic configuration. This also includes information about the records of each database file and its members. To view the member information of the database files, see File member view.

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.

Table legend

Name	Description
member	The member name with its file name. For example, in `/QSYS/QS9DDS/QAS9HDWLF`, the file name is `/QSYS/QS9DDS` and the member name is `QAS9HDWLF`.
currentRecords	Total number of records that are currently in the member. Note: This returns a value of `0` if the file member is suspended.
recordCapacity	Total number of records that a file member can contain.
percentUsage	Percentage of the record capacity that is currently being used.

Basic configuration

Field Description

Field	Description
Files	Specifies the file members to be displayed in the dataview. If a file is entered, such as `/QSYS.LIB/QS9DDS.FILE`, then all its members will be displayed in the dataview. If a specific file member is entered, such as `/QSYS.LIB/QUSRSYS.LIB/QAALERT.FILE/QAALERT.MBR`, then that member will be displayed in the dataview. If a generic file member is entered, such as `/QSYS.LIB/MOREFILE.LIB/PF2.FILE/PF*.MBR`, then all matching file members will be displayed in the dataview. Mandatory: Yes

Files

Specifies the file members to be displayed in the dataview.

If a file is entered, such as /QSYS.LIB/QS9DDS.FILE, then all its members will be displayed in the dataview.

If a specific file member is entered, such as /QSYS.LIB/QUSRSYS.LIB/QAALERT.FILE/QAALERT.MBR, then that member will be displayed in the dataview.

If a generic file member is entered, such as /QSYS.LIB/MOREFILE.LIB/PF2.FILE/PF*.MBR, then all matching file members will be displayed in the dataview.

Mandatory: Yes

Message view

This view shows messages for a specific message queue. It can be used to monitor and alert on messages in an IBM i message queue.

Messages are sorted from newest to oldest.

ibmi_image5

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.
queuePath	The path of the message queue. For example, /QYS.LIB/QSYSOPR.MSGQ, where QSYSOPR is the name of the message queue.
totalMessages	The number of messages in the queue.
messagesMatchingFilter	The number of messages matching the filter
messageMaxRows	The number of rows that is set in the max rows setting.

Table legend

Name	Description
key	This field is a combination of the message key (the integer representation of the 4-byte message key) and the date the message was sent (YYYY-MM-DD).
id	The message ID.
severity	The message severity, which is a value between 0 and 99, or -1 if it is not set.
type	The message type. Possible message types are: COMPLETION DIAGNOSTIC ESCAPE ESCAPE_NOT_HANDLED INFORMATIONAL INQUIRY MESSAGE_OPTION_UP_TO_10 NOTIFY NOTIFY_NOT_HANLDED REPLY_FROM_SYSTEM_REPLY_LIST REPLY_MESSAGE_DEFAULT_USED REPLY_NOT_VALIDITY_CHECKED REPLY_SYSTEM_DEFAULT_USED REPLY_VALIDITY_CHECKED REQUEST REQUEST_WITH_PROMPTING SENDERS_COPY
date	Date the message was sent (YYYY-MM-DD).
time	Time the message was sent.
senderJobName	The sender job name.
senderJobUser	The sender job's user.
senderJobNumber	The sender job number.
text	The text of the message with the substitution text inserted.

Basic configuration

Field Description

Field	Description
Queue path	Defines the message queue to monitor the sampler, such as `QSYS.LIB/QSYSOPR.MSGQ`. Mandatory: Yes

Queue path

Defines the message queue to monitor the sampler, such as QSYS.LIB/QSYSOPR.MSGQ.

Mandatory: Yes

Advanced configuration

Note: All filters in this plug-in use Java Regular Expressions.

Field	Description
Severity	Filters the messages based on the severity. The minimum and maximum values for severity are 0 and 99, respectively. Mandatory: No Default: `0`
Sender job name	Filters the dataview based on the job name of the sender. Mandatory: No Default: none
Sender job user	Filters the dataview based on the job user of the sender. Mandatory: No Default: none
Max rows	Maximum number of queued messages that will be fetched and displayed on the dataview. Mandatory: No Default: `20`
Last x hours	Filters the dataview based on jobs with `jobEnteredSystemDate` that falls within the specified last number of hours. Mandatory: No Default: `1`

Pool view

This view shows the IBM i's storage pools. Storage pools segment the OS/400 working memory so that each subsystem can access its specified piece of memory.

ibmi_image6

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	The IBM i system name.
partitionId	The identifier for the partition.
pools	The number of storage pools.
totalAuxiliaryStorage	Total auxiliary storage for the partition.
systemASP	Storage capacity of the system auxiliary storage pool (ASP1), in MB.
percentageSystemASPUsed	The percentage of the system storage pool currently in use.

Table legend

Name	Description
id	The system pool identifier.
name	The storage pool name, e.g. *INTERACT.
size	The amount of main storage, in KB, currently allocated to the pool.
reservedSize	The amount of storage, in KB, in the pool reserved for system use.
databasePages	The rate, in pages per second, at which database pages are brought into the storage pool.
databaseFaults	The rate, in page faults per second, of database page faults against pages containing either database data or access paths.
nonDatabasePages	The rate, in pages per second, at which non-database pages are brought into the storage pool.
nonDatabaseFaults	The rate, in page faults per second, of non-database faults against pages other than those designated as database pages.

Queue view

This view is used to monitor specific message queues on the IBM i. A message queue is like a mailbox for messages - which is a communication sent from one user, program, or procedure to another. The IBM i has several message queues that hold messages that provide helpful information when finding and reporting problems. For example:

QSYSOPR - the system operator message queue. This queue contains messages that require a reply from the IBM i operator.
QSYSMSG - an optional message queue that holds severe error messages.
QHST - the IBM i history log contains messages that track the system's activities.

The IBM i also provides message queues for the following:

Each workstation on the system
Each user enrolled on the system

The default dataview is as follows:

ibmi_image7

If IBM i AS/400 is enabled, then the dataview is as follows:

IBM i Queue useFullPathForRowname view

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	Name of the IBM i system.
totalQueues	Total number of message queues in the system.

Table legend

Name	Description
name	Name of the message queue. If IBM i AS/400 is enabled, then this column displays the path of the message queue instead.
path	The qualified path name of the message queue. If IBM i AS/400 is enabled, then this column is not displayed in the dataview.
queueName	Name of the message queue. If IBM i AS/400 is enabled, then this column is displayed. Otherwise, it does not appear in the dataview.
totalMessages	Total number of messages in the queue.

Advanced configuration

Note: All filters in this plug-in use Java Regular Expressions.

After applying the configuration above, the dataview is now displayed as follows:

Field	Description
Queue library	Filters the dataview to include only the queues in libraries matching the configuration. The possible configuration values are the following: Specific library name `ALL` - sets the filter to search in all libraries. `ALLUSR` - sets the filter to search in all user libraries. `CURLIB` - sets the filter to search in the current library. `LIBL` - sets the filter to search in the library list. `USRLIBL` - sets the filter to search in the user library list. Mandatory: No Default: `ALL`
Queue name	Filters the dataview to include only the queues with names matching the configuration. Specific queue name. Generic queue name, such as `QCQ`. `ALL` - sets the filter to consider all queues. Mandatory: No Default: `*ALL`
Max rows	Maximum number of rows that will appear on the dataview. Mandatory: No Default: `20`
Use full path for rowname	If enabled, the `name` column on the dataview displays the path, while a separate queueName column displays the queue name. Mandatory: No Default: `false`

Subsystem view

IBM i subsystems are operating environments, defined by a subsystem description, where the system coordinates processing and resources. They are used to control how different jobs run on your system and how much resources are allocated to different jobs. This view shows configured subsystems of an IBM i system.

Note: User type SECOFR is required to show data for all subsystems. If a non-SECOFR is used, only subsystems that the user has authority on will be shown with data. In such cases, the status will state User is not authorised to subsystem..

ibmi-subsystem-dataview

Headline legend

Name	Description
system	Name of the IBM i system.
subsystems	Total number of subsystems in the system.

Table legend

Name	Description
key	Combination of the name and the library values written in the following format: name/library
name	Name of the subsystem.
library	Library where the subsystem resides.
activeJobs	Number of active jobs in the subsystem.
maxActiveJobs	Maximum number of possible jobs for the subsystem. NO_MAX means no maximum has been set.
pools	Number of storage pools defined for the subsystem.
status	Indicates the status of the subsystem. Possible values are: `ACTIVE` `ENDING` `INACTIVE` `RESTRICTED` `STARTING` If the user that is utilised by the Netprobe does not have sufficient administrative rights for the subsystem, then the following message is displayed in the column: `User is not authorised to subsystem`

Advanced configuration

After applying the configuration above, the dataview is now displayed as follows:

Field	Description
Subsystem library	Filters the dataview to include only the subsystems in libraries matching the configuration. The possible configuration values are the following: Specific library name `ALL` - sets the filter to search in all libraries. `ALLUSR` - sets the filter to search in all user libraries. `CURLIB` - sets the filter to search in the current library. `LIBL` - sets the filter to search in the library list. `USRLIBL` - sets the filter to search in the user library list. Mandatory: No Default: `ALL`
Subsystem name	Filters the dataview to include only the subsystems with names matching the configuration. The possible configuration values are the following: Specific subsystem name. Generic subsystem name, such as `QC`. `ALL` - sets the filter to consider all subsystems. Mandatory: No Default: `*ALL`
Subsystem status	Filters the dataview to include only the subsystems with status matching the configuration. The possible configuration values are the following: are listed in the dropdown checklist as follows: `ACTIVE` `ENDING` `INACTIVE` `RESTRICTED` `STARTING` Mandatory: No Default: All the values listed above are ticked.
Max rows	Maximum number of rows that will appear on the dataview. Mandatory: No Default: `20`