ptx/PDC V1.4.0 Release Notes


Introduction

ptx®/PDC (Performance Data Collector) is a set of commands and libraries that provide easy access to system performance data on NUMA-Q® systems. The ptx/PDC application programming interface (API) provides a unified method for accessing raw performance data. The ptx/PDC API protects performance measurement products that use the API from changes in the underlying operating system and layered products. It does this by isolating the changes within the PDC itself while maintaining the API used by the products. Products that use the ptx/PDC API will list ptx/PDC as a requirement to run. The ptx/PDC API is currently available for use by third-party application developers, but is not available for general use.

These Release Notes contain the following information:

These release notes do not describe how to use the products that use the ptx/PDC API, such as Datametrics® ViewPointTM. Refer to the documentation for those products for further information.


Compatibility Information

ptx/PDC V1.4.0 is compatible with the following software products running on Symmetry® and NUMA-Q® systems:


Changes Since the Previous Release

This release of ptx/PDC provides support for the following new features:

The following table lists the components and the products to which they were moved:


Installation

ptx/PDC must be installed prior to using any products which list ptx/PDC as a requirement.


ATTENTION

If ptx/PDC V1.4.0 is installed on top of a previous version of ptx/PDC using the Delta install and any of the optional layered products (NFS, SVM, EFS and Clusters) are not installed before ptx/PDC installation, the install script will not remove old components corresponding to the layered product. ptx/PDC may not initialize these old components until the corresponding layered products are installed. After installing the layered product, ptx/PDC will initialize the corresponding component properly.


Refer to the DYNIX/ptx and Layered Products Software Installation Release Notes for installation procedures.

Once you have installed ptx/PDC, you can start the data collection daemon (pdcd) by entering the following command:

#/etc/init.d/pdc start

To stop the data collection daemon, enter the following command:

# /etc/init.d/pdc stop

The data collection daemon is automatically started when the system is rebooted and stopped when the system is shut down.


Problem Reports

The number that appears in parentheses in problem report titles is the NUMA-Q Problem Tracking System number assigned to the report.


Open Problem Reports


Cannot Add Row in the Dumpconf Component for Multipath Devices (249863)

The dumpconf component is not getting initialized because it is trying to add the same key which is already present in the table. Currently the key consists of a device type, device name, and its unit number. This key is not unique because in the multipath device table, the device can have more than one parent device and the interface in which the dumpconf component is used gives more than one entry. The component is trying to add the same entry more than once.

Workaround. To fix this problem, the key should be unique by assigning the device name, device unit number, device type, parent name, and parent port number as a key in the table.


PDC Stops Collecting Switch Data if 1 of 2 Switches Fails (251651)

If one of two switches fails (on systems with level 2 topology), the remaining switch is unable to collect data. If the switch returns an error status, or if the fabric has only one switch and this switch is physically removed, PDC returns the error, "Can't Update Row."

Workaround: If the switch was removed, use devctl command to deconfigure the fabric device and restart the collector. If the switch returns an error status, restart the collector.


PDC "Fails to Start" Message on Bootup (251107)

Though the PDC daemon is started, the PDC startup script on system boot up gives the error message, "ptx/PDC could not be started." This message can be ignored.

The startup script starts PDC daemon in background and immediately checks that it has started. Since the PDC daemon takes some time to start, the startup script does not find 'pdcd' process and gives the above error message.


PDC SVM Component Has Wrong Product Name and Version in EES Messages (251957)

EES messages coming from the SVM component have the wrong product name and version number. The product name should be ptx/SVM instead of ptx/PDC and the version string should be V2.2.1 instead of V1.3.


Fixed Problem Reports

The following list shows fixed problems in ptx/PDC V1.4.0:

(247324) Add more message queue and semaphore stats to PDC.

(248647) raw_reads should be removed or renamed from PDC.


Special Instructions for EMC Symmetrix Metrics

ptx/PDC collects EMC Symmetrix metrics through use of a software product from EMC Corporation called the Symmetrix API Runtime and CLI. This product requires additional setup and configuration beyond installation of the ptx/PDC software. The EMC software must be installed and configured prior to using ptx/PDC in order for ptx/PDC to discover and collect EMC metrics.


ATTENTION

The Symmetrix API Runtime and CLI feature that ptx/PDC uses to collect metrics requires a license key from EMC. Please contact EMC for licensing information (http://www.emc.com).


The Symmetrix API Runtime and CLI feature is distributed with EMC's Symmetrix Manager - Base Component product (V4.0.0 and higher) on the Solutions Enabler CD-ROM. The installation process for the software is described in the EMC Solutions Enabler Installation Procedures Product Guide. Use and administration of the software is described in the EMC Solutions Enabler SYMCLI Base Component Product Guide. Contact EMC Corporation to obtain the software and its documentation.