Image systems define the MVS™ systems
where your CICS® and other related
systems run. They are usually identified by their MVS SMF ID but you can assign a unique arbitrary
name to identify Images.
You can define SMF files to Image systems. These files contain
the data for the CICS, DB2®, MQ and
Logger systems that belong to this Image. When an Image is selected
for report processing, all systems with data on the Image's SMF files
are reported.
Image systems have some special characteristics:
- Images can be used to further qualify CICS, DB2, MQ and Logger systems. For example, CICS region CICSD1 runs on Image DEV1. Using
Image to qualify your systems allows you to:
- Distinguish between systems with same name but run on different
images.
- Specify your SMF files once only. When SMF files are defined
to an Image, other systems that belong to the Image use these files
if they don't have their own specified. This saves the duplication
of assigning files to every system that needs them.
- Images implicitly define all the systems that run on them. This
allows you to just define the Image without defining the CICS and other systems that run on it. You
can request reporting for any CICS system
qualified by the Image but not explicitly defined in your System Definitions. CICS PA assumes
that the report data for the CICS system
is contained in the Image's files.
For example, CICS regions CICSP1, CICSP2 and CICSP3 run on MVS Image MVS1. You can decide to
only define Image MVS1 to CICS PA and
not the CICS regions. The regions
are still eligible for reporting. When you request reporting for CICS system CICSP1 qualified by
Image MVS1, CICS PA generates
report requests for APPLID CICSP1, and assumes that the SMF Files
defined to Image MVS1 contain the data for CICSP1.