How many DRAS threads should be allocated for CA Web Viewer 12.1?

Products

• Output Management Web Viewer

Issue/Introduction

How many "Threads" are to be allocated is a task best left to the DRAS/Web Viewer System Administrator. How do I know if I have enough DRAS threads allocated for my 12.1 Web Viewer use? How do DRAS Threads work?

Environment

DRAS - z/OS

Resolution

The threads setting, sets the number of Task Control Blocks (TCBs) in a “pool” that handle DRAS processing requests.  Normally, these requests take only milliseconds to complete, so you could have 20 users logged in and working at the same time with their requests all being handled by only the first TCB in the pool (if no large data requests are made).  Only when requests are being processed simultaneously will the Thread count (also seen in a DRASLOG  where Message Suppression = OFF, as the conid(nn) number) and the High Water Mark number increase.

So by way of example, if your max concurrent Thread usage is only 5, DRAS would not require any more threads to handle the user requests up to that point in time. Under normal circumstances however, large data requests and long running report activities may be the norm rather than the exception. 

Additional Information

Rules of Thumb:

For systems where there are 100 concurrent users and/or large and long running report actions are common, it is recommended to use at least 32 threads, in each DRAS task. 

To determine the number of concurrent users, turn Message Suppression OFF, and review the CA DRAS task log for the high number in the “conid(nn)” messages. 

If the conid high numbers are close to the Threads setting, then Threads should be further increased.