Serena StarTool APM - Application Performance Manager
It is said that today's eBusiness customers and prospects are only a click away from your competitor's
web site. Today's users no longer tolerate poor response time for eBusiness transactions. In addition, 
today's companies must be agile and move quickly to take advantage of the ever-changing landscape of
new eBusiness technologies. Good response time and good turnaround time are key requirements for
companies that expect to be leaders in this new paradigm.
Serena StarTool APM, Application Performance Manager, (formerly known as StarProbe) product is a performance measurement and analysis system that helps to resolve OS/390 job performance issues, whether those jobs are applications, subsystems or tasks. Serena StarTool APM provides performance statistics on any job you want to monitor. By using Serena StarTool APM, you can immediately focus your activities on tuning specific areas of an application, thereby improving productivity and meeting the challenges demanded by eBusiness applications.
Serena StarTool APM is a Robust Application Performance Manager
Serena StarTool APM offers not only a real-time bottleneck analysis feature, but also a historical
analysis function to help quickly resolve application performance problems. Serena StarTool APM collects 
samples from the monitored address space and reports activity in a variety of ways. Sampled information
is displayed in the real-time monitor, performance records are generated, then written to disk for
historical and trend analysis.
Serena StarTool APM Reports the Metrics You Need
Serena StarTool APM reports the CPU utilization of all modules in the address space, CSECT utilization in each load module, instruction or statement utilization in each CSECT, and COBOL utilization within each COBOL module. In addition, Serena StarTool APM provides the wait time, wait reasons, and I/O utilization percentages. These metrics help you quickly locate the sources of software performance problems.
Use Serena StarTool APM in Real Time or on a Schedule
Serena StarTool APM has two modes of operation: real time using ISPF as the interface, and batch mode, where performance records are written to disk for analysis later. For online or DBMS applications, use Serena StarTool APM in real time mode to monitor why users are experiencing a slow-down in response time. Serena StarTool APM is able to discover where the delays are occurring in the code, whether the delay is waiting for I/O operations to complete, whether the application is in some error-analysis processing, or whether the application is delayed processing some other type of request.
In batch mode, the analyst can provide Serena StarTool APM parameters that cause it to monitor specific jobs by jobname, by date, by time-of-day, and even for a specific time period. Serena StarTool APM can be started in the normal start-up mode of the mainframe processor, and will wait until the appropriate time to begin monitoring the job or set of jobs based on user-provided parameters. Serena StarTool APM can even be set up to "sleep" until the job that is to be monitored begins execution. When the job begins execution, Serena StarTool APM will "wake up" and will then write performance records out to disk to be processed to detect where the bottlenecks occur in the specified jobs. In this manner, the analyst does not have to be present to physically watch over the monitored jobs while still obtaining the information needed to solve even the most complex performance problems.
Easy to Use
Serena StarTool APM is very easy to use. Programs don't need to be recompiled, re-linked or have their JCL changed in any manner for Serena StarTool APM monitoring. Real time analysis provides rapid insight into potential problems without a wait for historical results. Time-Activated Monitoring lets you monitor an application's performance during the time it is experiencing the problem. Historical data and reports help you analyze trends or can be used to measure the impact of changes. The Performance Synopsis provides extensive application performance analysis using printed reports. Both experienced and inexperienced users will benefit from the powerful functionality offered by Serena StarTool APM.
StarProbe Works
Serena StarTool APM can be used safely in both test and production environments. It uses a low-impact sampling technology so it runs with very low processor overhead. It contains an online, instantaneous monitoring and measurement function for real-time bottleneck analysis, as well as a project oriented performance management functionality. Serena StarTool APM provides you with responsive and speedy information needed to make your applications deliver the best performance possible.
Use Serena StarTool Products for a Full Solution
Serena StarTool is a family of products that provide extensive support for enhancing OS/390 application availability. This set of products address key areas in the life cycle of an application, including the areas of File and Data Management, Testing and Debugging, Fault Diagnostics, and Performance Monitoring and Improvement. This suite of products automate the most common and re-occuring programming tasks in the successful implementation and operation of eBusiness applications on the OS/390 platform.
StarTool is a registered trademark of SERENA Software, Inc. Serena is a trademark of SERENA Software, Inc. All other products or company names are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.