The latest APAR OA66223/PTF UJ95209 was released on June 3rd. As a maintenance update, it was focused primarily on performance, reliability and usability improvements. Existing users of ODP will be required to make configuration updates as this maintenance introduced an improved protocol between ODP Data Broker and ODP Data Connect.
Introduction of Forwarder Protocol Version 2
Prior to this update, the protocol between OMEGAMON Data Broker and OMEGAMON Data Connect sent a single record at a time. This prior version is now known as Version 1. This maintenance update now sends multiple records at a time between OMEGAMON Data Broker and OMEGAMON Data Connect. This Version 2 is the new default protocol. Both Data Broker and Data Connect must be operating at the same version levels for success. Version 2 provides a performance improvement via batch communication. OMEGAMON Data Broker will also queue records (store and forward) should OMEGAMON Data Connect be down or restarting to improve reliability. In Version 1 of the protocol, if OMEGAMON Data Connect was not available, OMEGAMON Data Broker would discard unsent records.
New and Modified Configuration parameters within OMEGAMON Data Broker
1. As a result of the new forwarder protocol version, the parameters PROTOCOL_VERSION and MAX_BATCH_SIZE have been introduced. By default these will be set to Version 2 settings upon service apply.
2. To improve usability, the following parameters are now optional as default settings will be applied from best practices if not established already.
KAY.CIDB.STORE.<store_id>.QUEUE.CAPACITYKAY.CIDB.STORE.<store_id>.CELL.<cell_id>.SIZEKAY.CIDB.STORE.<store_id>.CELL.<cell_id>.CAPACITY
3. With the introduction of new exploiters of ODP, such as Db2 Query Monitor and Db2 Automation Expert, we've determined that each ODP exploiter should have their own STORE setup which ensures that each exploiter can have the best performance and reliability possible. However, they may go to the same sink or OMEGAMON Data Connect server to get to their ultimate analytic platform destination. To simplify describing the individual characteristics of the destination for each store, the parameters that describe a sink are now reusable across multiple stores. The manual has a good example of this reuse.
4. The validation of OMEGAMON Data Broker parameters has also been improved. If errors are found, a new message, KAYB0023W, will be displayed with the details.
Reliability improvements in YAML processing that may be disruptive to existing customers
In prior service, if a YAML syntax error was found, such as poor indentation which didn't allow ODP to recognize a statement, that statement would be ignored and, as a result, that might not be the proper behavior that was expected. Now, processing will stop upon a YAML syntax error detection in either connect.yaml processing for ODP Data Connect and if using OMEGAMON for ODP, within TKANPARU(KAYOPEN) processing. A new command line function, the OMEGAMON Data Provider configuration validator, is available to check the YAML syntax of those files prior to execution.
If existing ODP users have a syntax error that was tolerated in the past, they will need to update/correct the corresponding YAML file to continue processing after this service is applied.
Zowe Cross Memory Server Recommendation
OMEGAMON Data Broker uses the open source Zowe Cross Memory server. Prior documentation has stated that if a business has the Zowe offering deployed, they can use that instance of the Zowe Cross Memory server shipped with Zowe to be the OMEGAMON Data Broker. Actual customer experience has led us to change that recommendation for a variety of reasons. We now recommend that businesses use the version of Zowe Cross Memory server that ships with ODP. It can co-exist with the Zowe Product version. It can also be duplicated for scale, if necessary. Businesses should have a better experience as a result.
Summary
Please watch out for these disruptive changes and take appropriate action upon a service upgrade. ODP continues to evolve. We'd love to hear about your experiences with this offering and are always looking for customer feedback where we can improve the product. Feel free to leave a comment or message me directly. As always, this blog and many other materials associated with OMEGAMON Data Provider are available by checking our Master Blog.
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