Integrate CCMS Metrics into MAI: System-Wide Job Queue Length

In this example, you integrate CCMS metric Number of Waiting Jobs (System-Wide) into technical monitoring. The metric states the number of jobs which are authorized and ready to run, across all background servers, for which there is no free background work process. It is a central overview statistic of the background processing in your system. If, for example, there are problems with one background server, a short system-wide queue length would indicate that it is only a local problem on this server.

You can display this metric in the Alert Monitor, e.g. in the Background Processing monitor.

Integration

This section is an example of the Extend Monitoring and Alerting Infrastructure with CCMS Metrics process. This process shows how you can extend technical monitoring with additional, previously not monitored CCMS metrics.

Activities

The integration of the CCMS metric into the Monitoring and Alerting Infrastructure (MAI) comprises several steps, which are described consecutively below:

Determine CCMS metric attributes

To integrate the CCMS metric into MAI, you need a set of technical attributes of this metric (this step, and its attributes, are described under Determine CCMS Metric Attributes). You need the following attributes:

MTE class
Object name, if the metric occurs more than once per context
Context name
MTE Type
Granularity
Instance-specific or system-wide

To determine these attributes for the metric, proceed as follows:

Start the Alert Monitor (transaction RZ20) in a managed ABAP system, and start the SAP CCMS Monitor Templates Background Processing monitor.
Expand the monitor paths Background Processing System Wide Background BackgroundService , and select the node System Wide Queue Length. Choose Attributes.

The Monitoring: Attributes and Methods screen displays most of the required attributes. The name of the MTE class is R3BPSystemWideQueueLen, the long name of the node is:

<System-ID>\Background\BackgroundService\SystemWideQueueLength

Results:

Attribute	Value
MTE class	R3BPSystemWideQueueLen
Context	Background, so it is a system-wide metric (the contact for instance-specific metrics is the instance name)
Object Name	BackgroundService Note This is not required because the monitor tree structure indicates that there is only one node with this MTE class per context. End of the note.
MTE Type	Performance attribute, so a numeric value is output
Granularity	Select the node in the monitor tree and choose (Show Details), to see in the smoothed performance values for the last 30 minutes that the metric is measured every minute.

You have then determined all required attributes of the CCMS metric.

Determine Collector

To integrate a CCMS metric into MAI, you must specify the data collector and its input parameter for the metric. The collector and its input parameter value depend on the CCMS metric attributes that you determined.

This step is described under Determine the Collector. Use the data collector CCMS System wide MTEs, because the metric has the following attributes:

It is an system-wide metric.
The metric delivers a numerical value.
The object name is not relevant.

The input parameters are as follows:

Parameter ID	Parameter value
GRANULARITY	5 minutes, not less, because the MAI calls the collectors every five minutes
MTE_CLASS	R3BPSystemWideQueueLen
OBJECT_NAME	The object name is not relevant, so no entry is required here.

Create Customer Template

MAI metrics, whether delivered by SAP or created by customers, are in templates in technical monitoring, so to create a metric, you must first create a customer template in der SAP Solution Manager Configuration (this and the next step are described in Creating MAI Metrics from CCMS Metrics). To do so, proceed as follows:

Start SAP Solution Manager Configurations (transaction SOLMAN_SETUP).
Go to Technicals Monitoring, the monitoring use case System Monitoring, and step Template Management.
Switch to editing mode.
Expand the type of the managed object and product for which you want to create a custom template, in the Templates navigation bar. For this system-wide metric, it is Technical System SAP ABAP 7.00 - 7.03
If you have not yet created a suitable template, select this SAP-delivered template, and choose Create Customer Template. Enter a name in the Name field, for example Other CCMS Metrics.
Save the template.

You have now created a customer template. Create the metric in this template.

Create New Metric

You are in Template Management, and have created a customer template. Create a new MAI metric in this template:

Go to edit mode, and then to expert mode.
To create a new metric, choose Create Metric . A customer metric creation wizard starts.

Enter the general attributes of the new metric in the Overview tab:

Attribute	Value
Name	`Number of waiting jobs (system-wide)`
Category	Performance
Class	Metric
Data Type	Whole number
Unit	Entries
Active	Do not change this entry.
Technical Name	`Z_R3BPSYSTEMWIDEQUEUELEN`
Customer description	Enter a description of your metric.

Go to the Data Collection tab. Specify the technical connection to the CCMS metric to be integrated into MAI:

Attribute	Value
Data Collector Type	RFC (Pull)
Data Collector Name	CCMS System-Wide MTEs
Collection interval	5 minutes
Input Parameter Collector	GRANULARITY: 5 Minutes MTE_CLASS: `R3BPSystemWideQueueLen`

Go to the Data Usage tab. Specify the applications for which you use the new metric. The history of the new metric is not required in this example.

Attribute

Value

Send Values to an Event Calculation Engine

Do not change this entry.

Send Values to SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse

Leave this flag inactive.

Attribute	Value
Send Values to an Event Calculation Engine	Do not change this entry.
Send Values to SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse	Leave this flag inactive.

Go to the Threshold Value tab. Specify the threshold types and values for the new metric:

Attribute	Value
Threshold Value Type	Numeric Threshold (GtoY/YtoR/RtoY/YtoG)
Monitored Value Trigger at Value	Do not change these entries.
Threshold values	Copy the threshold values from CCMS: Switch from GREEN to YELLOW: `2` Switch from YELLOW to RED: `4` Switch back from RED to YELLOW: `2` Switch back from YELLOW to GREEN: `1`

Attribute

Value

Threshold Value Type

Numeric Threshold (GtoY/YtoR/RtoY/YtoG)

Monitored Value

Trigger at Value

Do not change these entries.

Threshold values

Copy the threshold values from CCMS:

Switch from GREEN to YELLOW: 2
Switch from YELLOW to RED: 4
Switch back from RED to YELLOW: 2
Switch back from YELLOW to GREEN: 1

Go to the Validity tab. Do not enter a value.
Go to the second step (Assignments) of the customer metric creation wizard. You can assign an alert to the metric. Skip this step because there is not yet a suitable alert for the new metric. Choose Finish, to complete the creation of the metric.
Save the template.

Create an alert for the new metric

No alert is yet assigned to your new metric. To create an alert in this template, proceed as follows (the descriptions of this and the next step are under Creating Alert Types for the New MAI Metrics):

Choose Create Alert . A customer alert creation wizard starts.

Enter the general attributes of the new alert in the Overview tab:

Attribute	Value
Name	`Number of waiting jobs (system-wide) is too large`
Category	Performance
Severity	5 - Medium
Do not group occurrences	Do not change this entry.
Active	Do not change this entry.
Technical Name	`ZA_R3BPSYSTEMWIDEQUEUELEN`
Customer description	Enter a description of your alert.

Do not change the settings in the Messages, Notifications, Third-Party Components and Auto-Reactions tabs. These settings are then copied into the template.
In the Rule tab, you specify how the alert color is determined if the alert has several metrics assigned to it. Do not change the value Worst Case Rule.
Go to the second step (Assignments) of the customer alert creation wizard. You can assign a metric to the alert. Choose the Spool Service Queue Usage metric created above.
Choose Finish, to complete the creation of the alert.
Save your template.

Rename New Event

You have created an alert for your new metric. The system generates a consolidation event with the same name as the alert, automatically. As the event is displayed independently of the status in technical monitoring, change the name. Proceed as follows:

Go to the Metrics, Events, Alert Hierarchy tab.
Find the newly created alert Number of Waiting Jobs (System-Wide) Too Large, and expand its subtree. The automatically created consolidation event is below the alert.
Choose the consolidation event of the alert, and name it Number of Waiting Jobs (System-Wide).
Save your template.

Assign and activate template

You have made the required changes to the customer template. To use the new metric and its alert in technical monitoring, assign the template to managed objects, and activate the assignment. This is described in Using Templates.

Go to SAP Solution Manager Configuration step Define Scope.
Select ABAP systems whose metrics you want to monitor, and go to the next step (Monitoring Setup).
Choose Assign Templates for all technical systems, and for the product SAP ABAP Basis choose the previously created template Other CCMS Metrics.
Activate the assignment with Copy and Activate All Managed Objects .

Result

You have performed all steps required to integrate a CCMS metric into MAI; the metric is displayed in the Technical Monitoring work center.

Start System Monitoring of the ABAP systems to which you have assigned your template. The metric is in the technical instances, under Start of the navigation path System Thtoughput Next navigation step Number of Waiting Jobs (System-Wide) End of the navigation path .