Display Active Users panel (DA)

The Display Active Users (DA) panel allows authorized users to display information about jobs, users, started tasks, and initiators that are active in the sysplex. It also shows system data, such as CPU usage and paging information.
In a JES3 environment, the DA panel requires RMF. In a JES2 environment, RMF is required for sysplex-wide data and some columns and actions.
Note: Some of the values on the DA panel, such as CPU% and SIO, are approximate. For detailed and precise performance monitoring, use RMF.

Command keyword

Access the DA panel with the DA command from any SDSF panel.

Customizing the display with parameters

The parameters shown in Table 1 allow you to customize the DA display as follows:
  • Types of address spaces: jobs (JOB), TSO users (TSU), started tasks (STC), or initiators (INIT).
  • Positions of address spaces: swapped in (IN), swapped out (OUT), in transition (TRANS), or ready (READY).
The parameter usage is as follows:
  • Position and Type parameters include those address spaces.
  • Only parameters limit the display to those types or positions. Use only one parameter from this column.
  • No parameters exclude those types or positions.
  • All parameters show all address spaces, or all types (ALLT) or positions (ALLP). They cannot be used with other parameters.
For example, the following command displays only address spaces that are swapped in (OIN), not including TSO users (NOTSU): 
DA OIN NOTSU
Note: The maximum number of parameters is four. The information displayed may also be limited by your authorization, and by settings for filters such as FILTER, PREFIX, and SYSNAME. When parameters conflict, the last one is used.
Table 1. DA Parameters
Position Type Only No All
IN JOB OJOB NOJOB ALL
OUT TSU OTSU NOTSU ALLT
TRANS STC OSTC NOSTC ALLP
READY INIT OINIT NOINIT  
    OIN NOIN  
    OOUT NOOUT  
    OTRANS NOTRANS  
    OREADY NOREADY  

DA command action characters

The action characters for the DA command are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. DA Command Action Characters
Action Character Description
// Block repeat; type // on the first row and another // on the last row to be processed.
= Repeat previous action character or overtype.
+(n) Expand the NP column; n is 4-20. (Use RESET to reset.)
%(exec) Run a REXX exec. (ISPF only)
/ Show column values for row (ISPF only).
A Release a held job.
C Cancel a job. For JES3, also process output data sets. You can add:
  • A - Job that is defined to Automatic Restart Manager (ARM)
  • D - And take a dump
  • DA - Job that is defined to ARM, and take a dump
  • DP - And take a dump but do not purge the job's output (JES3 only).
  • P - And print data sets ready for printing (JES3 only).
D Display job information in the log. You can add:
  • E - Line, page, record and card counts (JES3 only).
  • L - Long form
  • SD - DDNAMES of spool data sets that contain data (JES3 only).
  • SH - DDNAMES of spool data sets in spool hold that contain data (JES3 only).
  • SP - Spool partition name (JES3 only).
  • X - Extended (JES3 only).
E Process a job again. You can add (JES2 only):
  • C - Cancel and hold the job prior to execution
  • S - After the current step completes
  • SH - After the current step completes, restart and hold
H Hold a job.
JD Display the job's use of devices. (Access the Job Device panel.)
JM Display the job's use of memory. (Access the Job Memory panel.)
Start of changeJMOEnd of change Start of changeDisplay the memory objects owned by the job. (Access the Job Memory Objects Panel.)End of change
JS Display the job steps. (Access the Job Step panel.)
JY Display reasons for delay. (Access the Job Delay panel.)
K Cancel an address space using the MVS CANCEL command.
KD Cancel an address space and take a dump using MVS CANCEL.
L List output status of a job in the log. For JES3, this is job output in the writer queue. You can add:
  • B - SNA/NJE output (JES3 only).
  • H - Output on the hold queue (JES3 only).
  • L - Long form
  • T - TCP/IP job output (JES3 only).
Start of changeNEnd of change Start of changeInvokes the ENQ panel to display data sets for the selected address space. Shows locally-held enqueues even when the job is running on a remote system.End of change
P Cancel a job and purge its output.
PP Cancel a protected job and purge its output (JES2 only).
Q Display output descriptors for all of the data sets in an output group.
R Reset and resume a job. (RMF)
RQ Reset and quiesce a job. (RMF)
S Display the data sets for a job. You can add:
  • B - Use ISPF Browse
  • E - Use ISPF Edit
  • J - Use ISPF Edit to edit the JCL
  • n - Number of the data set where browsing starts
Start of changeSVEnd of change Start of changeISPF view.End of change
W Cause job and message logs to spin. (RMF)
X Print output data sets. You can add:
  • C - Close the print file after printing (XC)
  • D - Display the Open Print Data Set panel (XD or XDC)
  • F - Display the Open Print File panel (XF or XFC)
  • S - Display the Open Print panel (XS or XSC)
Y Stop a started task (system stop). (RMF)
Z Cancel an address space using the MVS FORCE command.
? Display a list of data sets for a job. (Access the Job Data Set panel.)

Columns on the DA panel

The columns on the DA panel are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Columns on the DA Panel
Column Name Title (Displayed) Width Description Delay
JNAME JOBNAME 8 Job name. This is the fixed field. It is ignored if coded on an FLD statement or ISFFLD macro.  
STEPN StepName 8 Job step name (TSO logon procedure name for TSO users)  
PROCS ProcStep 8 Procedure step name (terminal ID for TSO users)  
JTYPE Type 1 4 Type of address space  
JNUM JNum1 6 JES job number  
JOBID JobID 8 JES job ID  
OWNERID Owner 8 User ID of job owner, or default values of ++++++++ or ????????, if user ID not defined to RACF®  
JCLASS C 1 or 8 JES input class at the time the job was selected for execution. Default width expands to 8 if there are long class names in the MAS.  
POS Pos 3 Address space position  
DP DP 2 Address space dispatching priority in hexadecimal  
REAL Real 4 Current real storage usage in frames  
PAGING Paging 6 Demand paging rate for address space  
EXCPRT SIO 6 EXCP rate in EXCPs per second for address space. The value is approximate, and derived from this calculation: the job delta EXCP count (from RMF or the ASCB) divided by the total time interval.  
CPUPR CPU% 2 6 Percent of CPU time consumed by and on behalf of the address space during the most recent interval measured  
ASID ASID 4 Address space identifier  
ASIDX ASIDX 5 Address space identifier in hexadecimal  
EXCP EXCP-Cnt 9 Accumulated EXCP count for the current job step for the address space. Uses hexadecimal scaling.  
CPU CPU-Time 10 Accumulated CPU time consumed by and on behalf of the address space, for the current job step, in seconds  
SWAPR SR 2 Swap out reason code  
STATUS Status 6 JES job status  
SYSNAME RMF SysName 8 System name where job is executing  
SPAGING RMF SPag 4 System demand paging rate for system that the job is executing on. The value is the same for all rows for a system.  
SCPU RMF SCPU% 5 System CPU percentage for system that is processing the job. The value is the same for all rows for a system.  
WORKLOAD RMF Workload 8 Workload name  
SRVCLASS RMF SrvClass 8 Service class name  
PERIOD RMF SP 2 Service class period  
RESGROUP RMF ResGroup 8 Resource group name  
SERVER RMF Server 8 Server indicator (resource goals are not being honored)  
QUIESCE RMF Quiesce 7 Quiesce indicator (address space is quiesced)  
ECPU RMF ECPU-Time 10 Total CPU time consumed by and within the address space, for the current job step, in seconds  
ECPUPR RMF ECPU% 6 CPU usage by and within the address space  
CPUCRIT RMF CPUCrit 7 Current address space CPU-protection  
STORCRIT RMF StorCrit 8 Current address space storage protection  
RPTCLASS RMF RptClass 8 Report class  
MEMLIMIT RMF MemLimit 8 Memory limit  
TRANACT RMF Tran-Act 10 Elapsed time the transaction has been active  
TRANRES RMF Tran-Res 10 Elapsed time the transaction was swapped in  
SPIN RMF Spin 4 Indicator of whether job can be spun  
SECLABEL SecLabel 8 Security label of the address space  
GCPTIME RMF GCP-Time 8 Accumulated general processor service time, in seconds  
ZAAPTIME RMF zAAP-Time 9 Accumulated IBM zEnterprise Application Assist Processor (zAAP) service time, in seconds  
ZAAPCPTM RMF zACP-Time 9 CPU time consumed on general processors by work that was eligible for a zAAP, in seconds  
GCPUSE RMF GCP-Use% 8 Percent of the total general processor time used by the address space in the most recent interval  
ZAAPUSE RMF zAAP-Use% 9 Percent of the total zAAP time used by the address space in the most recent interval  
SZAAP RMF SzAAP% 6 zAAP view of CPU use for the system, in the most recent interval. The value is the same for all rows for a system.  
SZIIP RMF SzIIP% 6 IBM z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP) utilization for the system that is processing the job. This is a system value and so is the same for all rows for a system.  
PROMOTED RMF Promoted 8 Indicates whether the address space is currently promoted due to a chronic resource contention  
ZAAPNTIM RMF zAAP-NTime 10 Normalized zAAP service time, in seconds  
ZIIPTIME RMF zIIP-Time 9 CPU time consumed on zIIPs, in seconds  
ZIIPCPTMRMF zICP-Time 9 CPU time consumed on general processors by work that was eligible for a zIIP, in seconds  
ZIIPNTIM RMF zIIP-NTime 10 Normalized zIIP service time, in seconds  
ZIIPUSE RMF zIIP-Use% 9 Percent of the total zIIP time used by the address space in the most recent interval  
SLCPU RMF SLCPU% 6 Percentage of time the LPAR is busy for the system, in the most recent interval. The value for SLCPU% is the same for all rows for a system.  
IOPRIOGRPRMF IOPrioGrp 9 WLM I/O priority group  
JOBCORR JobCorrelator 32 User portion of the job correlator (JES2 only)  
TRESGROUP TenantResGroup 14 Tenant resource group indicator (YES or NO, RMF)  
Start of changeESRBTIMEHSFEnd of change Start of changeESRB-TimeEnd of change Start of change9End of change Start of changeEnclave CPU time.End of change Start of change End of change
Start of changeCPULIMITHSFEnd of change Start of changeCPU-LimitEnd of change Start of change9End of change Start of changeCPU time limit.End of change Start of change End of change
Start of changeREUSHSFEnd of change Start of changeReusEnd of change Start of change4End of change Start of changeReusable address space (yes or no).End of change Start of change End of change
Start of changeSYSLEVELHSFEnd of change Start of changeSysLevelEnd of change Start of change25End of change Start of changeLevel of the operating system.End of change Start of change End of change
Start of changeISFENDEnd of change Start of change.ENDEnd of change Start of change4End of change Start of changeEnd of list marker. All columns that appear after this column will be hidden. Ignored if specified on the ISFFLD macro in ISFPARMS. The title and width cannot be changed using the FLDENT statement or through the ARRANGE command.End of change Start of change End of change
Notes on the table:
  1. Not included in the default field list.
  2. SDSF calculates the value for the CPU% column. It is the ratio between the CPU time used by one job and the CPU time used by all jobs, in the interval between times that the user presses Enter.
  3. Columns with information for zAAPs and zIIPs are shown only if at least one of the appropriate specialized processors (zAAP or zIIP) has been configured for a system that is within the scope of the systems being shown on the panel. Note that changing the systems being shown (with the SYSNAME or FILTER commands) once the DA panel is displayed does not affect whether SDSF includes or omits the column.
  4. HSF indicates the column requires the HSF data gatherer running in SDSFAUX.

Address space positions

The address space positions are shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Address Space Positions
When RMF is installed When RMF is not installed
IN In storage IN Swapped in
PR Privileged OUT Swapped out
NS Non-swappable N/S Non-swappable
WM Wait queue/MSO <-> In transition
WT Wait queue/terminal wait  
WL Wait queue/long wait  
WO Wait queue/other  
DL Out queue/delayed  
LO Logically swapped out  
OT Swapped out and ready  
>> Transitioning out  
<< Transitioning in  

Swap-out reason codes

The swap-out reason codes are shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Swap-Out Reason Codes
Code Description
AW APPC WAIT (swapped out, because waiting for APPC services
DW Detected wait
EX CAP exchange
IC Improve central storage usage
IP Improve system paging rate
IW OMVS input wait
LW Long wait
MR Make room for a user who has been swapped out too long
NQ CAP enqueue
RQ Request swap
RS Central storage shortage
SR In-real swap
TI Terminal input
TO Terminal output
TS Transition swap
US CAP uni-swap
XS Auxiliary storage shortage
00 Unknown

Server values

The server values are shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Server Values
Value Description
Yes Address space is a server
No Address space is not a server
TEMP-AFF Address space is a server with affinities
N/A Address space is not managed based on transaction response times (z/OS V1R12 and below)
EXEMPTED Address space is not managed based on response times (z/OS V1R13 and above)
REG-SERV Address space is managed towards its region goals and completed transactions are used to manage the server

CPU title line fields

You may see one, two or three values depending on your configuration. If three values are shown, the label preceding the values indicates the order. All three values are obtained from RMF.
MVS view
The first value, or the only value if just one is present. It is the best indicator of a CPU bottleneck. It is calculated as: 

CPU-time                                                       
----------- * 100                                              
online-time
LPAR view

The second value, if present. It takes into account several states related to PR/SM. A value of *** indicates that RMF Monitor I CPU Report is not active.

zAAP view
The third value, if present. It is calculated as: 

SUM(zAAP partition dispatch time)                            
------------------------------------- x 100                   
SUM(zAAP online time)
It requires that a zAAP is defined and RMF is being used.

The guidelines for CPU-busy vary. For example, in a batch environment, a value of 100 may not indicate a problem. For details, see the discussion of CPU Activity in z/OS RMF Report Analysis.

The values on the title line are for the system you are logged on to. CPU utilization for other systems is displayed in the SCPU% and SzAAP% columns.

CPU% column

This value is calculated by SDSF. It is calculated as: 

CPU time used by the job                                   
-------------------------- x CPU-busy                      
CPU time used by all jobs

CPU times are for the interval. That is, between times the user presses Enter.

By default, CPU-busy is the MVS value, though it may have been changed to the LPAR value for your installation.

This value is approximate.

GCPU-Use%, zAAP-Use and zIIP-Use% columns

GCPU-Use%, zAAP-Use and zIIP-Use% columns are calculated by SDSF as follows: 

general CPU, zAAP or zIIP time used by the job               
----------------------------------------------- x 100        
general CPU, zAAP or zIIP time used by all jobs

Unlike the value for the CPU% column, these values are not normalized (multiplied by CPU-busy).

The values are approximate.

The times are for the interval. That is, between times the user presses Enter.

CPU-Time and ECPU-Time columns

SDSF obtains the values for these columns from RMF, as follows:
CPU-Time = ASCBEJST + ASCBSRBT + ASSBASST (source field R791TCPU)     
 ECPU-Time = ASCBEJST + ASCBSRBT + ASSBPHTM (source field R791TCPC)
where
  • ASCBEJST is elapsed job step time.
  • ASCBSRBT is accumulated SRB time.
  • ASSBASST is the CPU time consumed by preemptible class SRBs running on behalf of this address space, in milliseconds.
  • ASSBPHTM is the CPU time consumed by preemptible class SRBs running in this address space, in milliseconds (threads plus enclaves)

GCP-Time, zAAP-Time and zACP-Time columns

GCP-Time, zAAP-Time and zACP-Time are not normalized. SDSF obtains the values for these columns from RMF:
GCP-Time   source field is R791TCPU                         
zAAP-Time  source field is R791TIFA                         
zACP-Time  source field is R791TIFC
zAAP-NTime is normalized to the slower CP, to facilitate comparing values. The normalization uses fields from RMF, as follows:

R791TIFA x R791NFFI                                         
-------------------                                         
      256

zIIP-Time and zICP-Time columns

zIIP-Time and zICP-Time are not normalized. SDSF obtains the values for these columns from RMF:
zIIP-Time  source field is R791TSUP                           
zICP-Time  source field is R791TSUC
zIIP-NTime is normalized to the slower CP, to facilitate comparing values. The normalization uses fields from RMF, as follows:

R791TSUP x R791NFFS                                           
-------------------                                           
      256

SIO fields

Title line (if present): The value for SIO is calculated as:

total SIOs                                                  
-------------------                                         
total time interval
Column: The value is calculated as: 

job delta EXCP count (from RMF or the ASCB)                 
--------------------                                        
total time interval
This value is approximate.

Scaling and abbreviations for values

When a value is too large to fit in the available space, SDSF scales the value using the following abbreviations:
  • K Kilo (hexadecimal scaling)
  • T Thousands (decimal scaling) or Tera (hexadecimal scaling)
  • M Millions (decimal scaling) or Mega (hexadecimal scaling)
  • B Billions (decimal scaling)
  • G Giga (hexadecimal scaling)
  • P Peta (hexadecimal scaling)
  • KB Kilobytes
  • MB Megabytes
  • GB Gigabytes
  • TB Terabytes
  • PB Petabytes

Changing the width of the column, with the ARRANGE command, affects the scaling.

When filtering on columns that use binary abbreviations (KB, MB, and so on) you can enter either a number or a number with the abbreviation. For example, 4096 and 4MB are both valid with entering a filter, though SDSF always displays the value as 4MB.

Overtypeable fields

The following fields can be overtyped by authorized users:
  • SrvClass - Service class name
  • Quiesce - Quiesce indicator (QUIESCE or RESUME)

Overtyping these fields causes an MVS RESET command to be issued. SDSF appends an RO command if the MVS command is targeted for another system.