A fix is available
APAR status
Closed as program error.
Error description
The itm data provider expects a CTTIMESTAMP atribute to return a 16 character timestamp for formatting. Some ITM agents will return a timestamp of 0 for some attributes which will cause this problem. If the agent returns just a zero, which is a single character, this is viewed as an invalid timestamp. The data provider then returns a timestamp of "Nov 30, 1999 12:00:00 AM". The fix for this APAR will be the data provider returning a "--" string instead of the Nov 30, 1999 date. RECREATE INSTRUCTIONS: In this case, the timestamps are from TCPIP Application data from the OMEGAMON for Mainframe Networks agent. The timestamp attributes are "HWMTM" (Time stamp for Active Connections High Water Mark) and "BCKLOGRETM" (Backlog Connections Rejected Time Stamp). It is possible for both of these attributes to have no displayable data on the TEP, if the condition they report on has never occurred for the resource. In that case, the Mainframe Networks agent defaults the value of the attribute to a string of zeroes. When displaying these timestamps in a DASH widget using data queried from the ITMcDP, this case results in the "zero" timestamps being shown as "1999-11-30 00:00:00".
Local fix
Problem summary
Some ITM monitoring agents return timestamp attribute values consisting of all zeros to represent values that are not applicable for that particular resource or element in the collected sample. Values of these types would normally be shown as "N/A", "Not Applicable", or perhaps "Unknown" if displayed in a TEP workspace. For dashboards constructed using DASH, however, these same timestamp values show up as "1999-11-30 00:00:00", which is confusing. Moreover, there is no external customer-facing documentation that indicates how these unusual timestamp values are to be interpreted. This display issue will occur under the following conditions: 1) The customer is viewing a dashboard constructed and displayed using DASH. 2) The dashboard displays timestamp atributes where the value originally provided by the monitoring agent contains all zero digits. Under these two conditions, the value of the timestamp shown in the dashboard will be "1999-11-30 00:00:00". This issue was originally reported for application data associated with the OMEGAMON for Mainframe Networks product. The timestamp attributes are "HWMTM" (Active Connections High Water Mark Timestamp) and "BCKLOGRETM" (Backlog Connections Rejected Timestamp). However, any data provided by any ITM monitoring agent that satisfies the two conditions listed previously will also be displayed with the same erroneous timestamp value in the DASH dashboard; so this issue is not restricted to the OMEGAMON for Mainframe Networks solution. In addition, this problem is not restricted to any particular server platform, but applicable to all platforms supported by the ITM TEPS component.
Problem conclusion
The APAR fix involved an update to the Dashboard Data Provider component that is associated with the TEPS. This is the component that supports retrieval of ITM agent metrics by dashboards constucted with DASH. The data provider was updated to recognize these special "all zeros" timestamp values returned by the monitoring agent, and if detected, mark that partcular field as logically containing no value. This special marking then informs the user interface component(s) that no value should be displayed for that particular field shown in the dashboard. The fix for this APAR is contained in the following maintenance packages: | fix pack | 6.3.0-TIV-ITM-FP0007
Temporary fix
Comments
APAR Information
APAR number
IV82531
Reported component name
TEPS
Reported component ID
5724C04PS
Reported release
630
Status
CLOSED PER
PE
NoPE
HIPER
NoHIPER
Special Attention
NoSpecatt / Xsystem
Submitted date
2016-03-09
Closed date
2016-11-18
Last modified date
2017-01-06
APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:
APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:
Fix information
Fixed component name
TEPS
Fixed component ID
5724C04PS
Applicable component levels
[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSTFXA","label":"Tivoli Monitoring"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"630","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]
Document Information
Modified date:
08 March 2023