Is there a report that shows my Robot/SCHEDULE security setup?
Yes, if you are running Robot/SCHEDULE 9.25 (or higher). Here’s how:

* Make sure the ROBOTLIB library is in your library list

* Go to a command line and enter CALL RBT400

This command generates a report listing Robot/SCHEDULE’s current security setup.

How can I tell which libraries and objects Robot/SAVE is encrypting?
It’s easy:

1. Go to the Robot/SAVE Main Menu and select option 4 (Reports Menu).

2. When the Reports Menu displays, select option 1 (System Reports).

3. Print the report titled “Library and IFS Objects Selected for Encryption Report.”

Robot/SAVE generates a spooled file (RBS441P) listing all libraries and objects that are either set up for encryption globally, or are encrypted only for a specific backup set.

Can Robot/SPACE generate a list of duplicate objects on my system?
Yes. Create a Storage Audit for all libraries and objects. Add the task “List Duplicate Library Objects.” Make sure you select “Print Results of this task” to create a spooled file with the results.

How can I tell SEQUEL to calculate the last day of the current month?
Use this statement:

CVTDATE(YEAR(Current Date),MONTH(Current Date),01)+1 month - 1 day

Updated! Are Help/Systems products compatible with i5/OS V6R1?
Help/Systems is committed to making its products compatible with the new release of i5/OS. We began shipping V6R1-compatible code for most products at the end of April 2008. For more information, download the new Help/FACTS, “Compatibility information for Help/Systems products moving to i5/OS V6R1 (IBM i 6.1)” or contact technical support.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes important new enhancements that will help you manage your disk space even better than before.

Active Job Storage Monitoring
Robot/SPACE monitors the amount of storage used by active jobs. A looping job or a server communication job can consume a large amount of temporary storage and push your disk storage to its capacity, causing a storage crisis. In addition to the job temporary storage monitor that evaluates temporary storage allocated by jobs, Robot/SPACE 3.0 offers two new monitors: Job QTEMP Monitor and Job Spooled File Monitor.

• The Job QTEMP Monitor evaluates the storage allocated by the QTEMP library for active jobs on your system. It notifies you when active jobs are using excessive storage for their QTEMP library. QTEMP libraries are reclaimed automatically by the system when the owning job ends.
• The Job Spooled File Monitor evaluates the storage allocated for spooled files by active jobs on your system and can notify you when active jobs are using excessive storage for spooled files.

In Robot/SPACE 3.0, job monitors now can track detailed information for every threshold exception, in addition to summary information.

For any job monitor, you can define a default job threshold to notify you of problems. Notification can be through a Robot/ALERT message (to an e-mail address, cell phone, or other device), a Robot/NETWORK status message, or a message to a message queue monitored by Robot/CONSOLE, allowing Robot/CONSOLE to run OPAL code to correct the situation.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 provides a new Robot/GUIDE to help you set up the Job Storage Monitors.

Storage Audits
Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes two enhancements to storage audits:

• The Storage Audit properties panel now supports specifying *ALLAVL for the Auxiliary Storage Pool (ASP) Group in addition to a specific ASP or *SYSBAS. Select *SYSBAS to run the audit over objects from available ASPs from 1 to 32. Select *ALLAVL to run the audit from all available ASPs from 1 to 255.
• The Storage Audit History window now allows you to display job information such as job sttributes, job spooled files, and the job log.

Storage Collections
Robot/SPACE provides “collection groups” to collect statistics for objects on your system (type, size, growth, last used date, and so on). You can collect statistics for native System i objects, IFS objects, output queues, and for clients connected to your System i with Robot/CLIENT.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes a number of enhancements to collection groups:

• A new Advanced Options tab includes options for tracking member statistics (logical and/or source members) and using object size filters. Use the object size filters to exclude library object details or IFS file details of objects under a specified size.
• IFS filters now support ASP group restrictions.
• In addition to comparing library and object growth between collection runs, Robot/SPACE 3.0 now can compare members, output queues, IFS files, and IFS directories. You can display these reports from the Collection Explorer, or schedule them in Robot/SCHEDULE from the Collection Reports menu.
• You can create on-demand reports of collection statistics. From the Collection Explorer, you can create collection history reports in PDF, HTML, or text format. Just right-click a library in Collection Group history, select Report, then select All Records or Selected Records.
• You can view job information for collection jobs from the Collection Explorer. Easily look at the job attributes, job spooled files, and the job log for a collection group.

Queries and Reports
Robot/QUERY allows you to create customized graphs and reports from your collection group history by using specific selection and sort criteria. Results are viewable as growth history graphs, growth trend graphs, and/or reports. In Robot/SPACE 3.0 the following enhancements were made to Robot/QUERY:

• A new command, SPCQRYRPT, allows Robot/QUERY reports to be scheduled. Previously, each query had to be run on demand from the Robot/SPACE Explorer.
• The Reports section has additional collection comparison reports that allow you to generate reports to compare members, output queues, IFS files, and IFS directories.

Other Product Enhancements
Robot/SPACE 3.0 also includes the following enhancements:

• The Import/Export function now allows you to move multiple items at one time.
• Role-based product security allows you to create roles (such as administrators, operators, or users) and define what each role is allowed to do. For example, you can define who is allowed to change the setup of collection groups, storage audits, and so on. You also can define those who cannot change, or even view, those functions.
• The Data Filter Manager has been enhanced so you can create, save, and edit filters. When viewing collection group history, the Data Filter Manager makes it easy to view specific data. You can also export filters to other systems using the Import/Export function.

Contributed by Jenny Dischinger and Jeff Pedretti, Technical Consultants

Expands job monitoring, comparisons, and more!

Help/Systems, the world’s leader in automated operations and business intelligence software for the IBM System i, announces the release of Robot/SPACE 3.0, the newest version of its software that automatically monitors and manages IBM System i disk space. Robot/SPACE eliminates disk storage crises by notifying users of potential trouble and provides tools for quickly finding disk storage problems.

Robot/SPACE job monitoring has been expanded to allow users to monitor the storage allocated by their QTEMP libraries and spooled files for active jobs on their system. All three job monitors can track detail information for every threshold exception, and can be configured using Robot/GUIDE.

With Robot/SPACE 3.0, users can compare two collections from the same collection group and list the libraries, objects, IFS directories, IFS files, output queues, or file members that have changed from one collection to the other.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes role-based security to authorize users for using specific product functionality or accessing specific data. The administrator can add, edit, delete, and copy roles, as well as assign users to specific roles.

Users can use On-Demand Reporting to quickly create ad hoc reports of collected records. These reports can be saved as an HTML, text, or PDF file for viewing, printing, or distributing.

For more information about the new release, contact your Help/Systems Regional Sales Manager at 1-800-328-1000 (U.S. and Canada), or your local distributor.

Related PDFs that may of interest

1. Robot/SPACE 3.0 Enhancements

2. Robot/SPACE 3.0 Comparison Checklist

3. Instructions for converting from Robot/SPACE Version 2.0 to Version 3.0

What you need to know about your disk space but were afraid to ask

Robot/SPACE helps you manage your disk space. This article covers some common questions users have and how Robot/SPACE helps you answer them.

Can I tell which job is using my temporary storage?
Robot/SPACE has a monitor job (SPCJTSMON) that monitors job temporary storage. You set the thresholds for both logging and notification. To view all jobs that have exceeded the thresholds, right-click on the Job Temporary Storage Monitor from the Robot/SPACE Explorer and select Threshold History. You can sort the data by Date/Time, Peak Temporary Storage Used, Job Name, and so on.

How do I tell which user profile is responsible for using the most disk space?
The easiest way to find out who is using the most disk space is to display a graph using the Graphs/Trends feature. Right-click on Graphs/Trends and select Display. Select a collection group for the data and choose how to summarize it. Choose Summarize Total Size By Owner to view a pie chart showing the profiles using the most disk space.

Tip: Float your cursor over any piece of the pie chart to display the total amound of disk space used by that profile.

How can I determine where the disk space has gone?
Use the Critical Storage Investigator (CSI). The CSI uses a logical progression to find the source of disk space problems.

1. Open the Critical Storage Investigator by selecting its icon in the toolbar menu. The CSI displays overall ASP utilization levels and any sudden growth.

2. View job temporary storage to see if an out-of-control job is consuming your temporary storage and causing a sudden increase in ASP usage.

3. Review collection statistics to see whether a library or IFS directory has grown more than expected.

4. Run a collection group for current object size statistics.

5. If you haven’t found the problem, run the System Health report. This report lists every system object that has grown by the amount you specify and allows you to pinpoint unusual object growth. It summarizes each library by listing the current size, previous size, previous date, percentage change, and size change.

Can I be notified if an iASP or ASP has grown too quickly?
Robot/SPACE has an ASP monitor job (SPCASPMON) that runs in the RBTSLEEPER subsystem and continually checks ASP and iASP growth. If any thresholds are reached, Robot/ALERT can notify you by sending a message to an e-mail address, cell phone, PDA, or other device. Robot/SPACE can also send a message to a message queue, or send a Robot/NETWORK status message. You can monitor up to three different ASP percent usage thresholds, a growth rate threshold (such as ASP usage grew 15% over the last hour), and unprotected storage use.

Do I have any large unused *SAVF objects?
Robot/SPACE has a storage audit task to delete unused save files. Right-click in the Storage Audit section to add a storage audit. Select the tasks button and select “Delete unused save files.”

Or, you can print the results of the storage audit instead of actually deleting the unused save files. To do this, make sure the “Corrective Action” check box is set to None and the check box to print results from this audit task is selected.

How can I easily copy library statistical data to Excel?
Right-click on a collection to view Collection History. Select the date for which want statistical data and click on the Libraries section. The right panel displays detailed library information. Right-click on the library data and choose Select All. Right-click again and select Copy to Clipboard. You can keep the labels, or not, and paste the results into a blank Excel spreadsheet!

Contributed by Jenny Dischinger, Technical Consultant

Age IFS files with a new storage audit feature

For many companies, the Integrated File System (IFS) is continually growing and difficult to manage. To help you with this task, Help/Systems has enhanced Robot/SPACE. If you are using Robot/SPACE 2.14 (or higher), you have an enhancement that makes it easy to find and/or delete old IFS objects.

The Age IFS Objects storage audit task scans your IFS to find old objects for you. You can print a report of the results, or you can have Robot/SPACE delete the old files automatically. The report lists old IFS objects, sorted by directory, and the date they were last used.

Setting up the Age IFS Objects task is a simple, two-step process:

1. Right-click on the storage audit and select Properties. There is a new tab for Aged IFS File Filter. Add a filter and choose to filter by Directory or by Stream File. (Choosing Directory allows you to include subdirectories; the Stream File option lists old *STMF objects in the specified directory only.) Specify how old (in days) an IFS object must be to be listed on the report or deleted.

2. Add the storage audit task Age IFS Objects. Choose the corrective action of deleting old IFS objects, or select the option to print a report listing old IFS objects.

Take advantage of built-in sorting, filtering, graphing, and reporting tools

Robot/SPACE can help you with your day-to-day disk space management tasks. Let’s take a look at some of its features.

Compare collections to find growing objects
Use Collection Compare to compare the size of libraries or objects from one date to another. On the Collection Explorer panel, select the first comparison date, then right-click on the second date to compare the two. A pop-up window allows you to select compare libraries or objects between the two collection dates. You can display the data on your screen (interactively) or print the report. If you display the report, you easily can see which objects have grown. To sort the list by Size Change, click on that column heading. This displays the libraries or objects with the largest growth change listed first. You also can get this information in the Collection Reports section.

Filter collection history to find selected objects
When you view collection history by library or object, a filter option displays at the top of the screen. Use this option to limit the records shown by library, object, type, attribute, size, growth (compared to the previous collection), location, department, application, accounting code, owner, ASP, or ASP device. Filters make it easy to view a specific portion of the library and object data collected.

Transfer data to Excel
If you want to create your own graphs, or other Excel spreadsheet views, you can copy and paste the collection history into Excel. While viewing history by library or object, right-click Select All, right-click again, and select Copy to Clipboard. Open a blank Excel spreadsheet and press CTRL + V to paste your Robot/SPACE data into Excel.

Review graphs and trends
If you prefer to look at Robot/SPACE data in a graphical form, there are several graphing options in the Graphs/Trends section of Robot/SPACE, and in Robot/QUERY. On most graphs, you can view the exact date, time, and value of each point simply by putting your mouse over the point. In addition to looking at past data, you also can create trend graphs.

Review Robot/SPACE reports

Robot/SPACE produces several reports to help you manage your disk space.

• The Good Morning Report summarizes the top objects on your system. It lists the total size of the largest libraries, objects, directories, and IFS files. You can even print collection events.
• The System Health Report gives you statistics for all libraries on your system. You can filter the report by size or by growth rate. This report allows you to include only objects that have grown faster than the percentage rate you specify. You also can look at output queues or spooled files larger than the size you specify.
• Other reports you can print include Collection Events, Monitored ASP Information, Monitored Job Information, and Storage Audit Information.

Purge history files regularly
Robot/SPACE history files can grow very large over time if not purged. You should purge Collection History, Threshold History, and Storage Audit History regularly—even daily. You can submit these jobs manually or schedule them in Robot/SCHEDULE (recommended). In the Robot/SPACE Explorer, click Setup and then double-click History Purge.

• Collection History. Robot/SPACE purges its Collection History records based on whether you have specified long-term or short-term statistics to be retained. Each Collection Group has long- and short-term statistics retention periods defined. To see this information for a group, right-click on the group and select Properties. Each time you submit a collection, you have the option to specify how long to keep the history from that run. When you prompt the SPCCOLLECT command, you tell Robot/SPACE whether or not to “Perform Long-Term Process.” The default value is No.
• Threshold History. This history contains records created by Collection Group processing, ASP Monitors, and Job Temporary Storage Monitors. When you purge Threshold History, Robot/SPACE deletes all threshold history older than the specified number of days.
• Storage Audit History. Run this purge to delete audit history records created by storage audits.

Contributed by Jenny Dischinger, Technical Consultant