SPARTA News June 2009

June 2009

SPARTA President’s Corner

by Brad Carson

Welcome to summer and the dreaded triple H’s of June, the Hazy, Hot, and Humid days. I know that the electric company will like it now that we are running our A/C big time at home. Last month we visited the IBM executive briefing center in RTP for our meeting and had a good presentation and demo of the Omegamon monitor for storage. As always Bill Peiffer was our host and I want to thank him and IBM for allowing us to meet at the RTP briefing center.

I’ve been very busy the past month getting everything ready for a hardware upgrade on our UNISYS equipment. We are in the process of upgrading to the Dorado 700 series platform running the OS2200 operating system. For those who know, this is the old Sperry/Univac line of hardware and software that can trace its linage back to the Univac1. It’s interesting to see how another company handles their hardware installation, rather than just IBM. We’ve completed the Dev/QA/DR platform in Burlington over the weekend of the 13th-14th of June. Power consumption is a major concern for that computer room right now, so we had to do a little “juggling” to keep from overloading a UPS. We also had a visit from uncle “Murphy” in the form of networking issues. Our new hardware allowed us to migrate to 1000-T (Gig Copper) interfaces, so our Datacomm group dropped six new cables for us to use, but forgot to activate the ports on the switch. So after the usual rounds of finger pointing, they finally came in and activated the ports for us. It was a very long Sunday for the final cutover, can you say a 16 hour day?

On our z/VM front we have managed to get our first Red Hat Linux guest up and running. Now we are planning to start cloning that guest for real server work. Of course we are going to have to deal with the same Datacomm group to get all our networking requirements straight. We are planning on using z/VM virtual switches to make the guest network configurations easy to clone. We still have a little more work to do here and I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

This month our speaker will be Anthony Fanale from Data Domain to give us a look at the products they have available. I look forward to seeing you all at LabCorp on the 30th.


Future Speakers
(subject to change)


June 30 Data Deduplication by Anthony Fanale of Data Domain
July 28 Linux by IBM
August 18? Durham Bulls Baseball at the DBAP


We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Presentations don’t have to be fancy, just informative and interesting. Even a 5 or 10 minute talk can start an interesting interaction. Contact Ron Pimblett by phone as noted below.

2009-2010 SPARTA
Board of Directors

Brad Carson - President
LabCorp 336-436-8294
3060 S. Church St.
Burlington, NC 27215

Ron Pimblett - Vice President
Dignus, LLC 919-676-0847
8354 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27615

Mike Lockey - Secretary
Guilford Co. Information Services 336-641-6235
201 N. Eugene St.
Greensboro, NC 27401

Tommy Thomas - Treasurer
LabCorp 336-436-4178
231 Maple Ave, Koury Ctr 3rd Fl. 919-361-7267
Burlington, NC 27215

Ed Webb - Communications Director
SAS Institute 919-531-4162
SAS Campus Drive
Cary, NC 27513

Meetings

Meetings are scheduled for the last Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in December), with optional dinner at 6:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m.

These monthly meetings usually are held at LabCorp’s Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology (CMBP) near the Research Triangle Park (see last page). Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn Left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.

Call for Articles

If you have any ideas for speakers, presentations, newsletter articles, or are interested in taking part in a presentation, PLEASE contact one of the Board of Directors with your suggestions.

Newsletter e-Mailings

The SPARTA policy is to e-mail a monthly notice to our SPARTA-L Group. The newsletter is posted to the website about five (5) days before each meeting so you can prepare. The SPARTA-L Group is maintained by Mike Lockey at (336) 641-6235; if you have corrections or problems receiving your meeting notice, contact Mike.

“CBT Tape” Shareware Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V471 (dated February 28, 2006) are available from www.cbttape.org.

If you need help obtaining one or more files, contact Brad Carson at LabCorp or Ed Webb at SAS (see Board of Director’s list for contact info).

Minutes of the May 19, 2009 Meeting

•Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Brad Carson, the Chapter President.

•The meeting was held at IBM Software Executive Briefing Center in RTP, N.C.

•Seventeen (17) people were present; eleven (11) were members.

•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job function.

•The minutes of April 2009 meeting were accepted as published in the May 2009 newsletter.

•Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer gave the Treasurer's Report. As of May 12, 2009, the balance is $1228.77; motion was made and approved to accept the Treasurer's Report as published in the May 2009 newsletter.

OLD BUSINESS

•Articles are needed for this newsletter. If you would like to write an article for this newsletter, please contact Ed Webb. Keep in mind that you don't really need to write the article, it can be an article that you read that you would like to share with the membership.

•The SPARTA Web page is available. To access the SPARTA Web page, point your Web browser to this site: http://www.spartanc.org. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web page to Mike Lockey. Be sure to check the Web page every once in a while to see any new or changed information.

•Future Speakers and Topics:
(subject to change)

June Data Domain - Anthony Fanale
July IBM - Linux
August Durham Bulls baseball game
September SHARE Conference update
October IOF Update by Triangle Systems
November Performance and Tuning by Cheryl Watson and Tom Walker
December No meeting!

If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Ron Pimblett.

•The next SPARTA meeting will be June 30 at LabCorp in the RTP.

•Food for the June meeting will be chicken.

•Brad reminded everyone to keep the conference room clean.

NEW BUSINESS

•Thanks to Bill Pieffer of IBM for hosting the meeting.

•The business portion of the meeting ended at 7:45 p.m.

•Keith Robertson of IBM gave an update and demo of Tivoli Omegamon XE for Storage.

Topics

•Omegamon XE for Storage runs under ITM (IBM Tivoli Monitoring) and enables you to monitor and manage mainframe-attached storage.

•Meeting ended at 9:05 p.m.

Treasurer’s Report for June 2009

contributed by Tommy Thomas

The balance in the account is $1572.54 as of June 13, 2009.

Financial Report
3/01/2009 through 6/13/2009

Items of Interest

SPARTA Schedule and Menu for 2009

contributed by Tommy Thomas and Chris Blackshire

June 30 - Chicken
July 28 - Subs
Aug. 25 - BarBQ
Sept. 29 - Pizza
Oct. 27 - Chicken
Nov. 17 - Subs(Nov. 24 = Thanksgiving week)
Dec. 29 - No meeting. Happy Holidays!


z/OS Predictive Failure Analysis Now Available for R10

contributed by Ed Webb

IBM has closed APAR OA27165 for z/OS V1R10 and made the SPE PTF UA46241 available. OA27162 provides a new z/OS function named Predictive Failure Analysis (PFA), a remote Health Check.

Unlike most Health Checks, PFA requires some setup and customization before it can be used. For z/OS R10 and the upcoming R11, PFA monitors Common Storage Usage and LOGREC Arrival Rates to predict potential system or Sysplex problems.

To install PFA on your R10 system (it’s built into R11), APPLY the SPE PTF and a fixing PTF UA47645, refresh LLA, and either IPL CLPA or, better yet, issue SETPROG LPA for the one load module that PFA puts in SYS1.LPALIB.

To setup PFA, create a new userid in your Security System (we’ll assume RACF in this discussion) with an OMVS segment, including a unique uid and a home directory for the userid, such as /u/pfauser. Connect this userid to RACF Group OMVSGRP or similar Group with a gid. IBM suggests adding a TSO segment so you can logon and run the provided setup script under TSO OMVS, primarily so directories and files get the appropriate uid/gid and permissions. After the initial setup script has been run, you can make this userid Protected (NOPASSWORD and NOOIDCARD) so no one can log on with it. And you can remove the TSO segment as well, but the OMVS segment must stay.

Now you can define a USS file system, named uniquely for each LPAR, and mount it at the /u/ or other appropriate mountpoint. At SAS, we actually use /etc/u/pfauser for our mountpoint to avoid automounting issues with our /u/ environment.

With the file system mounted, logon to pfauser, get into TSO OMVS, and use cd to set the default directory to /u/pfauser (in our case, /etc/u/pfauser). Then execute the IBM-provided script to set up directories for data recording and initialization parameters.

Almost ready. Edit the ini files in the two directories setup under /u/pfauser (or /etc/u/pfauser), and change the Java paths if necessary. In our case, I changed J1.4 to J5.0 in all statements in the ini files in both the CSA and LOGREC directories.

Copy the AIRPROC from SYS1.SAMPLIB into your system PROCLIB (such as SYS1.PROCLIB) with the new name of PFA and then Start PFA.

If all is well, PFA starts and initializes. After 15 minutes, it will start collecting and storing CSA data, and after a few hours, PFA will start storing LOGREC arrival information.

You view the results via IOF or SDSF Health Checker interface (CK in both, I think). CSA analysis is done every 6 hours while LOGREC takes 24 hours before the first results.

Give PFA a shot. You might prevent an outage or system degradation.

See the IBM z/OS Problem Management book (G325-2564-04) dated April 2009 for more about Predictive Failure Analysis.


VM ServiceLink is Being Sunset

contributed by Ed Webb

On Friday, May 15, 2009, IBM announced that the VM version of its ServiceLink application will be sunset on July 1, 2009. After that date, only the Internet ServiceLink will be available.


Time to Plan for SHARE in in Denver in August

contributed by Ed Webb

It’s time to think seriously about attending SHARE in Denver on August 23-28, 2009. Check out this link for registration and hotel reservation information: http://www.share.org/Events/UpcomingConference/tabid/349/Default.aspx


10 Things to Know About Identity Theft

contributed by Chris Blackshire

Lisa Rogak, CreditCards.com

Identity theft is often in the news, but there are a lot of misconceptions swirling around about how to best protect yourself.

While some identity thieves focus on getting your credit cards and maxing them out before you even realize they're missing, an increasing number are using one piece of information about you -- often a credit card number -- in order to steal your entire identity.

Though many folks worry about keeping their credit card information secure when shopping online, the top methods that identity thieves use to steal personal data are still low-tech, according to Justin Yurek, president of ID Watchdog, an identity theft-monitoring firm. "Watch your personal documents, be careful to whom you give out your data over the phone, and be careful of mail theft," he says.

Indeed, a recent study by Javelin Strategy & Research found that of the 9.9 million identity-theft cases reported in 2008 -- resulting in a loss of $48 billion -- online theft only accounted for 11 percent of incidents. Stolen wallets, checkbooks, and credit and debit cards made up almost half.

No one is immune to identity theft, but armed with a little knowledge about how identity thieves operate -- and a little common sense -- you can stay one step ahead of them.

1. Thieves don't need your credit card number in order to steal it. Conversely, they don't need your credit card in order to steal your identity. Identity thieves are crafty; sometimes all they need is one piece of information about you and they can easily gain access to the rest. As a result, says Heather Wells, recovery manager at ID Experts, an identity protection company, today it's crucial to lock up important documents at home. "Secure birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, in a safe deposit box or in a safe hidden at home," she says. "And that includes credit cards when not in use."

2. The non-financial personal information you reveal online is often enough for a thief. Beware of seemingly innocent personal facts that a thief could use to steal your identity. For example, never list your full birth date on Facebook or any other social-networking Web sites. And don't list your home address or telephone number on any Web site you use for personal or business reasons, including job-search sites.

3. Be careful with your snail mail. "Follow your billing cycles closely," says Lucy Duni, vice president of consumer education at TrueCredit.com. "If a credit card or other bill hasn't arrived, it may mean that an identity thief has gotten hold of your account and changed your billing address." Al Marcella, professor at Webster University's School of Business and Technology in St. Louis, and an expert on identity theft, suggests when you order new checks, you pick them up at the bank instead of shipping them to your home. "Stolen checks can be altered and cashed by fraudsters," says Duni. And never place outgoing mail in your post office box or door slot for a carrier to pick up. Anyone can grab it and get your credit card numbers and other financial information. Bring it to the post office yourself.

4. Review all bank and credit card statements each month, preferably once a week. Watch for charges for less than a dollar or two from unfamiliar companies or individuals. Thieves who are planning to purchase a block of stolen credit card numbers often first test to check that the accounts haven't been canceled by aware customers by sending a small charge through, sometimes for only a few pennies. If the first charge succeeds, they'll buy the stolen data and make a much larger charge or purchase. They're guessing -- often correctly -- that most cardholders won't notice such a tiny charge. In addition, many of the fraud alerts you can set on your accounts aren't triggered by small dollar amounts. Reviewing your credit report on a regular basis is also a good idea, but usually by the time a fraudulent transaction reaches your credit report, it's too late.

5. If an ATM or store terminal looks funny, don't use it. "Make sure there is no device attached to any ATM card slot you use," says Wells. "As a general rule, the mouth of a card receptacle on an ATM machine should be flush with the machine or have only a very slight lip." If it looks or feels different when you swipe your card, or has an extra piece of plastic sticking out from the card slot, it may be a skimmer, an electronic device placed there by thieves that captures your credit card information when you swipe it. If you notice it after you've already inserted your card, you should alert your bank so they can watch for any fraudulent charges to your account.

6. Identity thieves love travelers and tourists. Scott Stevenson, founder and CEO of Eliminate ID Theft, an ID theft protection company, cautions travelers to be alert to strangers hovering around whenever you use a credit card at an ATM or phone, and to avoid public wireless Internet connections unless your laptop or PDA has beefed-up security protection. However, he also suggests watching for little-known methods of lifting your identity. "Cut up your used hotel key cards when you check out," Stevenson advises, since these keys contain important information about you and your finances, including your name, address, phone, and the credit card you used to pay for your room. "When you toss them out or leave them lying in the hotel room, anyone can pick them up and use them to steal your identity," he adds.

7. Identity thieves are sneaky; you need to be sneaky, too. There are a few simple things you can do to protect your credit card in case it falls into the wrong hands. "Sign your credit card with a Sharpie so your signature can't be erased and written over," suggests Echo Montgomery Garrett, a writer in Marietta, Ga. Consultant Sarah Browne of Carmel, Calif., had all but one credit card stolen from a hotel room. The card that was spared still had the "Please Activate" sticker on it. Though Browne had activated the card, she forgot to remove the sticker. "The thieves must have known that you have to activate a new card from the phone number listed with the credit card company, so they didn't bother with it," she said, and since then, she leaves the activation stickers on all of her cards. Indeed, when a thief struck a second time at a public function, Browne's stickered cards were again left untouched.

8. Pay attention at the checkout line. If a cashier or salesperson takes your card and either turns away from you or takes too long to conduct what is usually a normal transaction, she may be scanning your card into a handheld skimming terminal to harvest the information. But they don't need a handheld scanner to capture your information. According to Mark Cravens, the
Anti-Scam Doctor and author of "The Ten Commandments of Investing," they can take a picture of the front and back of your card with a cell phone or merely swap out cards. "Look at your card when they hand it back and make sure it's yours, and not another gold, silver, or blue card that looks like yours," he says. "You may not notice they swapped your card for days."

9. Go paperless in as many ways as possible. Sandy Shore, training manager with Novadebt, a nonprofit, New Jersey-based credit-counseling agency, suggests clients cut back on the mail they receive from banks and financial institutions by discontinuing paper bills and statements. "Access your financial statements at the issuer's Web site instead," she says. This strategy has the added bonus of an environmental benefit. Similarly, Vaclav Vincalek, president of Pacific Coast Information Systems, an IT security firm, recommends that whatever paper receipts and financial statements you do receive go through the shredder instead of into the wastebasket. "Never throw away a credit card slip," he says. "Instead, shred anything that has any number, name, address on it."

10. Identity theft insurance can pay off, but you need to read the fine print. Several companies offer identity theft insurance, which covers the money you shell out to repair your identity. This includes whatever you spend on phone calls, making copies of documents and mailing them, hiring an attorney, and in some cases, lost wages. However, the insurance -- which costs about $50 a year -- does not reimburse you for funds you lost. Your current homeowner policy may include identity theft insurance in your package, so check first before signing up with an outside company. Also, some companies are starting to offer identity theft insurance as an employee benefit.


Humor


Railroad Track History

contributed by Chris Blackshire

Interesting history:

Railroad tracks. This is fascinating.

Be sure to read the final paragraph; your understanding of it will depend on the earlier part of the content.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.

Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed the US railroads.

Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.

So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?', you may be exactly right.
Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.) Now, the twist to the story:

When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.

So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything... and

CURRENT Horses Asses are controlling everything else.

Membership Information

Don’t Forget the Next SPARTA Meeting

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
7 p.m.

LabCorp in the RTP

Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.

Free Food: Chicken, Drink, Dessert

Program:

Data Deduplication Storage Systems

Speaker:

Anthony Fanale of Data Domain

SPARTA News
P.O. Box 13194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3194


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