User Mode

Definition
The user mode determines the view of the statistics data of the Workload Monitor (transaction ST03N).
The design was conceived with different users in mind, so that the system displays different functions and
time periods of monitoring depending on the user mode you choose.
Use
There are three types of user mode. Each shows different types of information.
• Administrator mode
This is the default user mode. We recommend that you use this user mode. It provides
quick access to today’s workload statistics and provides an overview of the workload
distribution. You can also display the functions that relate the the workload collector log
and access the reorganization parameters for the performance database in this mode.
• Service Engineer Mode
This mode provides you with the workload statistics for the current day and the the
previous week, as well as an overview of the workload history and distribution and a
detailed workload analysis. This user mode is set up especially for SAP Service.
By default the system displays the total statistics for all application statistics.
• Expert Mode
This mode provides users with all of the functions that are available in the workload
monitor. You can display all of the available workload data (daily, weekly, and monthly
data).
Integration
The user mode that you choose determines the functions that are displayed on the initial screen of
transaction ST03N.
See Also:
Analysis Views of the Workload Monitor
Operating the Workload Monitor

Structure of the Workload Tree in the Workload

Monitor
Definition
In the workload tree, the workload monitor provides you with a hierarchy of between one and three levels,
depending on the selected user mode, in the Functions subscreen. With this, you can quickly determine
• The Instance
• The period of time
for which you want to analyze the workload. You can also use the TOTAL entry (see also: Workload
Collector Settings) at instance level, which displays the workload for all instances in the system.
Chosoe the desired entry by double clicking it.
Structure
Depending on the selected user mode, you can decide for what period of time and which instance you
want to analyze the workload.

User Mode Structure of the Workload Tree Explanation

Administrator The system displays the workload for

<Instance>/TOTAL today. Choose the desired instance, or
choose TOTAL, if you want to analyze the
workload for all instances of a system.

Service The system displays a two-level hierarchy

Engineer Previous Week/Today in which you select first the time period
and then the desired instance.
<Instance>/TOT
AL

Expert The system displays a three-level

<Instance>/TOTAL hierarchy in which you select first the
instance, then the period to be studied
(day, week or month) and finally the actual
<Period>
time period.

<Time
Period>

See also:
Operating the Workload Monitor

Displaying the Business Transaction Analysis

Use
You can use the workload monitor to display the business transaction analysis. This analysis calculates
the use of system resources by individual transactions and provides the most detailed analysis of a
transaction and dialog steps. The selection criteria include: user, transaction, program, task type, start
date and start time.

The time frame that is analyzed may be larger than the interval that was set by
the Read Time, as the system always attempts to analyze complete transactions.
A complete analysis is, however, not always possible for long-running
transactions. As the business transaction analysis is time-intensive, set the
interval that you want to monitor as short as possible (around ten minutes).
Procedure
1. First, start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N.
2. Choose the user mode that you require.

You can only display the business transaction analysis in the Expert or Service Engineer user
modes.
3. Choose Detail Analysis → Business Transaction Analysis.
4. The system displays the Select Statistical Records dialog screen. You can make the following
settings here:
In the group box Select the display mode, choose one of the following output types:
○ Show all statistic records, sorted by start time
The system displays a chronological list of dialog steps with their resource usage
(this corresponds to the individual record statistics and the transaction statistics).
○ Show all records, grouped by business transaction
The system displays a list of dialog steps with their resource usage, grouped by
transaction. This list contains the individual dialog steps for a transaction.
○ Show business transaction sums
The system displays a list with totals of workload data for each transaction. This
is the variant that is most frequently used.

If you set certain restrictions in the first two modes listed above, such as only for
certain users, transactions, and so on, the system only reads the corresponding
records. In the third mode, the system reads all records, but only displays those
that match the selection criteria. Ensure that you take this into account, if you
choose Displ. Mode to switch to a different display mode.
In the Tools group box, choose one of the following commands:
○ Include statistics from memory
The system first buffers the statistical data, before reading it into the STAD file.
This option forces the buffer to write the data to the file before the analysis starts.
This ensures that all transactions can be analyzed.
○ Include application statistics
Choose this selection field, to also display the application statistics.
○ Server selection
This pushbutton restricts the analysis to specific application servers in the
system. Select the desired instances.
○ Additional options
These can be used to set the wait time for the Remote Function Call (RFC), the
maximum runtime of the analysis and the time interval that you set for the
analysis.
See Also:
Operating the Workload Monitor
 Display the Last Minutes’ Load
Use
The workload monitor usually reads the workload from the MONI performance database, which is
supplied the data from the statistics files for the individual instances once an hour. This means that you
usually cannot show any data that is less than an hour old, and has not yet been written to the MONI
table.
So that you can also monitor the latest changes in the system performance, there is an additional
function, Last Minutes’ Load. Using this function, you can access the statistics files for the individual
instances directly, and display the system performance for a time period of your choice (for example, for
the last 15 minutes).
Procedure
1. Start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N.
2. Choose either the Service Engineer or Expert user mode.
3. Expand Last Minute’s Load, and choose the instance that you want to investigate by double
clicking it.
4. The system displays the Last Minutes’s Load for <Instance Name> dialog screen. On this screen,
you can make more detailed specifications about the workload that you want to analyze.

5. The system displays the usual output area, in which the requested workload is output in an
ALV Grid Control.
See Also:
Operating the Workload Monitor

Load Distribution in the Workload Monitor

Purpose
The workload monitor is conceived in such a way that you can output the workload for a specific instance
and for a particular period of time, and compare the load for these circumstances through various
transactions, users, RFC destinations, external systems, and so on.
Some questions cannot, however, be answered with these output conditions. You will often be interested
in the development of the workload over time (workload history) or the distribution of the workload for
different instances (Comparison of instances).
Process Flow
Load History
1. Start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N.
2. Choose either the Service Engineer or Expert user mode.
3. You can find the load history in the Functions subscreen under the Load History and Distribution
entry. Expand this tree and the Load History tree.
 4. The system displays a list of the available instances and optionally the TOTAL entry for all
instances (see also: Settings of the Workload Collector). Choose the required instance by double
clicking it.
5. The system displays the Workload: Compare all periods for one selected instance screen. The
system displays a list of workloads at different times for the selected instance. You can choose
between the following output views:

Output View Meaning

Summary of average workload Average system workload

Summary of workload Total workload

Summary of DB accesses Database accesses

Summary of response time distribution Response time distribution

Summary of recording time Time stamp of the first and last statistics records
during the selected period

You can use the following commands:

Pushbutton Meaning

By day(s), By week(s), By month(s) Period for the output lines

Sort Sort by the chosen column

Other task type Change the task type whose workload is displayed
in the list

>>, << Navigation between different output views

Choose period Outputs the task type overview for the selected
time period

Instance Comparison
1. Start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N.
2. Choose either the Service Engineer or Expert user mode.
3. You can find the comparison in the Functions subscreen under the Load History and Distribution
entry. Expand this tree.
4. Choose Instance Comparison by double clicking it.
 5. The system displays the Workload: Compare all instances for one selected period screen. The
system displays a list of all instances and their workloads during a particular period of time. The
same output views exist as for load history. You can use the following commands:

Pushbutton Meaning

Choose Outputs the task type overview for the selected

time period

<<, >> Navigation between different output views

Sort Sort by the chosen column

Period- Change the displayed time period by one unit of

the chosen period; you can select days, weeks, or
Period+
months as the period by choosing Edit → Choose
period type

Other task type Change the task type whose workload is displayed
in the list

The load history and the instance comparison display the same data that you can select using the
analysis views. The difference is that in the load history you can compare workloads in one list that are
otherwise always in different output tables due to the structure of the workload monitor.
It is therefore a summary - the system shows the same data in a different format.
Users per Instance
A further comparison that you can display for the load distribution is the number of users per instance.
See Also:
Operating the Workload Monitor

Displaying Users per Instance

Use
You can use the workload monitor to display the number of users working on an instance. You can
display the number of dialog steps that each user has executed, and check that the instance response
times are acceptable.
Procedure
1. Start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N.
2. Choose the user mode that you require.
3. Choose Load History and Distribution (or Load Distribution in the Administrator user mode) and
then Users per Instance.
The system takes you to the Performance: Display Users and Used Instances screen. The system
displays a list with the number of users logged on to each instance. You can use the following commands
to obtain more information:

Pushbutton Meaning

Choose instance Outputs all users, the number of dialog steps executed by them and
the response times on the selected instance

Instances per user or
User per instances
Switches between two views (the pushbutton displays the view to
which you can change, not the active one):
• Instances per User:
For each user, the system displays all instances that
the user has logged on to during the selected time
period.
• User per instances
For each instance, the system displays the number of
users that were logged on during the selected time
period.

Period-, Period+ Change the displayed period of time by one unit of the selected period

Filter... Restricts the users to those with response time or number of dialog
steps above a threshold value of your choice (only available in the
Instances per User view)

By days, By weeks, Period for the output lines

By months

See Also:
Operating the Workload Monitor
Load Distribution in the Workload Monitor

Collector and Performance Database

Use
A statistics collector exists for the workload monitor, which usually reads statistics data once per hour
from the statistics files of all instances of a system and writes them to the database table MONI
(performance database).
Here you can make settings about which workload data the statistics collector determines, and how often,
and how long it should be retained at what level of detail in the performance database.
Use these functions, above all, when :
• You want to analyze particular transactions in detail
• Problems occur when working with the workload monitor
 Changing certain settings in this area can have a negative effect on system
performance. You should always ensure that the workload from the statistics
collector itself does not become too large.
Features
Start the workload monitor by calling transaction ST03N. You can find the functions for the collector and
the performance database in the Functions subscreen.
Performance Database
The statistical data about the workload is collected by various collectors and aggregated and stored in the
performance database MONI. As the performance database is constantly growing due to these reports,
regular reorganizations of the performance database MONI are necessary. During these, the data is
aggregated into less detailed time periods (for example, from days to weeks) and the more detailed data
is deleted. You can decide how long each type of data should be stored.
Performance Monitor Collector
You can set a "timetable" for the execution time and frequency of the reports that deliver data to the
performance database, and view the log.
Workload Collector
In addition to setting which report should collect data about the workload, and how often, there are a large
number of Workload Collector Settings, with the purpose of enabling the collector to collect as much as
possible of the relevant data for you while using as small an amount of system resources as possible.
You can view the log of the workload collector to help you find errors.
Statistics Records and File
There are a number of profile and online parameters that are relevant for the workload collector. You can
view the relevant profile parameters for each individual instance by choosing Collector & Perf. Database
→ Statistics Records and File → Relevant Profile Parameters, although you cannot change them directly
here. You can do that using transaction RZ12 (Profile Parameter Maintenance).
Online parameters are profile parameters whose changes take effect immediately (without a restart of the
affected instance). In contrast to the Relevant Profile Parameters, you can change the online parameters
directly in the workload monitor by choosing Collector & Perf. Database → Statistics Records and File →
Change Online Parameters. You require online parameters for, among other things:
• Table Access Statistics
• Application Statistics
Note that changes to the parameters affect the number of statistics records per dialog step, which can
lead to performance problems in the statistics collector.
Delete File
In rare cases (such as space problems in the file system), it can become necessary to delete the statistics
file of an SAP instance. In this case, you can either delete the file for dialog step statistics, STAT, or the
application statistics file ASTAT for an instance. If you are working with separate statistics files for every
hour (Profile parameter stat/max_files > 0), all statistics files are deleted.
See Also:
Operating the Workload Monitor
Under Analysis views, you can access, for example:
Workload overview - Workload statistics according to work process type
Transaction Profile - Workload statistics according to transaction.
Time Profile - Workload statistics according to hour

Under Analysis views, you can access, for example:

Workload overview - Workload statistics according to work process type
Transaction Profile - Workload statistics according to transaction.
Time Profile - Workload statistics according to hour
In the Workload Monitor, choosing Transaction Profile enables you to find out:
The most-used transactions. Tuning these transactions creates the greatest improvements in
overall performance.
The average response times for typical R/3 transactions.
To display the 40 slowest dialog steps by response time, choose Top time