© 2012 ibm corporation the new zenterprise™ systems & testing systems and technology group...

© 2012 IBM Corporation

The New zEnterprise™ Systems & Testing

Systems and Technology Group

Paul A. Wojciak Mike Duron Nancy Finn



2

Agenda

zEnterprise Value Proposition and Testing Challenge zEnterprise z196 and z BladeCenter® Extension (zBX) Overview Test Approach and Challenges In Summary



3

System zEnterprise Testing Challenge

zEnterprise™ and zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension bring together:

– Traditional mainframe compute resources

– Distributed cost optimized compute engines

Mainframe quality of service and RAS expectations– Reliable

– 24x7 solution availability

– Service and maintenance concurrent to system operation

zEnterprisezEnterprise



4

zEnterprise z196 and z BladeCenter Extension Overview

z196 and z114 zEnterprise systems Unified Resource Manager (zManager) z BladeCenter Extension with:

– POWER7® Blades running AIX®– System x® Blades running Linux® and Windows®– Websphere® DataPower® Integration Appliance XI50 for zEnterprise

Comprise an ensemble with associated CPCs, zBXs, network and storage infrastructure

z operations management purview of heterogeneous multi-tier compute solution resources

Workload concept facilitates visualization and actions against virtualized compute resources aligned with business objectives

zManager driven performance and energy monitoring and management



5

zEnterprise and zBX Hierarchical ViewS

ys

tem

z H

ard

wa

re M

an

ag

em

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t C

on

so

le (

HM

C)

wit

h U

nif

ied

Res

ou

rce

Man

ager

zBX

Select IBM Blades and Optimizers

Blade HW Resourcesz HW Resources

z/OS

Support Element

Linuxon

System z

z/VM

Private High Speed Data Network IEDN

Private Management Network INMNUnified Resource Manager

Private data network (IEDN)

Customer Network Customer Network

System z Hosts

Windows on

System x

AIX on POWER7

Da

taP

ow

er

Fu

ture

Off

eri

ng

Blade Virtualization Blade Virtualization

System z PR/SM™

z/TPF

z/VSETM

Linux on

System z

Linux on

System x

Blade Virtualization



6

Test Approach – zEnterprise zBX Test Teams by Discipline

HMC

RAS

Install & Upgrades

Largest Ensemble

• Operating System functional stress• eBoD, Crypto/Security, Coupling• FICON, FCP, STP

Solution Test

z196

z196

z196

z196

z196

z196

z114

z196

TeamEnsembles

eHMC

Core Functions

Performancez196

• Virtualization boundaries• Multiple Sysplexes• Customer modeled workloads• Performance Management

• Installation and entitlement• Upgrades• Mfg kit testing

• zManager core functions and stress• Change Management

• Capacity, throughput analysis – speeds and feeds

• Error injection, error handling, reporting, and end to end service

z114

• IEDN functional stress• Comm Server • Dynamic I/O

Networkingz196z114



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Test Approach – Schools of Software TestingThose followed by Test Teams during zEnterprise Project

Analytic School– Sees testing as rigorous and technical with many proponents in academia. – Requires detailed specifications for test plan generation. Asks: What techniques should we use?

Standard School– Sees testing as a way to measure progress with emphasis on cost and repeatable standards.– Test plans based on covering requirements and mid-test plan changes are resisted.– Asks: How can we measure whether we’re making progress? How do we know when we’re done?

Quality School– Emphasizes process, policing developers with test acting as the gatekeeper. Requirements based

test plans preferring quality assurance over testing.– Asks: Are we following a good process?

Context-Driven School– Emphasizes people, seeking bugs that stakeholders care about. Test plans adapt based on results.

Exploratory testing.– Asks: What testing would be most valuable right now?

Agile School– Uses testing to prove that development is complete; emphasizes automated testing.– Asks: Is the story done?

Source: B. Pettichord, Schools of Software Testing (2007), www.pettichord.com, Available at:

http://www.prismnet.com/~wazmo/papers/four_schools.pdf Accessed: May 30, 2012.



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Test Approach – zEnterprise and zBX Test Selection

Functional test selection based on product specification (Black Box method)– Test cases across all test disciplines– Reflect all use cases – Build the biggest, test the boundaries– Run the environment as a customer– Presumption of predictable behavior for inherited components (Implicitly tested)

Structural test selection based on knowledge of product internals (White Box method)– Installation and entitlement sequences– Change management – firmware update variations– zManager acquisition of virtualized resource state for rendering on user interface– Energy management state interrogation and control

Exploratory test execution by subject matter experts– z/VM interaction with zManager, SMAPI command usage, setup and debug message clarity– DataPower integration into zManager interface, user roles and security

Solution test– Bring all aspects of the product set together with operating systems, middleware, and multi-tier

applications modeled on customer environments



9

IBM zEnterprise System – RAS Testing To Meet Customer Requirements A test team, test process, and test environments to verify fault tolerance

Testing management of resources, verifying IBM System z® qualities of service across workloads

Assuring reliable recognition, isolation, reporting and repair of ensemble resources by zManager

Reliability focused from wafer test through final system fulfillment

Availability verified with fault injection for errors throughout all hardware components and layers of the software stack

Customer modeled environments backing all RAS tests

Serviceability, proven fully concurrent, end-to-end

Application of RAS test techniques to IBM POWER7®, IBM x86 blades under a variety of AIX®, Linux , and Windows® applications

DataPower® integration and resilience testing

Verification of SAN, LAN, power, cooling redundancy for workload availability

Error handling, service and code update management through System z infrastructure

Monitor, Control, with Integrated RAS:zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager

Monitor, Control, with Integrated RAS:zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager

Rock Solid, Availability Measured in Decades:IBM zEnterprise™ 196

(z196)

Rock Solid, Availability Measured in Decades:IBM zEnterprise™ 196

(z196)

Mainframe Test Approach:IBM zEnterprise

BladeCenter® Extension (zBX)

Mainframe Test Approach:IBM zEnterprise

BladeCenter® Extension (zBX)

eHMCeHMC Websphere®

DataPower®



10

Test Approach – zBX RAS Tests and Methods

zBX Design Area Specification Derived RAS Tests Test Technique Examples

IEMN, IEDN, SAN Verify redundancy keeps networks alive during errors, code update, and repair.

Cable pulls, soft error injection for error simulation, use defective devices, bouncing TCP/IP stacks

Chassis Power and Cooling Verify redundancy keeps BladeServers alive with no thermal events.

Verify that repairs are concurrent.

Stop fan rotation, disconnect AC input, use defective components

BladeServer – POWER7, x86, DataPower

Verify error handling, reporting, and repair.

Verify availability provided by redundant BladeServers within a workload.

Soft error injection for error simulation, use defective components

Support Processors and ensemble Hardware Master Console (eHMC)

Verify redundancy provides availability during error handling and code updates.

Manually reset support processor, create loss of connectivity, failover to Alternate HMC

Hypervisors (PowerVM, KVM, z/VM)

Assure error recognition, isolation, reporting, and diagnostic data collect.

Manual reset of hypervisors, overlay private store, virtual guest and device errors

zManager Test inherent reliability, fault recognition, and messaging for range of services.

System resources stressed to implemented limits while programming errors simulated



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Test Approach – zBX Solution Test Mission and Benefits

Solution test– Bring all aspects of the product set together with operating systems, middleware, and multi-tier

applications modeled on customer environments

High Level Checklist– Scaling the virtual environment towards the defined limits

– Evaluating the integration of all hardware and code components

– Deploying real workloads modeled after production environments

Workloads with DB2 serving on z– Daytrader - benchmark application simulating an online stock trading system.

– Bookstore - internal IBM workload that simulates a multi-tier online Book Retail environment.

– z Platform Evaluation Test online transaction processing workloads exploiting: CICS, DB2, IMS, IRLM, MQ, RLS, and WebSphere Application Server which are all Parallel Sysplex data sharing.



12

Test Approach – zBX Solution Test Environment

Logical depiction of virtual servers.

Actual CPC and zBX ensemble memberships shown.



13

Test Challenges

Needed test addressing breadth of zManager capabilities Solution Test– Assembling skills across the test organization

Commodity component behavior predictability1. Reliable messaging between zBX management modules (HW) and system z support element2. Certainty of firmware update (Multiple methods, inconsistent results)3. BladeServer installation (Dependent on 1 and 2)4. SAN error isolation and diagnostics

Overlapping test phases– Sequential development model (Design Code Unit Test Function Test System/Solution Test)– Late deliveries, incomplete prior test phases– System and solution testers run function tests first

How to train product deployment teams?– Bring folks to Poughkeepsie, NY test lab– Perform repeated mock installations– Deploy zEnterprise and zBX in internal IBM production locations



14

In Summary

zEnterprise brings System z management thoroughness to cost optimized compute resources

Test Mentality - 24x7 Enterprise Customers Test approach based on combination of recognized methods RAS focus pervasive throughout Solution Test environment to push the boundaries and insure customer modeled

behaviors Early internal production account experience

Result: zEnterprise and BladeCenter Extension Product rollout quality objectives met



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http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/hardware/zenterprise/z196.html http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/hardware/zenterprise/zbx.html http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/services/platformtest/servers/systemz_mission.html http://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg2b86a60368d4c054c852576c600736dca

Contact:

Thank you for your time today

For more information:

Paul Wojciak

845 435 7064

[email protected]

P. Jorgensen, Software Testing A Craftsman’s Approach, 3rd ed., Auerbach, 2008, pp.7-9, 353 B. Beizer, Software Test Techniques, 2nd ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990. B. Pettichord, Schools of Software Testing (2007), www.pettichord.com, Available at:

http://www.prismnet.com/~wazmo/papers/four_schools.pdf Accessed: May 30, 2012.

References:

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/hardware/zenterprise/z196.html http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/hardware/zenterprise/zbx.html http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/services/platformtest/servers/systemz_mission.html http://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg2b86a60368d4c054c852576c600736dca



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Trademarks and notes

IBM Corporation 2012

IBM, the IBM logo and ibm.com are registered trademarks, and other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

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Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them

available in all countries in which IBM operates.

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