Running AUTOGEN to Tune the System

Run AUTOGEN in feedback mode, examine AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT, and reboot the system. To run AUTOGEN in feedback mode, use the following command:

   $ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN SAVPARAMS SETPARAMS FEEDBACK

To view AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT on your screen, enter the following command:

   $ TYPE SYS$SYSTEM:AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT

You can print this file or examine it using the EDIT/READ_ONLY command.

If the report includes a message similar to the following, you might need to modify the size of the page, swap, or dump file:

   %AUTOGEN-W-DSKSPC, The disk on which DKA0:[SYS0.SYSEXE]PAGEFILE.SYS
      resides would be over 95% full if it were modified to hold 20000 blocks.

For more information about AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT, see the HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, Volume 2: Tuning, Monitoring, and Complex Systems.

Run AUTOGEN again in feedback mode two work days later and examine AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT, and then reboot the system. (For information about the importance of having a current AGEN$FEEDBACK.DAT file, see “Ensuring You Have a Recent FEEDBACK.DAT File”.)

HP recommends that you run AUTOGEN from the SAVPARAMS phase through the TESTFILES phase weekly thereafter until the system stabilizes (that is, until AUTOGEN finds nothing that needs to be adjusted). Make sure you run AUTOGEN when your system is running under a typical workload. Examine AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT to determine the need for additional changes.

	IMPORTANT: If you start AUTOGEN without specifying the execution-mode parameter (FEEDBACK, NOFEEDBACK, or CHECK_FEEDBACK), AUTOGEN uses the feedback information in its calculations. However, if the feedback information reflects system up time of less than 24 hours, or if the feedback information is more than 30 days old, AUTOGEN includes warnings in the AGEN$PARAMS.REPORT file to alert you to potential problems with the feedback data. If you wrongly assume the feedback is valid, the parameter settings might vary significantly from your expectations. If you specify FEEDBACK (or NOFEEDBACK), AUTOGEN uses (or does not use) the feedback regardless of the data’s reliability. AUTOGEN proceeds through the SETPARAMS phase (if you specified SETPARAMS, SHUTDOWN, or REBOOT as the end phase) and sets system parameters to the values it computed. If you specify CHECK_FEEDBACK, AUTOGEN checks the validity of the feedback data. If AUTOGEN determines the feedback is suspect, then AUTOGEN ignores the feedback when computing parameter values. It stops at the TESTFILES phase and issues a warning in the report that parameters have not been changed. You must read the report and decide whether the calculated values are acceptable. You can either use them (by running the AUTOGEN SETPARAMS phase) or rerun AUTOGEN with valid feedback data.

After the system has stabilized, HP recommends that you run AUTOGEN at least monthly to save feedback information for future use. Use the following command:

 $ @SYS$UPDATE:AUTOGEN SAVPARAMS

If you do not maintain current feedback information for AUTOGEN, you will not have the needed information the next time you upgrade your system. As a result, you may have to reboot and rerun AUTOGEN several times to make your upgraded system operational.