Customize the zRemote module

You can customize the zRemote module to enable optional features and optimize its performance.

Persistent configuration

All features of the zRemote module must be defined in the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file in order to persist them during the zRemote update process.

Location of the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file:

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/var/lib/dynatrace/zremote/agent/conf/zremoteagentuserconfig.conf

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C:/ProgramData/dynatrace/zremote/agent/conf/zremoteagentuserconfig.conf

Organize LPARs with host groups

Host groups are helpful when you want to organize multiple LPARs connecting to a single zRemote module. An LPAR can be assigned to a host group by setting the [HostGroup] attribute in the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file. An LPAR can belong to only one host group.

To assign an LPAR to a host group, specify the group name in between a pair of [HostGroup] attributes. The [HostGroup] attribute pair can occur anywhere in the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file.

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[HostGroup]
<LPAR_Name1>=<HostGroupName>
<LPAR_Name2>=<HostGroupName>
[HostGroup]

The LPAR name is the 8 characters logical partition name defined in the LPARNAME() parameter in IEASYMxx member in z/OS.

The following requirements apply to the <HostGroupName> string:

• Can contain only alphanumeric characters, hyphens (-), underscores (_), and dots (.)
• Must not start with dt.
• Maximum length is 100 characters

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[HostGroup]
LPARA=TEST_HOST
LPARB=TEST_HOST
LPARC=TEST_HOST
[HostGroup]

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[HostGroup]
LPARA=TEST_HOST
LPARB=PROD_HOST
LPARC=PERF_HOST
[HostGroup]

Fetch full SQL statements from DB2 databases

Dynatrace can provide insight into SQL statements based on tracing of DB2 and DL/I database calls. These SQL statements are shown in Dynatrace, for example, as:

• FETCH (PROGNAME;165;3)
• CLOSE (PROGNAME;441;2)

The string represents the program name (DBRM name), the line number, and the section number.

zRemote module version 1.241+ Dynatrace can provide deeper insight into DB2 database calls by fetching the full SQL statements from the DB2 catalog. With the SQL statement fetch feature enabled, the SQL statements are shown in Dynatrace, for example, as:

• FETCH (GETTAB INTO : H , : H , : H , : H , : H)
• CLOSE (GETTAB)

Enable SQL statement fetch

The SQL statement fetch feature is disabled by default. To enable it

1. Install and configure the IBM Data Server Driver for ODBC and CLI software on Linux or Windows. Further reading: IBM DB2 ODBC CLI driver Download and Installation information.

   In the installation step take note of the location of the CLI driver library:

   • libdb2.so for Linux
   • db2app64.dll for Windows

   Before configuring the driver, it might be necessary to contact the DBA requesting the database connectivity information (such as database credentials, location, and IP and port). In the configuration step, take note of the DB2 aliases (or DSN).

   Both are required in the next steps.

   Notes

   • The zRemote module supports only 64-bit CLI driver.
   • Be sure to test the CLI driver configuration to ensure good DB2 connections, for example:

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     \<cli-driver-path\>/bin/db2cli validate -connect -database \<db-location\>:\<ip\>:\<port\> -user \<id\> -passwd \<pw\>
     \<cli-driver-path\>/bin/db2cli validate -connect -dsn \<db-alias\>

   • To configure the CLI driver, you need DB2 credentials that grant access to DB2 connections (from distributed using DDF/DRDA) and grants to select on CATALOG, specifically on SYSPACKSTMT.

2. In the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file of the zRemote module, define the CLI driver library and DB2 alias group (similar as defining host groups), for example:

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   # Linux
   cli_driver_lib=/opt/IBM/CLIDRIVER/lib/libdb2.so
   # ... or Windows
   cli_driver_lib=C:/IBM/CLIDRIVER/bin/db2app64.dll
   
   [DbAlias]
   dbHost1.dbName1=alias1
   dbHost2.dbName2=alias2
   dbHostN.dbNameN=aliasN
   [DbAlias]

   where dbHost is the z/OS SMF ID and dbName is the DB2 subsystem name. All is case sensitive.

3. optional Define sqlStmtCacheFileName=/tmp/sqlStmtCacheFileName, as an example, to cache the fetched SQL statements to a file and use it upon a zRemote module restart, thus reducing DB2 interactions. Be sure to use the appropriate fully qualified file name.

4. Restart the zRemote module.

   Notes

   • The zRemote module will only enable the SQL statement fetch feature if the CLI driver can be loaded successfully and there is at least one DB2 alias defined.
   • If the DB2 alias is later found to be invalid, the feature is disabled.

Ignore invalid connection attempts

If a specific process regularly pings the zRemote module to detect its availability, and these pings reach the zRemote listener port, the zRemote module logs an invalid connection attempt. These invalid connection attempts increase the zRemote log size over time.

To ignore connection attempts from specific processes, list their IP addresses (separated by semicolons) in the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file, for example:

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ignoreHandshakeEndpoints=192.168.0.1;10.0.0.2

Opt out of new IMS MPR process ID calculation

zRemote module version 1.253+

The IMS message processing region (MPR) process IDs could change, resulting in new process and service entities in Dynatrace. To prevent this process ID change, we’ve introduced a more stable ID calculation with the consequence that all IMS MPR process and service entities will change once but then remain stable after an update of the zRemote module with version 1.253.

To opt out of the new IMS MPR process ID calculation, set the flag useOldImsPgiCalc in the zremoteagentuserconfig.conf file to true.

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useOldImsPgiCalc=true