Understanding SMF Records and Their Value to IT Analytics & Security

Integrating key performance indicators and security events contained within SMF records provides a complete view of your IT infrastructure

The IBM Z mainframe is the inner sanctum of a large organization’s IT infrastructure. It guards the informational crown jewels of an enterprise and its operations have long been cloaked in arcane terminology. But the aura of mystery around the mainframe is disappearing as the IT world continues to move out of the realm of siloed systems.

1. This de-siloing is being driven by two major trends:
   The emergence of platforms such as Splunk, ServiceNow and others that provide enhanced analytics and common views across all platforms in the enterprise. The mainframe is no longer a silo entity that has to be managed entirely on its own.
2. An aging and retiring mainframe workforce that for decades has used specialized tools requiring in-depth understanding of mainframe environments for analysis.  This workforce is being replaced by a newer generation of IT specialists with different skills, requiring a new set of tools and technologies.

Virtually every operational event that occurs on the mainframe – from a simple log-in attempt at a workstation to a potential access breach of secured resources – can be captured and recorded in one or more SMF record types. Dozens of vendor products – as well as those from IBM – provide operational data to the SMF.

Record types change and evolve as the underlying subsystem or application evolves. Each release of z/OS and each new processor family can mean a change in the order or contents of the SMF records which creates yet another challenge in extracting information from SMF data.

As a result, organizations with mainframe systems have been unable to cost-effectively bring z/OS SMF data into their other machine data flows so that they can analyze all of it in one place.

Download this eBook to learn how Ironstream provides an easy, cost-effective approach for your organization to get a complete view of its entire IT infrastructure. Understand how Ironstream integrates key performance indicators and security events contained within SMF records on the IBM z/OS platform.