Plus One to Grow On

In case you weren't counting, yesterday's entry was the 40th. But I thought I'd add one more to wrap up things. When I started this series of writings, I was very afraid that I would run out of topics or the time required would be too much, and I would fail. I'm glad to say, we did it. I greatly appreciate the support from various people.


Since many of the entries were written late at night, there were even greater chances of errors in grammar and spelling than my day time writing. Thanks very much to those that provided corrections, in particular: Perry Ruiter, Mary Ellen Carollo, and Phil Smith.

Thanks also to the various people that provided topic ideas or allowed me to think out loud. Including the noon time walking group: Kevin Adams, Alan Altmark, John Franciscovich, Mark Lorenc, and Bill Stephens.

Thanks to those who networked the topics, sharing with friends and colleagues, in particular: Gabe Goldberg.

Thanks to those of you that left comments, that made it much more enjoyable for me.

Most importantly, thanks to those of you that read and gave me feedback to let me know that it was worthwhile. Many of your positive comments touched me, and encouraged me when I needed it the most.

I learned a lot in this journey. I have a much greater appreciation for professional writers, especially those that write on a daily basis. There are things I wish I had done differently. I really wish I had timed things out better and had created a more detailed outline of all the topics on day one.

I know all of you reading this have your own stories to tell, and I encourage you to go tell them and share them.

I am also fascinated at how various topics ending up creating new threads and connections:

• I was contacted by a brand new System z person in Belgium working on z/OS who came upon the blog.
• I exchanged emails with an author whose book was sitting on the 'please read me' pile on my desk, after he was forwarded one of the entries on problem determination.
• Reconnecting with some of the people discussed in the topics

I am also able to get some statistics on readers of the blog. It appears we ended with readers from almost 30 countries. In the Olympic spirit, here are the top ten countries. I had fun watching as Latvia came on strong during later half, but was edged out by France in the past couple of days:

1. United States
2. Russia
3. Canada
4. United Kingdom
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Japan
8. Australia
9. Brazil
10. France

So what's next? Talk to me in five years. Though my idea for the 45th is a series of interviews with others.


Thanks again everyone!!

An Impossible History

Every five years, I seem to hear the same question, "How many more years can the success continue?". It's probably not a bad question to ask. But before raising the query out loud, perhaps we should consider why the question is being asked. Are we just being like the news and dwelling on the downside of life? That's unfortunate if we are. On the other hand, not knowing what lays ahead in the future, we should enjoy today. Doing whatever we can to improve life for one another.

I recall in the 1990s asking some people, "If this is the last year I work in VM/ESA, what's the most important thing I should accomplish?". Now that did fuel some rumors that I was leaving, but that wasn't my intent. I was looking for help in setting priorities and knowing that what I did was important. That year we fixed a number of problems in the VM state sampling that was causing problems in performance analysis and keeping customers from getting the most out of their VM systems. It became the 'thing' I had to do.

Someone in the organization came to me not long ago. They were a little overwhelmed at the news of cuts and pressure to do more, and the uncertainty of the future. Empathizing with them, I shared the following quote that I had heard recently, which was one of the driving forces behind me starting this blog:

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." - Edward Everett Hale

At SHARE last week, I got to meet Dave Tuttle, part of the original VM/370 team. He had a number of stories to tell. The one quote I wrote down was, "It was mostly a matter of doing the impossible". The VM product has a solid foundation in its design points which have survived decades. When you add talented people to the proven design principles, you get a combination that succeeds. When those people are fueled by passion for the product and compassion for others, you have an unstoppable force. I still believe we have those people. When I see younger people inside and outside of IBM working with the product that are cut from that same cloth, I know this impossible history has a possible future.

Influential People: Reed Mullen

I've written on several influential people in previous posts. The actual list of people who have impacted and influenced me is rather long, especially over the course of my career. Most of the previous ones served mostly as mentors. Reed has been a role model and given me words of wisdom. However, his role in my life and career, and the z/VM product has been more than that.

Reed Mullen, Sir Reed the Optimistic, became a Knight of VM in 1997. He was the senior planner for most of VM/ESA and for some of the z/VM lineage as well. Senior Planner was the title, but he was more than that. His vision, creativeness, and articulation are the yardstick by which others are measured today.

He is also the only IBMer to have his own bobble-head figure:

And what discussion about Reed would be complete without the infamous cheese-butt story. The following picture circulated at SHARE, showing Reed wearing not a cheese-head, but a cheese-butt. Reed is a serious Packers fan. I believe this picture was just prior to the Packer's 1997 attempt to repeat as Super Bowl Champs.

Five or six years ago, I picked up the book "Vital Friends: People You Can't Afford to Live Without", by Tom Rath. It discusses the importance of friendship, particularly in the workplace. The book discusses eight vital roles that friends play. It also has a little web based application to help you determine which roles your friends play. Reed's roles came out to be: collaborator, mind opener, and navigator.

As a collaborator, Reed and I do have several common interests and we relate to one another well. It has allowed us to pool our resources and talents at times. In March of 2005, Reed and I did a series of CMG regional conferences that hosted "Virtualization" days. Reed and I represented z/VM and then they'd also have speakers from VMware and Microsoft. I would cover the technical basics and Reed the business aspects. We kicked butt.

As a mind opener, Reed really did help me see the business side of things. He also was a help in tempering my passion when it got the best of me. Lastly, he was able to point me to the upside of most situations.

The third role was navigator. This didn't mean telling me which direction to go. Often it was more about helping me talk through the options I faced. The process of working through the pros and cons allowed me to come to a decision in which I had confidence. Reed as a navigator is ironic in one perspective. When traveling by car, Reed hates to be in the passenger seat, especially if the driver goes slow.

Which reminds me of one of my favorite Reed stories. I believe we were coming back from the CMG regional meeting in Washington DC, in late March of 2005. Though it may have been a Hillgang meeting. We had driven (ok, I drove for about 15 minutes and then Reed wanted to drive).  On the way home, we stopped for dinner in Frackville, PA, on Route 81. Shortly after getting back on the highway we saw some flurries. Until then, the roads had been clear. Within the next couple miles as we climbed in elevation, the snow was more significant and several inches could be seen on the shoulders. Traffic slowed. And then in a section of the divided highway cut through some hills, traffic stopped. We surmised there was an accident. After several minutes of standing still, Reed called home to tell his wife that he'd be late. It was probably around 7 or 8pm at that time.

After an hour or so of not moving, Reed would call his wife to let her know that he probably wouldn't be home tonight, that once we got moving, we'd find a hotel. At this point, our laptop batteries were close to 0%. Another hour went by with us moving about, ... well not moving at all. We took inventory. Neither of us had any food or anything to drink. For a brief period, I thought Reed was looking at me like in the cartoons, where I had transformed into a big turkey drumstick.

During inventory, Reed pointed out that we didn't have much fuel left. We decided to turn off the engine. While snow is a good insulator, the metal and glass rental car was a better conductor, aided by the winds cutting through the pass. As the optimist, Reed would point how great it would feel when we turned the engine back on and heat worked its magic. We would do that several times in the hours of standing still that followed. We would doze off periodically. I tried to keep one eye open, remembering that drumstick image.

Around 2am, we'd hear someone tapping on windshields telling people to wake up and move. Apparently a big part of the delay was truckers who had gone to sleep and were harder to wake up back in the sleeper cabs. As we started moving, we could see several snowmen built along side the road. Based on them, we believe the back up was well over a mile. We would end up driving straight home, after we stopped to fill the tank.

There are few people with which I'd rather be stranded than Reed. Though, I now always make sure I have a full tank of gas, something to eat, and water when traveling that stretch of Route 81. We love to tell that story now. I can't hear "Frackville" without thinking of my friend Reed.

Reed was a leader in VM, not because of a title of Senior Planner, but because he lead and people followed. His ability to communicate surpassed only by his character and integrity.

Good Night, Good Knights

Last evening at the 40th Anniversary/Birthday party for VM at SHARE, we honored sixteen outstanding people and welcomed them into the Order of the Knights of VM. I'll let the LVM SHARE officers post the list of new Knights. One can see the previous knights here.

Some of you know and understand the Knights of VM, others of you may be scratching your head and wondering if I hit my head. The Knights are people who have contributed to the VM product and community over the years. They are selected by the Community usually every five years in conjunction with a major VM anniversary. Each knight or dame is given a title specific to their contribution or character.

I have few things framed in my office, but the certificate showing me as a companion in the Order of the Knights of VM is one of them. And if I could only have one thing on my wall, it would be that frame. Is there any greater thrill than to be honored by one's peers? At the same time, I am humbled, feeling as though my name doesn't belong on the same list as so many outstanding individuals.

Last night, it was precious to see the faces of individuals as their names were called. There are no fancy acceptance speeches. That's not the way of a Knight. There was applause. There were smiles at some of cuter titles bestowed on our knights and dames. There was admiration in the eyes of others, knowing how these people touched the product and touched the people involved. That is the way of a Knight.

Before I had become a knight, I recall joking with my manager at the time. I asked him if I rode a horse to work, where could I keep it. He told me I didn't have a need for a horse. So you can imagine my excitement when becoming a knight. I thought for sure I now had a legitimate reason to own a horse. I mean, what's a knight without a horse? I lost the argument. But there are times when I'll gallop in the halls of IBM Endicott. You know, that one sided skip we all did as kids pretending we were riding a horse. It always makes me feel better. You should try it.

One of the previous knights, Nick Gimbrone, Sir Nick the Insightful, made yet another insightful point during the discussion for this year's selection of knights. He reminded us how the knights of old had support, their squires and shield bearers. Just another wonderful picture of the VM Community.

Congratulations to the Knights and Dames of the Class of 2012! Thank you for serving with honor and diligence.

Sir Bit, The Performer

A Rainout and A Rap

Over the years, I've been able to have some fun while at SHARE. In particular, I've been able to attend various sporting events with my SHARE friends. Most recently, I attended the ACC men's basketball tournament final in Atlanta, Georgia. We watched Florida State upset North Carolina. I recall seeing a couple NHL hockey games, including Tampa Bay Lightning when they were still playing in old Expo Hall at the Florida State Fair grounds back in 1992. Baseball games included Boston's Fenway, Baltimore's Camden Yards, Toronto's Skydome, San Francisco's AT&T park, Atlanta's Turner Field, and Chicago's Wrigley Field.

I remember one game at Wrigley. After about two innings, some rain started falling and they pulled out the tarps. We were seated in an area with an overhang, so the rain didn't bother me at all. The Cubs never got the game in, but that didn't bother us. We sat there and chatted, had a few beers, and dined on Chicago dogs and pizza. That's one of my favorite non-work SHARE memories. Actually, we probably talked a little VM performance as well, so there was some work. :-)

There was also at least one minor league game, watching the Nashville Sounds play. That was early in my SHARE journey. That game would plant the seed for the new nickname Rapmaster Bill. It started when leaving the ballpark when I stopped to buy a ball cap. I made the mistake of putting the ball cap on backwards. Jeff Wilk, one of the VMPR ribbon wearers at the time, got this big smile and goes, "What's with the hat? Are you like a rapper or something?" Then the smile got even bigger as he proclaimed, "That's it, we're gonna call you Rapmaster". There were various stories told through out the week about what happened at the ballpark. Someone had also collected all the souvenir beer cups from that game to create a large stack of them known as the "torch". The story would change as to how many the new IBM Rep (me) had contributed to the stack.

Craig Welch was the IBM Rep from the Storage Device group at the time. He egged me on and convinced me that we should have some fun and do a rap. Silly me, I sad yes. So for the closing session, Craig and I came running in wearing our suits, well at least the tops of the suits. We also wore shorts and high top sneakers, and baseball caps on backwards. And we did a little rap that went like:

We're the VM rappers that's who we be          
Rapmaster Bill and Craig MC              
and we're here to tell you two fast stories
                          
First is a tale we hope you like         
so here's the Rapmaster on the mic         
                                
I went to the park to see a Sounds game.          
And it was there that I got my name.                                
Rain came down  I bought a hat                 
Had 2 beers  and that was that!
                                
But Roger, Carol, Jeff, and Neal
embellished the story; And that's the deal
                                
 Now sit right back and you'll hear a tale         
 from Craig MC who just can't fail
                                
Many SHAREs ago a cookbook was tried            
soon we produced the Perf Info Guide
                                
Now when you name something, be careful, you dig? 
because what we ended up callin' its the PIG        
                                
so now that the PIG's the latest SHARE rage           
Carol Mac and Jeff, come up to the stage

I thought we were going to give some of the more dignified IBMers heart attacks. Apparently our act was new, both in dress code and enthusiasm. In ways, I think it helped me feel more approachable to my customers.

Over the years, Craig and I would do a number of Raps. Craig's role would change and he stopped making it to SHARE. I did a few solo raps, but it wasn't the same. The Rapmaster has since retired. My fifteen minutes are up. But it was a lot of fun.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

One of the fun memories and experiences at SHARE was the VM Performance Project Performance Clinics. Each SHARE, we would have a 6pm session where people could bring in their VMMAP, VMPRF, Performance Toolkit, or ESAMAP listings (performance reports) for review. It was a fun and well done event. A few of us more experienced people (Barton, Marty, myself, and others) would play the role of the doctors. The 'patients' would come to the clinic and one of the other VMPR project members would do the triage, and direct people to the doctor that might specialize in their environment or performance tools. We would then go over the reports with them.

There were some patients who had real problems. Their systems were hurting in one way or another. In some cases, they were pretty sure what the problem was and just wanted some confirmation. In other cases, they didn't have any complaints, but were there mostly as a check-up. Occasionally one of us doctors would spot something abnormal. We'd go over what we saw with the customer. So in ways, it was like a teaching hospital. In fact, there were times other people came to the clinic and told us "I'm just here to observe.", and they would, with the patient's approval, sit in on the discussion. There were also times when I'd call in one of the the other doctors for consult. "Hey, have you ever seen pending time this high on an ESCON channel?" or "Do you remember the APAR where RACF wasn't releasing storage (memory) associated with virtual machines as they logged off?"

A couple of the patients would be repeat attenders. I don't recall any real hypochondriacs, but just people who liked the idea of someone looking over their systems. Often smaller shops where they didn't have other people to bounce ideas off. The most satisfying were the cases where the previous SHARE we had spotted a problem and prescribed a solution; and the customer came back to show us they had corrected the situation and everything now looked good.

Some of you don't believe that I'm actually a shy person, but I really can be. But what a wonderful ice breaker the performance clinic was. There's nothing like sitting down with someone and looking through performance data on their system to get to know one another. It gave us a topic of common interest. I would learn more about what people do with their systems, and they would sometimes learn more about VM performance.

We don't run the performance clinic anymore. The world is better connected so I can get listings at any time. From time to time, I will still look over performance data at SHARE. These days, with wireless and laptops, listings aren't required. You simply bring up your system and show it in real time.

At a couple of IBM Technical Conferences, we used the idea slightly differently. For those that registered early for the conference, they'd be eligible for a drawing for a free performance review by either myself or Barton Robinson of Velocity. We'd each get data from a different customer, analyze it, and put together a short presentation on the data and our findings as part of a session at the conference. It was a close to a shootout as we got.

At one of the SHAREs, Gretchen Thiele of 3M at the time, honored us doctors by presenting us with real stethoscopes. It was a prized possession on one of my bookshelves for many years, and a great conversation starter. Though some of my non-IT friends didn't understand the fun in looking at rows and rows of numbers. I would later donate the stethoscope to a friend who was in medical missions in Guatemala. But I still have this button to remind me of the Performance Clinic.

 

My First SHARE

Here I am at SHARE in Anaheim, California. I believe this is my 47th SHARE meeting. Some other speeds and feeds:

• 178 = Number of times I've presented at SHARE
• 23 = Number of cities visited
• 16 = Number of States or Provinces visited with SHARE
• 16 = Number of VM releases I've spoken about at a SHARE
• 8 = Number of times I've been to SHARE in Anaheim (highest of the cities)
• 6 = Highest number of sessions I've presented in a single SHARE metting
• 6  = Number of  Chocolate Pig-outs attended
• 2 = Number of countries I've been to for SHARE (Not counting Guide-SHARE Europe which would add two more)
• 155,240 = Number of miles traveled for SHARE.

For me it all began in August of 1990 in New Orleans. That was my first SHARE. I went there for just one day of the conference to present "Introduction to VM/SP Performance". SHARE attendance was much larger in those days. They needed a half dozen or more hotels to hold all the attendees at the time.

I got in fairly late the night before. Registration was closed. My session was also the first session slot the next morning at the same time registration opened. I was going to break a rule by showing up to a session without a badge. My first SHARE. The climate in New Orleans is a tad different than Endicott, NY, especially in August. Also, keep in mind that these were the days where IBMers wore suits all the time in public.

I remember walking into the room for my session, brow wet with sweat and my shirt soaked. The combination of heat, humidity, nerves, fear of no badge, and stage fright all rolled together. I must have been quite the sight.I have no idea why I didn't throw up or just turn around and leave. I was greeted by one of the nicest people I've ever met at SHARE, Carol MacNaughton, of Bell Northern Research at the time. Like a life guard saving a floundering swimmer, she introduced herself and explained that she would be chairing my session and was there to help. It got better after that.

I can't find that presentation and I don't remember much of what I said. I do recall making my first joke. I told the audience that on the flight down to New Orleans, I sat next to a twelve year old who traveled frequently. During the pre-flight safety demonstration, he turned to me and said "why do they go through this every time? We all know it."  With that, I smiled and put up the official IBM Disclaimer chart. (I put it up on the overhead projector, we used transparencies in those days). I got a couple laughs or at least smiles and I made it through the presentation.

I was able to attend a few other sessions that day, including a requirements session. I was amazed at how much went on at a conference. Even in one day, I saw there was something special about this group of people, including that I had much to learn from them. (And I still do.) I had survived and I was hooked. I'd skip the interim SHARE after that, but go to San Francisco in 1991 as part of the transition SHARE with Paul Van Leer.


The rest as they say is history. I can't thank the customers and vendors enough, especially Carol, for their kindness in welcoming me. I'm looking forward to a great week here at SHARE. If you're here, please be sure to see Jim Elliott's session: 45 years of Mainframe Virtualization on Wednesday at 4:30, followed by the VM Birthday Party at 6:00.

With a Little Help From My Friends

International Business Machines Corporation. Big Blue. Revenue of almost $107 Billion in 2011. Infinite resources? Well, not quite. Occassionally we get a problem where we need a little more help. That's ok. We've got extra help. Our customers.

I'm not sure which is the better analogy, the twelth man from football or the sixth man from basketball. For the non-sports fans, the former refers to the impact of the home crowd and the latter refers to the first player off the bench. In either case, both can be the difference between a win  and a loss. Our customers are like that, and I'm not talking about the fact that they give us money. (I really appreciate that fact, but it's not where I want to focus.)

I wrote earlier that learning how customers use our systems makes me a better software engineer. But there are other ways that customers help. Two of the big ones are: determining best practices and problem determination.

While we at IBM attempt to provide solutions with clearly articulated best practices, we occassionally fall short, and some of that comes from the increased complexity of end-to-end solutions. I'd like to know what the average number of different vendors is for a given solution, or the number of possible combinations of vendor pieces in the stack. It's difficult for any one vendor to evaluate all those possibilities, or even a couple vendors in partnership. Enter the customer. When you share your experiences with us, we're better able to see what works best.

In fact, often when I provide the IBM best practices, I'll get the questions, "So how many customers are running that way? Can we talk to one of them?" It's part of the reason why we're so persistent about asking people to be references. By taking the experiences, good and bad, from various customers, I've been able to help guide new customers better. By knowing these customers well, I also know their skill levels, organization structure, and to some degree IT investment strategy. When talking to a customer, I sometimes feel their patience start to slip away as I'm asking various questions about their environment or the politics in their shop. I know they just want me to answer the question du jour of "What's the best practice for fill in the blank?". Well, what I'm doing is trying to match the profile of the customer asking the question with profiles of other customers.

I've also called on customers to help with problem determination. Have you ever felt a bump on one side of your head and immediately check the other side to see if it's normal? It can be effective. I do it with systems too, compare good with bad data. However, there are times when a customer has a problem and I don't have a "good" system like that. Or they are running vendor software where I have no experience. No problem. I'll think of two or three customers running that and ask them for some data, or ask if they have seen symptoms. There have also been times where I don't know of a customer running that way, but will post to IBMVM listserv and ask for a sample of data for a given environment. I've never been disappointed with help provided.

There is a tradition on many sports teams of retiring the jersey number for an exceptional player as a way to honor them. The Seattle Seahawks did it right. They retired number 12 to honor their fans, the crowd, the twelfth man.

Happy 40th VM

August 2, 1972 was the announcement of VM/370. Now, some will say it's more than 40 years if you go back to CP-67, or even further back to CP-40. While the earliest versions of VM were known to customers, it wasn't until VM/370 that a formal offering was available. Tradition has used that as the starting point. The question for me is whether this is an anniversary or a birthday.

Part of me wants it to be a birthday, because you hear about birthday cake more than you do anniversary cake. I like cake. I like the idea of the years prior to 1972 as the time IBM was with child. The gestation period was longer than 9 months, and even exceeded the 22 to 25 months gestation of an African Elephant. That's not necessarily a comment on the size of IBM at the time.

Part of me wants it to be an anniversary, because every five years is when the big celebrations occur. Birthdays make me think about getting older or aging. You can use cute expressions like 40 is the new 25, but it's still older than 35. Anniversaries on the other hand are more about recognizing the longevity, endurance, and growth. I also think of an anniversary more as recognizing an event. Often an event that brought together a group of people, and in some cases a commitment or bond. There are elements of that aspect that seem to fit VM.

Birthdays also seem to have an end, which we don't like to think about. But the anniversary of the founding of a town or a country doesn't seem to end. I wasn't involved with VM for the 5th or 10th anniversaries, and my involvement was still new for the 15th. It's also unlikely that I'll still be writing blogs for the 55th. Others will pick up the banner and the cause, keeping tradition alive.

In both cases, recognizing the event is a chance to tell stories, share memories, honor the pioneers and champions, and celebrate. All of which the VM community does well.

Community: To Everything there is a Season

When I started working with customers, I remember one of the more cynical IBMers warning me to be careful that I didn't fall into the Stockholm Syndrome. At first it didn't register, because I confused it with the Helsinki Formula which was a new breakthrough in treatment for thinning hair at the time. After I got over the idea of being self-conscious, I realized he was really talking about hostages becoming attached or feeling positive about their kidnappers. I still found it odd because I hadn't been threatened or tied up by customers. I will acknowledge that I have become attached to customers, partly in the simple partnership of doing business and in other ways by learning they are human, real people just like myself.

I have celebrated various events with customers. The VMSHARE conferencing discussed yesterday had a couple of forums, called MEMOs,  related to this: ITSABOY and ITSAGIRL. At one SHARE I even wrote a rap (oh, I let that history out) for Anne Marie Marcoux's first child Annick:

I was oh so very blue
But then I heard a baby's due
That really made me smile
For more than just a while
Cuz babies are so cool
They never call me fool
Their hair is very short
A look I do support
They may get in predicaments
But never write requirements
But the very biggest thrill
is when they call me Uncle Rapmaster Bill

Today we celebrate more grandchildren than children, but the new generation is still working at it.

It seemed the VM Community had a knack for finding reasons to celebrate. Marriages were announced in MEMO ITSATHEM. People leaving one job, joining another, earning a degree; all would be celebrated.  At SHARE there is a tradition of honoring someone who has been serving as a rep or volunteer for a long time when they step down, or step up to a new position. The traditional gift is a teddy bear. My joining the IBM Quarter Century Club was sweetened by reading congratulatory letters from many of you.

Perhaps a more telling aspect of the Community is not the happy times, but the sad times. These have included the down times of business, with people looking for work. And various times where the VM Community faced powers within IBM that didn't see the value they saw in it. While those were rally points in the VM history, there have also been more serious moments. The concern shown the VM lab in Endicott during the floods of  2006 and 2011 warm my heart. I've been even more proud watching the group rally around those who lose a loved one. Thomas Fuller wrote, "No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend until he is unhappy." This is why I know the VM Community is full of friends.