Organizations running mission-critical applications on Unisys ClearPath platforms face a common challenge: how to implement modern predictive analytics and forecasting capabilities without disrupting proven legacy systems. The question isn’t whether ClearPath systems can support predictive analytics, it’s about finding the right solution that bridges legacy infrastructure with contemporary data intelligence tools. While forecasting is done in EDM and can therefore be used with any major source (ClearPath, Linux, Windows, OS 2200 and other non-ClearPath systems), for the purpose of this blog post, we will focus on ClearPath.
But, Just To Be Sure… Can Legacy Systems Like ClearPath Support Predictive Analytics?
The straightforward answer is yes. Unisys ClearPath systems, both MCP and OS 2200, can absolutely support advanced predictive analytics and forecasting when integrated with the right monitoring and analytics platform. The key lies in implementing solutions specifically designed to work with ClearPath architectures while providing modern analytics capabilities.
Sightline Systems has brought industry-leading expertise in performance analysis and capacity planning to Unisys and other major platforms for decades. The Sightline Enterprise Data Manager (EDM) solution captures and analyzes essential metrics across core system resources, providing insight into platform efficiency while maintaining the integrity and stability that ClearPath users require.
The Sightline solution empowers enterprises to elevate service delivery across multi-platform environments, seamlessly integrating ClearPath MCP and OS 2200 data with Windows, UNIX, and Linux platforms within a single, intuitive browser-based console. This integration capability means organizations don’t need to choose between preserving their legacy infrastructure and gaining access to modern analytics—they can have both.
What Metrics Can Be Analyzed for Predictive Purposes?
Comprehensive predictive analytics for ClearPath systems requires monitoring across multiple resource categories. Sightline’s solutions provide detailed trend analysis across critical system components:
Processor Resources
Sightline monitors both User and MCP utilization, activation rates, and queuing delays. The platform provides in-depth analytics to understand processor load distribution and pinpoint bottlenecks before they impact operations. By tracking processor performance over time, the system can forecast when additional capacity will be needed or identify opportunities to optimize workload distribution.
Memory Management
Memory constraints can significantly impact system performance. Sightline reports available and utilized memory, including overlay activity, detecting potential memory constraints that could affect system performance. This clear view of memory demand and allocation enables proactive capacity planning, preventing performance degradation before it occurs.
Disk and I/O Performance
The platform monitors I/O activity by I/O Processor (IOP), subsystem, and device. Key metrics include Percent Busy, I/Os per Second, Average Queue Depth, and response time. This comprehensive monitoring enables elimination of I/O bottlenecks to optimize system throughput and allocate I/O resources efficiently. Long-term trend analysis of disk usage by user and application supports resource planning and identifies growth patterns.
Network Activity
Network processor (NP/ICP) activity tracking includes I/O rates, average message size, queue depths, and percent busy statistics. TCP/IP network statistics on the ClearPath host permit monitoring of network connection activity levels, essential for capacity planning of the system’s network infrastructure.
Audit and Database Performance
For DMSII databases on ClearPath MCP systems, Sightline provides utilization and performance data for database global metrics as well as individual structures. Key metrics include Transactions per Second, I/Os per Second, Overlays per Second, Average Wait for Audit, and Audit Block Percent. This database-level visibility is critical for regulated environments where audit trail performance and database responsiveness directly impact compliance and operational efficiency.
How Does Predictive Forecasting Work with ClearPath?
Sightline’s proprietary ForSight forecasting engine transforms historical and real-time performance data into predictive intelligence. ForSight performs both scheduled and ad-hoc forecasting based on any metric stored in the Sightline data repository, allowing organizations to extrapolate current usage rates and predict future performance and capacity issues before they occur.
The ForSight engine within Sightline EDM uses machine learning algorithms to analyze patterns in resource utilization over time. By understanding historical trends and current trajectories, the system can provide accurate forecasts of when resources will reach capacity thresholds. This enables informed decisions about hardware upgrades, workload rebalancing, or application optimization without relying on guesswork or manual analysis.
For example, if memory utilization has been steadily increasing at a measurable rate, ForSight can project when available memory will be exhausted, giving administrators weeks or months of advance warning to take corrective action. Similarly, if I/O subsystems show trending increases in percent busy or queue depth, the system can forecast when performance degradation will reach critical levels.
What About Root Cause Analysis and Alert Management?
Predictive analytics become truly valuable when combined with intelligent alerting and rapid problem resolution. Sightline’s Clairvor correlation engine provides automated root cause analysis capabilities that help administrators identify and resolve issues in minutes rather than hours or days.
When an application uses several different resources across multiple platforms, analyzing problems traditionally takes significant time. Clairvor automates this process by providing correlation and reporting capabilities when configured threshold values are exceeded. Once an alert triggers, the system immediately notifies the appropriate team and provides a report showing where the problem originated, dramatically reducing mean time to resolution.
Threshold Tuning and Early Warnings
Effective predictive monitoring requires properly configured thresholds that provide early warning without generating alert fatigue. Sightline’s platform allows administrators to set customized alert thresholds across all monitored metrics. These thresholds can be tuned based on historical baselines, seasonal patterns, or specific operational requirements.
The system’s intelligent alerting goes beyond simple threshold breaches. By analyzing trends, Sightline can alert administrators when metrics are trending toward problematic levels, even if current values remain within acceptable ranges. These alerts can also be tied to automated actions—for example, triggering scripts or workflows that rebalance workloads, notify downstream systems, or open service tickets when sustained growth in CPU or I/O utilization indicates an impending capacity issue. This predictive, automation-aware alerting provides advance warning and response, allowing proactive intervention before issues impact users.
Why Is This Important for Regulated Environments?
Organizations in banking, government, healthcare, and other regulated industries face stringent requirements for system availability, performance, and audit trail maintenance. ClearPath systems often serve as systems of record processing numerous transactions daily, where downtime or performance degradation carries significant consequences.
Predictive analytics for these environments must provide both foresight and forensic capabilities. Sightline’s solution collects SUMLOG data and reports resource statistics for every job, task, and MCS session run on ClearPath MCP systems. This comprehensive logging supports both real-time monitoring and historical analysis for compliance purposes.
The platform’s preventive maintenance capabilities are particularly valuable in regulated environments where scheduled downtime requires extensive planning and approval. By accurately forecasting when maintenance will be needed—whether for capacity upgrades, performance tuning, or hardware replacement—organizations can schedule interventions during approved maintenance windows rather than responding to emergency outages.
How Does Sightline Bridge Legacy and Modern Analytics?
Sightline serves as the essential bridge between ClearPath’s proven reliability and modern data intelligence capabilities. The platform accomplishes this through several key approaches:
The centralized, browser-based console provides graphical displays for real-time and historical performance monitoring without requiring changes to ClearPath systems themselves. Users access sophisticated analytics through standard web browsers, eliminating the need for specialized client software.
Integration with Unisys Unified View powered by Sightline presents smart analytics on a single screen, consolidating performance insights into one dashboard. This allows organizations to analyze trends, optimize resources, and take proactive actions across their entire monitored infrastructure—ClearPath systems alongside open systems and virtualized environments.
The platform’s ability to consolidate data from ClearPath systems with other enterprise infrastructure means predictive analytics can consider the entire application stack. When a performance issue occurs, administrators can quickly determine whether the root cause lies in the ClearPath system, network infrastructure, or connected systems.
The Bottom Line on ClearPath Predictive Analytics
Legacy systems like Unisys ClearPath absolutely can support sophisticated predictive analytics and forecasting. The key is implementing purpose-built solutions that respect the unique characteristics of these platforms while providing the modern analytics capabilities organizations need.
With proven tools like Sightline EDM, ForSight forecasting, and Clairvor correlation, ClearPath users gain predictive intelligence that prevents problems, optimizes resource utilization, and supports proactive capacity planning—all while maintaining the stability and reliability that made ClearPath the platform of choice for mission-critical operations. Whether you use ClearPath, Linux, Windows, OS 2200 or other non-ClearPath systems, Sightline Systems has a solution for you.
Debi Ray is the Director of Product Management at Sightline Systems. With over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, Debi brings a unique customer-centric perspective to product development, informed by her extensive background in client-facing roles and deep understanding of user needs.
In her current role, Debi oversees the product lifecycle management for Sightline's solutions spanning multiple industries, including the company's expansion into aquaculture with AQUA Sightline. She works closely with cross-functional teams to translate market insights and customer feedback into product enhancements that drive business value and operational efficiency.
Debi's comprehensive background in post-sales support, training delivery, and consulting services provides her with invaluable insights into real-world customer challenges and use cases. This hands-on experience with enterprise implementations has shaped her approach to product management, ensuring that new features and capabilities address genuine market needs. She has delivered training and presentations at user conferences and corporate events worldwide, maintaining close connections with Sightline's global customer base.
Her strategic leadership in product management combines market analysis, competitive intelligence, and customer advocacy to guide Sightline's product evolution and support the company's continued growth across diverse industry verticals.