Some
people think capacity is a dark art. Predicting the future is not easy,
but with consistent analysis and a little common sense its possible to
project. There are a few steps:
Figure out where we are now. Take a look at any
statistical or glance data you already collect. Run some analysis, talk
to operators and users. Get a picture of where things are now.
The past can predict the future? What was your last
major upgrade? Why was it done? How much capacity dit it add?
What is the growth rate of the IT business in terms
of disk space, cpu cycles an other measures? When will that require a
new system?
So every five years you replace production systems?
What should you replace them with. The newer hardware, with cell based
architecture, vpars and npars can make you more flexible. A good story
in this area is power generation. Every summer the electric company
brings special generators online to meet peak demand when things get
really hot. How about brining an extra cpu or two into year end
processing go get through it more quickly? Surge capacity is possible.
We can help you plan for this future.
How long will it be until your backups exceed the
amount of data that can be fit on one tape? What are the options for
getting around this limitation.
What are the licensing issues. Oracle for example
charges $40,000 per cpu for an unlimited database license. The cpu
charge for ias 10G is $20,000. Throwing CPU's at a capacity issue can
be very expensive in non-hardware teams. We can help you handle your
needs in a way that conserves your financial resources.
