Summary

Initially you need to define which applications are critical to the success of your business. This functional classification provides a focus to begin the technical profiling phase. As well as profiling the specific application, you also begin to profile the overall network environment. This information begins the formation of your baseline, and will not only help you understand what you can achieve through optimization, but will also provide you with a blueprint for the future.

The best way to profile application conversation is to physically monitor the application to identify trends and characteristics over a period of time.

Having observed the application, you are in a position to classify it. At this stage, keep the classification relatively simple, identifying areas such as bandwidth used, application turns, and window size.

Ultimately, you use the profile you have defined to verify your application performance (via monitoring) and to set realistic and achievable SLA criteria.