Chapter 9. Proactive Planning
This chapter includes the following topics:
Networking is dynamic. Things will change, including software versions and usage levels. For application monitoring to be effective, businesses must first define their performance objectives (acceptable response time limits) for each application transaction type. Proactive planning ensures maintenance of the delivery criteria required of business-critical applications. (That is, application response times will be maintained as user numbers increase.)
This chapter begins by discussing aspects of proactive troubleshooting, using baseline-type data. It then discusses the dynamic nature of the enterprise environment.
Moving on, it discusses the approach and reasoning behind validating changes in your environment.
In addition to the respective tools used in end-to-end monitoring systems, certain enabling technologies and methodologies are desirable. This chapter defines and introduces those technologies.
It goes on to discuss the use of a virtual network environment that replicates the behavior of the enterprise network, including its routers, switches, protocols, servers, and individual applications.
A chain is as strong as its weakest link, and a distributed environment's performance is often set by its weakest component. Capacity planning is an active process of measuring and monitoring networked resources to ensure delivery of business-critical applications will be maintained. This chapter discusses practical and meaningful approaches to capacity planning.
It goes on to discuss using service level agreements (SLAs) as a performance indicator, covering the review process and assignment of penalties. It includes a summary of assigning SLA criteria.
Finally, it discusses the vision of an end-to-end system, and what is realistically achievable (and practical) in an enterprise.
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