Layer of Capacity Management

There are three sub-functions within Capacity Management. They are Performance Analysis, Capacity Forecasting and Capacity Planning. These can be seen as different views of the same problem, requiring different levels of details in different time-scales.

Performance Analysis

• Compare actual versus planned performance, using as input Performance Data (from Operations) and Performance Plans (from Capacity Planning)
• Analyze performance problems and report on any major deviations from plan
• Decide on short-term tuning actions and produce detailed instructions for Operations

Capacity Forecasting

• Analyze current workloads
• Measure new applications
• Forecast resource usage of new applications
• Predict the performance of future workloads
• Continuously revise all measurements and predictions

Capacity Planning

• Be aware of current and future organizational objectives
• Determine required service levels, consult with business planners and system users
• Maintain Performance Plans, which deal with expected performance variations through time
• Generate and report Action Plans to maintain adequate service, in terms of performance, reliability and resilience
• Revise all plans as forecasts change