WebSphere Application Server V7.0: Concepts ... - IBM Redbooks

Based on your estimate, you might have to update the implementation design for
all of your planned environments. Changes to the production environment should
be incorporated into the development and testing environments if at all possible.
If this is not possible for budgetary reasons, ensure that the integration and
development environment are functionally equivalent.
4.4 Benchmarking
Make sure to validate the sizing with a load test before starting the production.
Benchmarking is the process used to determine the capacity of an application
environment through load testing. This determination enables you to make
reasonable judgements as your environment begins to change. Using
benchmarks, you can determine the current work environment capacity and set
expectations as new applications and components are introduced.
Many enterprises maintain a benchmark of their application stack and change it
after each launch or upgrade of a component. These customers usually have
well-developed application testing environments and teams dedicated to
benchmarking. For those that do not, alternatives such as the IBM Test Center
are available. There are also third-party benchmark companies that provide this
service.
Note: We recommend including a benchmark or load test as part of the
development process. This will prevent a lot of performance problems and
help improve the code quality of the application, as well as the robustness of
the overall environment.
IBM Test Center
IBM Global Services offers Performance Management, Testing, and Scalability
services. This team will come on-site and assess the overall site performance.
This investigation is platform neutral. Offerings include, but are not limited to the
following services:
► Testing and Scalability Services for TCP/IP networks
► Testing and Scalability Services for Web site stress analysis
► Performance Engineering and Test Process Consulting
► Performance Testing and Validation
► Performance Tuning and Capacity Optimization
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