What is capacity planning? Include an explanation of what-if analysis in your answer.
What will be an ideal response?
Capacity planning is a process that monitors current activity and performance levels, anticipates future activity, and forecasts the resources needed to provide desired levels of service.?The first step in capacity planning is to develop a current model based on the system’s present workload and performance specifications. Then future demand and user requirements are projected over a one- to three-year time period. The model is analyzed to see what is needed to maintain satisfactory performance and meet requirements. To assist in the process, a technique called what-if analysis can be used.?What-if analysis varies one or more elements in a model in order to measure the effect on other elements. For example, what-if analysis might be used to answer questions such as: How will response time be affected if more client workstations are added to the network? Will the client/server system be able to handle the growth in sales from the new website? What will be the effect on server throughput if more memory is added??Powerful spreadsheet tools can also assist in performing what-if analysis. For example, Microsoft Excel contains a feature called Goal Seek that determines what changes are necessary in one value to produce a specific result for another value.?During plan capacity, detailed information is needed about the number of transactions; the daily, weekly, or monthly transaction patterns; the number of queries; and the number, type, and size of all generated reports. If the system involves a LAN, network traffic levels must be estimated to determine whether or not the existing hardware and software can handle the load. If the system uses a client/server design, performance and connectivity specifications must be examined for each platform.?Most important, an accurate forecast of future business activities is needed. If new business functions or requirements are predicted, contingency plans should be developed based on input from users and management. The main objective is to ensure that the system meets all future demands and provides effective support for business operations. Some firms handle their own capacity planning, while others purchase software.
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