I almost hate to give this answer, but the correct response to this is simply IT DEPENDS. I have worked in a number of different shops, and your answer for this depends greatly on the type of workload you have on the machine along with expected/required level of performance and SLA's. At my current shop there are a couple of VERY busy days during the month and also once a year during year end processing - and I would not use these small amounts of excess workload/demand to try and justify a bigger box. In this case I just monitor average workload during the peak work days (say 10 AM to 4 PM M-F).
I have also worked at shops where the machine held a fairly steady level all day, so in that case either answer (average or peak) would work. The main question is can your shop survive if you hit a peak of 10-20% more work for say 30-45 minutes or longer during the day? Normally you can probably just look at the average versus peaks during your busiest work times. If the difference in the peak and the average during your "busy" times is less than say 20%, then average might be a good measure. The bottom line is that there is not one "right" answer to this question. It depends greatly on your shop environment. C. Todd Burrell PMP, MCSE 2003:Security MCTS (640,642,643) Security+, Network+ ITIL V3 Foundations CSC Lead z/OS Systems Programmer ITSO (404) 723-2017 (Cell) -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ward, Mike S Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 4:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: CPU utilization/forecasting Hello all, can someone tell me if it's better to use CPU peak or CPU average to project growth. My way of thinking is if you use peak then you're sure to show where you need extra horse power. In other words if you can't process during your peaks what good are the averages. ========================== This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
