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Appendix b – sbc solution sizing, Online sizer tool – HP BL35P User Manual

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Appendix B – SBC solution sizing

As with any laboratory benchmark, the performance metrics quoted in this Performance Brief are

idealized. In a production environment, these metrics may be impacted by a variety of factors,

including the following:

Overhead
Agents and services (virus scanning, backup and restore, provisioning, security, management and

more) automatically consume overhead. Rogue applications can consume additional overhead.

The system architect may wish to provide a 25% – 30% buffer to accommodate this overhead.

Future growth

To accommodate future growth, the system architect may wish to provide an additional buffer.
Alternatively, servers can be added as needed, taking advantage of the server farm’s inherent

ability to scale out.

User profiles

The particular application in use directly impacts the number of users supported by a particular
server. Further, user behavior can also impact scalability:
– Increased typing rates correspond to fewer users.
– Opening and closing applications (rather than switching between them) or moving quickly

between tasks can place a heavier load on the server.

– For accurate sizing, system architects must closely match their user profiles with the Heavy,

Medium, and Light User

profiles

used by HP during performance testing. If the profiles do not

match, more are available using the online sizer tool (described below); alternatively, the system

architect can consult

HP Services

for more information.

Background grammar checking
Background grammar checking can significantly impact scalability, reducing the number of users

supported by as much as 50%. HP disabled background grammar checking for the testing

described in this Performance Brief.

Online sizer tool

To minimize risk, HP offers automated, online tools that can help the customer size an HP SBC
solution. The algorithms and methodology used by the sizer are based on the results of customer

surveys and thorough testing.
Sizers are available for the following HP SBC environments:

Enterprise

Small and Medium Business (SMB)

Figure B-1 shows a typical HP SBC sizer screen.

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