System Size Considerations

There is no precise answer to the question of optimal hardware configuration. In determining the system size, the key issues are:

  • How many users will access the system concurrently?
  • How many issues will be stored in the system?
  • On average, how often is an issue updated, from its creation to its closure?
  • How often are large reports prepared and output from the system?
  • What is the available bandwidth to the server?

Prepare answers to these questions to help determine your hardware configuration:

  • Should the database and web server be on a single computer? If not, how many web and application servers are needed?
  • How big should the computer be? How fast? How many processors? How much memory?
  • How much disk storage is needed?
  • What network bandwidth is needed to support the users?

Consider all these questions together. It is only after a thorough examination of all the factors that a decision on the optimal hardware configuration can be made. It may also be important to build in future planned growth. Is it better to put hardware in place that will not need upgrading or is it better to install additional CPU’s, web servers and storage as needed? Not every company will make the same decisions; this manual, however, will help in making these decisions. You can take advantage of ExtraView’s experience in this decision-making process.