Performance Analysis ,Modeling & Capacity Planning with IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Overview of IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool.

3. Benefits of using IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool.

4. Setup and Execution of IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool.

5. Conclusion

6. References

Introduction:

The IBM Capacity Planner Tool (ICCP) is the tool used to assess resource demands needed forEnterprise Content Management products for a particular workload and hardwareconfiguration. IBM Content Capacity Planner is primarily used to size the CPU, but alsocalculates network, Optical drive, and OSAR/MSAR demand. Once a system configuration ischosen, the tool applies the defined workload demands to the configuration and producescharts showing the daily projected utilization.Performance analysis and benchmark datacollected in-house make it possible to model a customer’s transaction workload and to projectthe FileNet P8 service demands from that workload. ICCP tool is used for planning capacityfor Enterprise Content Management products.

Overview of IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool:

When you introduce a new system or extend an existing one, choosing the right

hardware is an important consideration in your planning.

➢ You will want to use ICCP to help you prepare for the following tasks,

➢ Example Use Case:

1. A new system is planned, and you need to select the hardware.

2.The ICCP sizing is refined reflecting the latest requirements.

3. An existing system is extended. Additional users and additional applications are rolled out.

4. An existing system needs to be migrated to new hardware. This can occur in conjunctionwith reorganization and moving into new buildings, system consolidation, new outsourcingcontracts,or simply replacing outdated hardware.

5. The current system needs to be analyzed. For example, a client wants to know whatadditional workload the system can handle or requests a detailed performance analysis. In thiscase, current production data is available and can be used by ICCP.

Benefits of using IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool:

1. The Capacity Planner allows for Easy Modeling of a Complex System

Modeling a complex computing system can be a daunting task. At a minimum, a systemanalyst must have some knowledge concerning the workload performed on the system before a useful system model can be defined. As if acquiring that knowledge was not challenge enough, the analyst is further tasked with entering the descriptive and numerical details of his system knowledge into a Modeling and Performance Analysis

software tool. The capacity planner makes this process easy provided you have the correct data.

2. The Capacity Planner generates Meaningful Reports

Once a Workload and system are modeled, complex computations of the demands on the system and its components must be performed. These computations are pulled from a substantial and time-tested library of algorithms. The results are organized into reports so that the analyst may draw conclusions about the systems utilization. The capacity planner quickly generates reports on important aspects of system usage.

3. The Capacity Planner has a Friendly Interface

The overriding goal in developing the Capacity Planner User Interface design was to simplify the analyst's modeling task. By organizing the elements of a system model into a hierarchical structure, the capacity planner guides the user through the requisite stepsof defining a system model in an intuitive and straightforward manner. The net result isa short learning curve for the new user and a very powerful tool for all users.

4. A Note on Accuracy

The accuracy of the results that you receive from any computer modeling applicationwill depend on what you put into it. The capacity planner predictions are accurate towithin plus or minus 20% of the reported demand based on your specified workload.

Setup and Execution of IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool:

1.Run the ICCP installer .See that installer installs without any errors.Latest version available currently is ICCP 45012.

2.Before launching the ICCP tool there are some post installation steps which need to be configured in 64-bit machines.

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:

• Right click on the Windows\SysWOW64\cmd.exe; select Run As Administrator.

▪ cd <ICCP installation directory>

▪ CACLS . /e /p Users:F

▪ cd <ICCP installation directory>\Samples

▪ CACLS . /e /p Users:F

▪ cd <ICCP installation directory>\MergeModules\Windows7_64bit

▪ win7_64reg.bat

FOR DSN SETUP to WORK ON SYSTEMS THAT DO NOT HAVE MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 OF ACCESSDATABASEENGINE 2007:

• If you run ICCP and receive a Fatal Error message box for Setup of User DSN Failed,you must download the AccessDatabaseEngine 2007. You can download it from here.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23734

FOR CONTEXT SENSITIVE HELP to work on Windows 7

● Windows 7 and beyond do not by default support the Windows Help format. To obtain a WinHlp32.exe for your machine, use the microsoft support site.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607

● Log on as an administrator

● Download the correct version WinHlp32.exe for your version of Windows

➢ Please refer steps in ReadMe file for installation related help .

➢ There are two methods to model a system with the Capacity Planner:

1. Manual Steps.

2. The Walkthrough Wizard.

Manual Steps Method:

1. In the most simplified form, the first step is to define the Workload.

The workload is defined through Transactions. Transactions are initially built through the Transaction Templates node in the Navigation tree. Transactions is an area that requires much care and familiarity with the FileNet system due to the low-level granularity of the information that you will enter into the Capacity Planner.

Fig 1:Figure depicting the Workload of the added transactions.

Describing the workload entails numerically entering Transaction estimates and dragging and dropping those Transactions into the Workload or Site 1 node.

Transactions are elements of FileNet work. They are divided up in terms of their product (Image Services, Visual WorkFlow 2.0, Web Services, eProcess, etc.), then further subdivided into their functional areas: Scan Batch, Prefetch, and so on.

2. For each transaction, you must enter the following Attributes:

Fig 2:Figure depicting the Attributes

Click the radio button to indicate whether the workload you are defining is the daily rate, hourly rate, or some other rate. The other rate is defined to be a multiplier of an hour. For example, if you want the workload to represent transaction per second (TPS), you would set theother rate to be 3600 (3600 seconds in an hour).

If you want the other rate to represent users, set it to the number of users and define the workload in the parameter pane to be the hourly rate of a single user.

• The start time of the transaction.

• The end time of the transaction.

Entering transactions and attributes builds the Workload node. The Workload will expand in the navigation tree dynamically as the Transactions are added. This Workload will be the mathematical factor which will affect the utilization report.

3. Specify the Hardware Configuration that represents your system.

The Transactions or system utilization's will be calculated against a Hardware Configuration of your specification. Use the right-mouse click menu on the Region 1 node to access the Hardware Configuration menu. This is where you specify the server model for each server type,OSAR model and network protocol which you would like to apply to the entire region. These choices will most likely be modified after you have viewed the reports and assessed the output. Determining the most appropriate selections is an iterative process.

Fig 3:Figure depicting Hardware Configuration Screen.

4. Run Reports.

When all of your workloads are defined, you can see a visual representation of how your configured system will handle the demand. This is accomplished through the Reports node. After examining the Reports, you may want to return to the Configuration node to specify alternative configurations and generate new Reports based on those variations

Reporting is an extensive, feature-rich function of the capacity planner. It is described in exhaustive detail under Reports.

Fig 4:Figure depicting the Reports for the Servers added into the Site.

5.Chart Area

The chart area is the visual representation of the data. It is actually two charts displayed on one. The first chart is the stacked bar plot (this default can be changed) of the subject you chose. The second is a line plot of the threshold of the selected equipment. The threshold line will always be a straight line.

Fig 5:Figure depicting chart for the reports.

WalkThrough Wizard Orientation:

Due to the complex nature of the capacity planner tool, a project-building Wizard is provided to assist you. The WalkThrough Wizard will build an IBM Content Capacity Planner project fileafter taking you through a series of query forms. These forms will ask which products you want to configure the system with and then take you deeper into questions about how each product will be used.

From the answers to the questions, a project file is built called Walkthru.sct. When you exit the wizard, the project will be left for you to view and modify as needed.

Fig 6:Figure depicting flowchart of walkthrough wizard.

➢ To run the Wizard,

1. Select the WalkThrough Wizard from the menu bar. The first menu that comes up is and introduction screen. Click Next to continue.

2. Check off any products you wish to configure. Some products may be on subsequent pages, so use the NEXT button to view them. You must select at least one product to be able to continue with the NEXT button to start filling out forms.

3. The Wizard will query you about the workload specific to each product. Answer the questions in the forms and click NEXT to go on, HELP for additional help on the screen, BACK to go back to previous screens, and CANCEL if you wish to exit the Wizard. The Wizard will display a series of prompts and parameter-entry forms, querying you for the data required to size a system. Context-sensitive help is available for each screen. Note that there is a Skip Entry checkbox at the beginning of each product definition screen set. This allows you to skip forward to another product if you want to.

4. At the FINISH screen, press the CHECK MODEL button to run a rudimentary validation on your inputs. If the results are acceptable, click FINISH.

5. You will be informed of the completion of the project build by a final screen. After you click OK at that screen, you will exit the Wizard. You can now view the results, run the reports and make changes either through the Wizard or directly in the project.

6. If you choose to edit the project through the Wizard, select Walkthrough Wizard, Current Project.

Fig 7:Figure depicting walkthrough wizard.

➢ Sample capacity planner Files:

Sample capacity plans are provided to help you get started. Double-click on these files in the Explorer, or select File > Open from the menu bar to view these examples:

● BasicIMSapp.sct shows a typical Image Services scanning and retrieval operation.

● TradeVWapp.sct shows a stock trade application that uses Visual WorkFlow as a solution.

● Upgrades.sct shows an example of using Baseline Sheets to assess the demands of a system intended to be upgraded.

➢ Expertise of Users & A Note on Accuracy:

The Capacity Planner is meant to be used as an iterative modeling tool for all stages of the capacity planning process. In the beginning of the project, a rough model can be developed. As more details about the system and workflow process become known, more detail can be added to the capacity planner model.ICCP help is readily available in ICCP tool as a user guide. Remember that the more time you spend to understand and model the system, the more accurate your results will be

Conclusion:

This article guides the user with step by step process of installing,configuring and utilizing the functionality of IBM Content Capacity Planner Tool for planning the capacity & modeling of a FileNet System . This information will help the user to analyze the resource demand required by a particular workload for Enterprise Content Management products whichallows user to perform modeling and performance analysis for even complex systems in an intuitive and straightforward manner. These results are organized into reports so that the analyst may draw conclusions about the systems utilization which inturn helps in the overall performance of the FileNet System which consists of multiple setups of various products integrated in a FileNet System.

References:

1.p8_400_performance_tuning.pdf

2.http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSGLW6_5.2.1/com.ibm.p8.sysmgr.admin.doc/p8pdb097.htm

3.https://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/servlet/ContentHandler/swg_com_sfw_ecm_icc_planner_tool/lc=en_ALL_ZZ