Workloads

Workloads provide a way to subdivide the resource consumption on a server, making it possible to analyze performance in terms of the assets being utilized by each business service delivered by IT.

You can analyze and report on workloads within TeamQuest IT Service Analyzer. You can also handle workload-related alarm events with TeamQuest Alert, provide workload-based management reporting with TeamQuest IT Service Reporter, plan future capacity based on forecasted changes in business workloads with TeamQuest Model. For ultimate flexibility in understanding how resources are being employed in the delivery of services, workloads from multitiered servers can be combined for analysis using TeamQuest's IT Resource concept.

 

	Enlarge image TeamQuest IT Service Reporter: % CPU by Business Unit
More Sample Screens TeamQuest IT Service Analyzer: Memory by Application TeamQuest Model: Components of Response Time by Workload TeamQuest Model: Components of Response Time by Application

Workloads categorize system activity by a common characteristic, such as:

• Applications used
• Account id
• Logins
• CPU
• Memory size
• Department

Defining Workloads

You can define workloads around common characteristics, such as department, applications used, account id, logins, or even CPU or memory size.

Workloads are defined in workload sets. All of the workloads in a set add up to the total work done on the system. Any work not matching any of the workload definitions you have in a set is matched with a default workload called "Other."

You can define workloads that span multiple systems, recognizing the fact that applications and services typically span multiple systems. This allows you to model the enterprise from the perspective of the user.

You can define workloads on each individual system, or you can use TeamQuest Administration Server to manage workloads as policies and apply them to multiple servers at once. The Administration Server allows you to change a workload definition in one place, then apply that change automatically to other systems.

Real-world Uses

Workloads are valuable tools for both performance management and capacity planning:

• See how system resources are being consumed by each department and establish a basis for chargeback
• Measure and report on service levels using workloads corresponding to services delivered to business units
• Use a capacity model to determine how moving a workload to a different server or to off-peak hours will affect response time
• Receive early warning of potential problems by setting thresholds and alarms on workloads, allowing you to make corrections before users are impacted
• Uncover trends in user activity and system behavior by examining workload data over long periods of time
• Find patterns between services provided and system components by exploring cause-effect relationships with workloads