HP ProLiant DL585 G5, Performance Manual

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 should closely match their user profiles with the Heavy, 

Medium, and Light User profiles specified by HP in

 Table 2

. 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.  
An 

HP ProLiant Sizer for Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services

 is 

available for enterprise and small and medium business (SMB) environments. Figure B-1 shows the 

Application Selection

 screen for this sizer.  

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