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Capacity management

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Jump to: navigation, search Capacity Management is a process used to manage information technology (IT). Its primary goal is to ensure that IT capacity meets current and future business requirements in a cost-effective manner. One common interpretation of Capacity Management is described in the ITIL framework [1] . ITIL version 3 views capacity management as comprising three sub-processes: business capacity management, service capacity management, and component capacity management (known as resource capacity management in ITIL version 2). As the usage of IT Services change and functionality evolves, the amount of processing power, memory etc also changes. If it is possible to understand the demands being made currently, and how they will change over time, this approach proposes that planning for IT Service growth becomes easier and less reactive. If there are spikes in, for example, processing power at a particular time of the day, it proposes analyzing what is happening at that time and make changes to maximize the existing infrastructure, for example, tune the application, or move a batch cycle to a quieter period. These activities are intended to optimize performance and efficiency, and to plan for and justify financial investments. Capacity management is concerned with:

Monitoring the performance and throughput or load on a server, server farm, or property Performance analysis of measurement data, including analysis of the impact of new releases on capacity Performance tuning of activities to ensure the most efficient use of existing infrastructure Understanding the demands on the Service and future plans for workload growth (or shrinkage) Influences on demand for computing resources Capacity planning developing a plan for the Service

Capacity management interacts with the discipline of Performance Engineering, both during the requirements and design activities of building a system, and when using performance monitoring as an input for managing capacity of deployed systems.

ITIL Capacity Management

Capacity Management is the discipline that ensures IT infrastructure is provided at the right time in the right volume at the right price, and ensuring that IT is used in the most efficient manner. This involves input from many areas of the business to identify what services are (or will be) required, what IT infrastructure is required to support these services, what level of Contingency will be needed, and what the cost of this infrastructure will be. Capacity management is made up of three subprocesses: Business capacity management (BCM) Service capacity management (SCM) Resource capacity management (RCM) These subprocesses all share a common set of activities that are applied from different perspectives. They include the following: Modeling Service monitoring Performance management Demand management Workload management Analysis Change initiation Optimization Trend analysis These are inputs into the following Capacity Management processes: Performance monitoring Workload monitoring Application sizing Resource forecasting Demand forecasting Modelling From these processes come the results of capacity management, these being the capacity plan itself, forecasts, tuning data and Service Level Management guidelines. Capacity Management Overview Mission Statement To ensure that all current and future capacity and performance aspects of the IT infrastructure are provided to meet business requirements at acceptable cost. Process Goal Achieve the process mission by implementing: ITIL-aligned Capacity management policies, processes and procedures

Dedicated Capacity Management Process Owner Business Capacity Management to forecast capacity needs based on business events Service Capacity Management to ensure capacity levels support established service level targets Resource Capacity Management to ensure capacity levels are provided for at the individual IT device level Actions to ensure appropriate levels of capacity have been built into new IT Solutions Periodic and ongoing forecasting for capacity needs based on both business and technical input Ongoing monitoring and analysis of current performance to ensure appropriate levels of capacity have been provided and resources are optimally tuned Critical Success Factors (CSFs) The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are: Providing Accurate IT Capacity Forecasts Providing Appropriate IT Capacity To Meet Business Needs Key Activities The key activities for this process are: Perform demand management for business, service and resource capacity activities Perform modeling for business, service and resource capacity activities Provide application sizing for business, service and resource capacity activities Provide capacity plans for business, service and resource capacity activities Perform capacity monitoring, analysis and tuning activities Implement capacity-related changes Control storage of capacity data for capacity activities Provide management information about Capacity Management quality and operations. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Examples of Key Process Performance Indicators (KPIs) are shown in the list below. Each one is mapped to a Critical Success Factor (CSF). Providing Accurate IT Forecasts Total dollars in unplanned capacity expenditures Total dollars in unused capacity expenditures Percent of capacity forecasts that were accurate Number of inaccurate business forecast inputs provided Providing Appropriate IT Capacity To Meet Business Needs Number of incidents related to capacity/performance issues Number of SLA performance targets missed due to capacity

ITIL Capacity Management Capacity Management is the discipline that ensures IT infrastructure is provided at the right time in the right volume at the right price, and ensuring that IT is used in the most efficient manner. This involves input from many areas of the business to identify what services are (or will be) required, what IT infrastructure is required to support these services, what level of Contingency will be needed, and what the cost of this infrastructure will be. Capacity management is made up of three subprocesses: Business capacity management (BCM) Service capacity management (SCM) Resource capacity management (RCM) These subprocesses all share a common set of activities that are applied from different perspectives. They include the following: Modeling Service monitoring Performance management Demand management Workload management Analysis Change initiation Optimization Trend analysis These are inputs into the following Capacity Management processes: Performance monitoring Workload monitoring Application sizing Resource forecasting Demand forecasting Modelling From these processes come the results of capacity management, these being the capacity plan itself, forecasts, tuning data and Service Level Management guidelines. Capacity Management Overview Mission Statement To ensure that all current and future capacity and performance aspects of the IT

infrastructure are provided to meet business requirements at acceptable cost. Process Goal Achieve the process mission by implementing: ITIL-aligned Capacity management policies, processes and procedures Dedicated Capacity Management Process Owner Business Capacity Management to forecast capacity needs based on business events Service Capacity Management to ensure capacity levels support established service level targets Resource Capacity Management to ensure capacity levels are provided for at the individual IT device level Actions to ensure appropriate levels of capacity have been built into new IT Solutions Periodic and ongoing forecasting for capacity needs based on both business and technical input Ongoing monitoring and analysis of current performance to ensure appropriate levels of capacity have been provided and resources are optimally tuned Critical Success Factors (CSFs) The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are: Providing Accurate IT Capacity Forecasts Providing Appropriate IT Capacity To Meet Business Needs Key Activities The key activities for this process are: Perform demand management for business, service and resource capacity activities Perform modeling for business, service and resource capacity activities Provide application sizing for business, service and resource capacity activities Provide capacity plans for business, service and resource capacity activities Perform capacity monitoring, analysis and tuning activities Implement capacity-related changes Control storage of capacity data for capacity activities Provide management information about Capacity Management quality and operations. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Examples of Key Process Performance Indicators (KPIs) are shown in the list below. Each one is mapped to a Critical Success Factor (CSF). Providing Accurate IT Forecasts Total dollars in unplanned capacity expenditures Total dollars in unused capacity expenditures Percent of capacity forecasts that were accurate Number of inaccurate business forecast inputs provided Providing Appropriate IT Capacity To Meet Business Needs

Number of incidents related to capacity/performance issues Number of SLA performance targets missed due to capacity

Capacity Management

Planning and optimizing utilization of actual physical infrastructure capacities via shared data center model, enabling efficient equipment provisioning and right-sizing of your data center.
Product Information

Model Information Features & Benefits > Manuals and Warranties > Application Notes > Brochures > Press Releases Balance IT demand with physical infrastructure supply. InfraStruXure Capacity predicts the optimal location for physical infrastructure and rackbased IT equipment based on the availability and requirements of physical infrastructure capacity; and user defined requirements such as redundancy, network and business use grouping. It reduces stranded capacity through optimized use of the physical infrastructure and avoids unplanned downtime. With its sophisticated simulation based on live data, InfraStruXure Capacity proactively analyzes the impact of changes before they occur, enabling informed decision making and planning, ensuring that your physical infrastructure provides the required capacity for current and future needs. Features & Benefits Planning Physical equipment Quickly locate the optimum spot for that next server based on planning physical infrastructure needs. Business impact Shows the consequence of device failure on rack-based equipment for instant identification of critical business application impacts. Simulation of device Enables data center operators to proactively identify how a device failures failure will impact business critical applications.
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3-phase load balancing Power dependency path Airflow analysis Capacity reports Floor and rack load weighting Port count

Automatically distribute and track single and three-phase equipment power draw, ensuring all three phases on the power system carry a balanced load. Map the power path and physical system relationships and dependencies. Simulate any cooling scenario in your data center, instantly visualizing the cooling effect on your infrastructure. Shows planned and actual power data in one view, enabling detailed planning of future power needs. Factors floor and rack weight limits when placing new equipment Recommends best location to install new IT equipment based on power and network port availability

Availability Available Capacity

Understand available capacity by calculating actual space, power and cooling consumption, power and network port availability and floor and rack weight limits against data center architecture constraints. Measured power data Prevent overloads through graphical display of average and peak power usage by measuring actual consumption through metered rack PDUs. Keyword tagging Highlight location constraints through keyword tagging of data center racks or equipment. U-space report Provides a quick overview of available U-space within your data center. Capacity policies Group IT equipment to match availability needs and avoid stranded space, power and cooling capacity. Electrical room Monitor capacity and plan changes for centralized power equipment support in areas outside of the main data center floor plan. Manageability Equipment browser Quickly locate equipment based on vendor name, model and type, and export equipment data to excel format. Device catalog Utilize the extensive library of physical infrastructure and IT devices from leading vendors. Custom devices Quickly customize catalog devices to your specifications in just 2 clicks, amending custom properties such as power requirements and MAC address etc. Free text search Quickly locate devices and alerts through the free search field. Generic UPS support Allows for modeling data from any UPS vendor, providing support for existing data center environments. Agility

Model any data Capable of modeling data centers and rooms with rows in any center direction. Common data model Ensure mature and syncronized data throughout the entire data center life cycle. Optional deployment Ensure speedy deployment through the use of APC Professional services Services. Localization User interface available in major local languages. Integrates with Achieve integrated energy efficiency, predictive planning and realInfraStruXure time data center operations through the add-on InfraStruXure Management Management applications; InfraStruXure Operations, InfraStruXure applications Capacity, InfraStruXure Change, InfraStruXure Energy Efficiency, InfraStruXure Energy Cost & InfraStruXure Mobile. Protection User roles Multi-user access Password Security Read-only Access

Enable different levels of access through multi-user login and predefined user roles. Enables several users to carry out work on the application simultaneously. User-selectable password protection prevents unauthorized access. Share access without risking unauthorized configuration changes.

Capacity Management at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary's Hospital Author: Izak Duenyas, Roman Kapuscinski, Paul Maggio, Gerald Kangelaris, Mariana Orloff Product Type: Case Product #: 1-428-724 Publication Date:11/2008 Length: 12pages Keywords: Operations; Strategic Management; Strategy; Management; Capacity Management; Hospital; Operations; Healthcare; North America; Customer Relationship Management; Innovation; Leadership; Operations Strategic Discipline: Management Industry: Region: Healthcare North America

Topic:

Customer Relationship Management Innovation Leadership

This case explores the capacity management challenges facing the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary's Hospital. Recent increases in the number of patients have led to a demand for beds that exceeds the supply, especially at certain times of the week. This has resulted in a number of problems, including increasing costs for the hospital.

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