Using an Instant Messaging Load Simulator

To measure the performance of your Instant Messaging architecture, use your user bases (described in Defining Your Instant Messaging User Base or Site Profile) and your usage profile (described in Creating Your Instant Messaging Usage Profile) as inputs into a load simulator.

A load simulator creates a peak volume environment and calibrates the amount of load placed on your servers. You can determine if you need to alter your hardware, throughput, or deployment architecture to meet your expected response time, without overloading your system. Using a load simulator involves five basic steps:

1. Defining the user base that you want to test (for example, casual users)

   If necessary, adjust individual parameters to best match your usage profile.

2. Defining the hardware that will be tested

3. Running the load simulator and measuring the maximum number of concurrent connections on the tested hardware with the user base

4. Publishing your results and comparing those results with production deployments

5. Repeating this process using different user bases and hardware until you get the response time that is within an acceptable range for your organization under peak load conditions

Contact Sun Client Services for recommended load simulators and support.