With a baseline figure established in the usage analysis, you can then validate and refine that figure to account for scalability, high availability, reliability, and good performance:
Establishing an appropriate sizing estimate for your Portal Server deployment is an iterative process. You might wish to change the inputs to generate a range of sizing results. Customizing your Portal Server deployment can greatly affect its performance.
After you have an estimate of your sizing, consider:
Use the following LDAP transaction numbers for an out-of-the-box portal deployment to understand the impact of the service demand on the LDAP master and replicas. These numbers change once you begin customizing the system.
Access to authless anonymous portal - 0 ops
Login by using the Login channel - 2 BINDS, 2 SRCH
Removing a channel from the Portal Desktop - 8 SRCH, 2 MOD
Reloading the Portal Desktop - 0 ops
One of the primary uses of Portal Server installed on an application server is to integrate portal providers with Enterprise JavaBeansTM architecture and other J2EETM technology stack constructs, such as Java Database Connectivity (JDBCTM) and J2EETM Connector Architecture (JCA), running on the application server. These other applications and modules can consume resources and affect your portal sizing.
Now that you have an estimate of the number of CPUs for your portal deployment, use a trial deployment to measure the performance of the portal. Use load balancing and stress tests to determine:
Throughput, the amount of data processed in a specified amount of time
Latency, the period of time that one component is waiting for another component
Maximum number of concurrent sessions
Portal samples are provided with the Portal Server. You can use them, with channels similar to the ones you will use, to create a load on the system. The samples are located on the Portal Desktop.
Use a trial deployment to determine your final sizing estimates. A trial deployment helps you to size back-end integration to avoid potential bottlenecks with Portal Server operations.
Your next step is to refine your sizing figure. In this section, you build in the appropriate amount of headroom so that you can deploy a portal site that features scalability, high availability, reliability and good performance.
Because your baseline sizing figure is based on so many estimates, do not use this figure without refining it.
When you refine your baseline sizing figure:
Use your baseline sizing figure as a reference point.
Expect variations from your baseline sizing figure.
Learn from the experience of others.
Use your own judgement and knowledge.
Examine other factors in your deployment.
If the Portal Server deployment involves multiple data centers on several continents and even traffic, you need a higher final sizing figure than if you have two single data centers on one continent with heavy traffic.
Plan for changes.
A portal site is likely to experience various changes after you launch it. Changes you might encounter include the following:
An increase in the number of channels
Growth in the user base
Modification of the portal site’s purpose
Changes in security needs
Power failures
Maintenance demands
Considering these factors enables you to develop a sizing figure that is flexible and enables you to avoid risk when your assumptions regarding your portal change following deployment.
The resulting figure ensures that your portal site has:
Scalability high availability, reliability and high performance
Room for whatever you want to provide
Flexibility for adjusting to changes
Use a trial deployment to verify that the portal deployment satisfies your business and technical requirements.