Edit: Some links no longer work.
Originally posted June 11, 2013 on AIXchange
I attend presentations all the time, and I always appreciate it when I get a copy of the slide decks (which are usually in PowerPoint) afterward. That way I can review them later and refresh my memory as needed. I can also share them with the world, something I recently did with this set of slides.
For me, the next best thing to being at a presentation is being able to watch it online. This is one reason why I’m such a fan of the AIX Virtual User Group — they make presentations available via replay. I wish more presenters, whether they’re at technical conferences or speaking to user groups, would record their work and post it on YouTube or some video site. We’d all benefit from their expertise.
If I don’t see a presentation, either live or recorded, I feel like I’m missing out. Sure, if I’m familiar with the topic, I can generally get up to speed simply by reading the material. But I think it’s very important to be able to actually hear the presenter discuss what’s on the PowerPoint and explain, in his or her own words, why these particular notes or these particular graphics were included.With that backdrop, I want to tell you about a presentation from Jorge L. Navarro Cueva from IBM, who discusses ideas for sizing Power Systems.
No, unfortunately, I didn’t get to see this presentation, but I recommend it just the same. Jorge offers elementary advice for anyone — from beginner to expert — who needs to size Power systems. At only 15 slides, it’s a relatively quick read, but I figure many of you may benefit from reviewing some of the concepts he covers. This list of topics is found on page 3 of the slide deck:
1. Understand the performance metrics.
2. Know the most used performance benchmarks.
3. Don’t get obfuscated by benchmarketing.
4. Variability is your worst enemy.
5. Size the true peak load.
6. Avoid the “what is the peak” pitfall.
7. Be aware of the consequences of undersizing.
8. Design a balanced system.
9. Garbage In, Garbage Out.
10. Master the sizing tool.
Slide 5 offers a sound reminder: App 1 may need four cores and App 2 may need four cores, but the two apps don’t necessarily need the four cores at the same time.
Slide 6 makes a good point: Your intervals may not give you enough detail to properly size a system. Or they may actually provide too much detail.
Given the two desks on slide 8, I can see why one might have a longer wait to get service from Desk A than Desk B.
Jorge’s presentation comes in two sets of slides. His email is listed on the first slide in each set, so if you have questions, you should contact him directly. If you do correspond with Jorge, I hope you’ll post your questions and his answers in comments section. (However, be sure you get his permission before doing so.) This additional information would certainly be useful for others who will come across this post in the future.