Microsoft Corporation
DETERMINING SERVER FARM CAPACITY AND PERFORMANCE

Abstract:

A data processing system for determining a capacity of a server farm implements determining a first operating parameter indicative of a utilization status of a server farm comprising a plurality of virtual machines; determining that the first operating parameter falls within a first range of operating values in which capacity testing of the server farm is performed; capacity testing the server farm to determine a capacity estimate by iteratively configuring a virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines operating in an active state to operate in a sleep state until the first operating parameter reaches an upper threshold associated with the first range of operating values and monitoring performance of the plurality of virtual machines; modifying configuration parameters of the server farm to adjust an amount of available computing capacity based on the capacity estimate; and operating the server farm based on the updated configuration parameters.