Incremental Software Architecture

Chapter 15Enterprise Capacity Planning for End-State Architecture

Nothing is static when it comes to a vibrant production ecosystem. Capacity planning for an end-state architecture that includes systems, applications, and any other entity in production is all about sizing. What does sizing mean? When an end-state architecture proposition is made or has already been deployed to production, the prevailing engineering obligation is to allocate enough computing resources for current and future entity consumption.

Ask these capacity-related questions to determine if end-state architecture elements such as components, applications, and/or systems will indeed operate flawlessly with current production capacity:

• Will the network bandwidth meet current message exchange volumes?
• Will the database storage allow for an increase in information persistence?
• Do the servers contain enough disk space for input/output (I/O) operations?
• Do the servers include enough memory to enable rapid computing?
• Are the servers' CPUs powerful enough to process data?

These associated capacity questions emphasize the current resource consumption needs for individual end-state architecture elements. Capacity planning is also about sizing software and hardware to assure solid business execution in the future. Over time, systems and their related applications are bound to grow beyond their original size. Repositories always expand beyond their initial state. More consumers subscribe to business services, and ...