Chapter 11. Capacity Testing
Recent industry data suggests that large companies implementing SAP may experience losses of millions of dollars per hour or minute for each occurrence of downtime in the SAP production system. Fortunately, well-planned and -executed capacity tests are a proven method to help minimize unexpected SAP downtime.
Capacity testing is a broad name for tests that ensure that the SAP system meets established response times and can support the expected total number of concurrent end users with optimal system response times. The main types of capacity tests include performance, volume, stress, and load testing. Each type of test plays a critical role in fine-tuning the SAP system, discovering degradation points, and eliminating system bottlenecks. Furthermore, appropriate execution of each capacity team can help the SAP system achieve the following objectives:
Verify that service-level agreements (SLAs) are maintained.
Ensure optimal software configuration settings.
Avoid overspending on hardware equipment.
Ensure that the system does not crash or fail given surges in volume from seasonality.
Avoid financial losses from system failure in a production environment.
Reduce the number of end-user complaints reported to the help desk production support team.
Capacity testing is an ongoing activity throughout the life cycle of an SAP implementation. Many SAP projects conduct a capacity test once a year, which exposes the business to the risk of failure in the production system. ...
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