 Successful
SolarisTM Performance Tuning
Ken Gottry
In real estate, the three top success factors are location, location,
location. In today's distributed, multi-tiered, Web-based systems,
the three top success factors are performance, performance, performance.
It's great to design an elegant system and to use the latest
technology, but if the system doesn't perform well, then you
and your client aren't successful. In this article, I share
some of my secrets for success.
I tackle performance problems in a specific order. First, I look
for network problems, because they can limit the amount of work
reaching a server. Next, I look for memory problems, because they
can impact I/O performance. I then look for I/O problems, because
they can cause CPU degradation. And finally, I look for CPU problems,
because they can cause memory problems. In this article, I present
three real-world performance problems: one network, one memory and
CPU, and one I/O. I will explain how I modified Solaris, and why.
Solaris Tunable Parameters
Solaris is self-adjusting to system load and normally demands
minimal tuning. In some cases, however, tuning is necessary. By
changing the setting of one or more kernel variables, you can affect
the performance of Solaris -- sometimes positively, sometimes
negatively. Be sure to thoroughly research a variable before changing
its settings. Also, be sure to experiment with changes on a test
server where the only one impacted by mistakes is you.
Another thing to remember is that one system's /etc/system
settings might not be applicable, either wholly or in part, to another
environment.
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