What I did recently was to load a production DB on the test server and run my 
series of tests.  Then reloaded the DB, changed stuff and run again.  It sounds 
like you are setup to do that.

For comparison, I noted the run time for expiration on the production and test 
systems to estimate an offset.  I used the offset to adjust the tests to 
production.  I then spent the next three weeks restoring the DB and testing. 
(rinse. Repeat.)

The offset in my case added about 10% to the test times to give me an estimated 
production run time.  This is mostly because we have small DB incremental 
backups running all day.

You might also try a full audit if you have a week or 2 of spare time.

Hope this helps at least a little.

Andy Huebner
-----Original Message-----
From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf Of 
Michael Green
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 11:06 AM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: [ADSM-L] I'm getting new disk storage.

I know performance benchmarking is an art. And asking questions like
"how can I test this new storage" may bring a smile on face of some of
you. But still...

The time has come and I need to replace the disk storage underlying
the DB/DISKCLASS/FILECLASS files. I'm going to test two storages from
Infortrend and DDN. Both storages allow mix and match of SAS (for
DB/LOG) and SATA (for DISK/FILECLASS) drives.
Both will be FC 4Gb attached.
I've been thinking about replicating my biggest TSM server (Linux
based) on a server that has been put aside for this purpose.  I'll
load DB/LOG onto SAS drives and some FILECLASS volumes onto SATA
drives and time the following workloads:
- expiration
- db defrag
- Reclamation

To be honest I am not sure I know how to properly set up such testing
environment. I'm concerned that my tests will not be representative
enough and will not indicate the actual performance that I'll observe
after the storage system will become production.

Your thoughts on this topic are much appreciated...
--
Warm regards,
Michael Green


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