Microsoft Windows NT Server is an adaptive operating system from a performance perspective. Windows NT Server is built upon a collection of adaptive algorithms that aid the system in constantly tuning itself during operations. In fact, Windows NT Server is specifically adapted to the demands of the enterprise server environment. However, although it is very efficient at optimally compensating for a wide range of operational demands, some areas do require manual tuning in order to achieve optimal performance.
These manual performance tuning efforts are typically associated with the optimization of the four primary resources on any server running Windows NT Server, namely:
System Processor(s)—CPU
Memory—RAM
Disk Subsystem—Disk I/O
Network Interface—Network I/O
The performance optimization goal is to eliminate resource bottlenecks, thereby achieving a balance between application and system resource requirements. Hence, from a Microsoft BackOffice perspective, Windows NT Server is the provider and manager of system resources. Therefore, as long as the basic resource requirements for Windows NT Server are satisfied, there are no antagonistic performance characteristics that should affect the other Microsoft BackOffice components.
Accordingly, the following information provides you with optimization information with respect to the Windows NT Server system resources described. Moreover, this information addresses resource requirements in the context of a Microsoft BackOffice solution architecture. Once you have applied this information and feel your system is optimized, it is then time to gather data on current system capacity. The data will allow you to do the following:
Project how much the workload at the CPU, memory, disk subsystem, and network levels will increase in response to business growth and new Microsoft BackOffice applications.
Diagnose problems by comparing subsequent measurements.
This information is rather technical in nature and assumes that you already know a great deal about Windows NT Server. However, it only touches the surface of optimization. Therefore, please refer to the appropriate references in Appendix A of this paper.