Workloads for the server

The ability of a server to handle workload is directly related to the server's resources, including system processors, memory, and I/O bandwidth. The ability of a server to efficiently process daily tasks determines how large a server can be.

Because any system has finite resources, the maximum workload on the server is limited by the recovery objectives. For example, if you decrease the frequency of server database backups to lessen the workload, you increase the time between recovery points for the system. Less frequent server database backups might cause the system to miss the recovery point objectives (RPO).

Ensure that a server can complete essential tasks in a 24-hour cycle:
  • Complete the client workload.

    The client workload is the amount of data that is backed up or archived during the backup window. The backup window is typically a span of time at night or in the early morning. The ability of the server to store this data within the backup window can be limited by various factors:

    • Server storage capacity
    • I/O throughput to the storage devices
    • Network bandwidth
    • Other system attributes such as available memory or processors for the server
    • Characteristics of the client systems that are being backed up, including the following characteristics:
      • Processor speeds and memory for the client systems
      • Disk speeds on client systems
      • The total amount of data from all clients
      • The total number of clients that request services from the server at one time
  • Complete the essential server maintenance operations.
    Daily completion of the following operations keeps the server environment in good working condition and helps you prepare for disaster recovery of the server. These operations are key to effective data maintenance and management:
    • Expiration
    • Database backup
    • Reclamation
    Additional daily operations are required depending on the configuration of the solution and the features that are used:
    • Storage pool migration
    • Storage pool backup
    • Duplicate identification processes
    • Node replication processes

For examples of how a solution can be configured to handle workloads, see the sample architecture documents in the IBM Spectrum Protect wiki on Service Management Connect at Sample Architectures.