Beyond Maximum Throughput: Explore Full Operational Envelope for Capacity Planning

Throughput is a common metric in performance tests, particularly for capacity planning. Traditionally, systems are tested until failure, using the maximum throughput achieved as the primary performance measurement. However, this method does not accurately reflect system capacity, especially when response time is a major factor of user experience. We propose a comprehensive performance testing strategy that explores the full operational envelope of the system. By introducing the concept of maximum recommended throughput, we demonstrate that this new benchmark provides more reliable information for performance testing, benchmarking and capacity planning. In some cases, the concept can be extended to resource utilization. Finally we show that exploring the full operational envelope is also powerful in identifying connection throttles.