Thinking Methodically about Performance: The USE method addresses shortcomings in other commonly used methodologies.

Abstract

Performance issues can be complex and mysterious, providing little or no clue to their origin. In the absence of a starting point, performance issues are often analyzed randomly: guessing where the problem may be and then changing things until it goes away. While this can deliver results it can also be time-consuming, disruptive, and may ultimately overlook certain issues. This article describes system-performance issues and the methodologies in use today for analyzing them, and it proposes a new methodology for approaching and solving a class of issues.

References

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Index Terms

• Computer systems organization

  • Dependable and fault-tolerant systems and networks

• General and reference

  • Cross-computing tools and techniques

    • Performance

• Networks

  • Network performance evaluation