Setting good system benchmarks will give you performance data for a properly tuned system. These performance benchmarks from both before and after system changes provide important information for both troubleshooting and planning.
You should establish system benchmarks before any major change in the system configuration, for example adding a new interactive application or performing a system upgrade. Maintaining accurate benchmark information can provide essential troubleshooting information. At a minimum, benchmarks should include current collection objects from Collection Services. Depending on your environment you may need to maintain more detailed information using Performance Explorer.
Setting up a benchmark requires:
Running meaningful benchmarks for interactive workloads is almost impossible without special equipment that allows you to simulate a user at a workstation. To run a batch benchmark is, of course, not as complex a task as to test performance of interactive applications, and the first three points above are still valid for this type of test. However, setting system benchmarks on concurrent batch and interactive work, which is frequently the actual customer environment, also requires the appropriate number of users and workstations.
IBM® developed a benchmark called the Three-in-One Benchmark to mirror the real-world demands facing IT companies. The Three-In-One Benchmark clearly demonstrates that the iSeries server is an excellent solution for today's small and medium businesses, which helps them run the applications they need without worrying about performance.