I had to do a data gathering for a Storage proposal done by a storage vendor. I was simply doing a passive work instructed by some other party. This makes me thinking how well we can gather I/O data and analyze them. So I start writing down a list of thing which came to my mind. From my old readings, I know I/O analysis and sizing is a tricky subject. There are two contradictory views on the subject as well. Old view is that I/O analysis and sizing is an art, it is interpreted as a mathematical work (not an art) as well.
I have done very few such and most of them are primitive analysis for study purposes, so I really don’t know the subject very well. The lecture notes in http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~pattrsn/252S98/Lec13-queuing.pdf helps us understanding interesting principles of queuing theory in I/O.
So here are some tips to do an I/O data gathering. I am hoping to write about a practical I/O analysis case as well.
At which points can we track the I/O data? -> "Table 1 : Typical I/O Trip"
By which methods can we start gathering I/O data for a proper analysis ? -> "Table 2 : I/O data gathering"
