Introduction to Panorama and ACE Analyst (3 days)
Prerequisites:
For Panorama: Basic understanding of server performance testing. Knowledge of Java and Java EE would be helpful, but not necessary.
For ACE Analyst: Basic understanding of applications, networking, and protocols.
Course Description:
Through labs and lecture, this course teaches you the fundamentals of using OPNET solutions in the IT space. The first two days focus on Panorama, and the last day, ACE Analyst.
Using Panorama, you will learn how to gain valuable insight into historical and real-time performance patterns of business-critical applications. This enables you to monitor thousands of application and system metrics proactively across multiple tiers to identify sources of performance problems or potential choke points, improving application response time and preventing application outages. This course provides training for both Panorama for Production and Panorama for QA.
Using ACE Analyst, you will learn how to capture, filter, and import packet traces to study application behavior, analyze and predict TCP behaviors that impact application performance, and create models of applications with ACE Whiteboard.
Agenda:
Day 1
- Introductory concepts of performance tuning and the "science" behind Panorama
- Panorama use cases
- Correlation and analysis techniques
- Dynamic thresholds, deviation scoring, and automatic baselines
- Using the Panorama user interface
- Forensic actions: beyond performance data
- Panorama reports
- Brief Overview of Load Testing Methodology
- Perceptual Breaking point vs. Technical Breaking point
- Potential issues with summarized external results from the load generator
- Methodology for setting up step loads for Panorama
- Baselining strategies
- Best practices for analyzing step loads
Day 2
- Diagnosing performance issues using live and historical data analysis
- Characterizing normal performance, resource usage, and effects of load
- Using limits, key metrics, correlation and deviation to interpret performance data
- Building dashboard views for different user audiences
- Using Forensics to troubleshoot intermittent performance issues
- Using stored performance history to examine trends and create reports using Panorama's Reporting functionality
- Troubleshooting problems with Panorama Transaction Visualizer
- Core concepts of performance theory
- The relationship between load, throughput, response time, and resources
- Technical breaking points vs. perceptual breaking point
- Identifying load propagation bottlenecks
- Recognizing common issues using performance charts
- Queuing theory fundamentals
- Best practices to prevent misinterpretation of results
- Key performance indicators (OS, App, DB)
- Understanding Java/J2EE Heap Consumption and Garbage Collection
Day 3
- Basic ACE Analyst functionality and workflows
- Troubleshooting poor application performance with ACE Analyst
- Predicting application behavior with ACE Analyst
- Generating analysis reports with ACE Analyst
- How to use ACE Analyst features for advanced application troubleshooting
- How to "drill down" into an application and pinpoint the exact causes of delay
- How to recognize repeating traffic patterns in an application
- How to identify unusual protocol issues
- How to find and solve problematic application and network interactions
Related Classes:
Introduction to OPNET Panorama