• Proven techniques for optimizing web, file, print, database, and application servers

• Practical introductions to open source performance management tools

• Easy-to-understand examples based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

An indispensable guide to maximizing Linux system and application performance

From Wall Street to Hollywood, Linux runs many of the world's most businesscritical systems. Linux performance now impacts the entire enterprise. In Performance Tuning for Linux Servers, a team of IBM's most-experienced Linux performance specialists shows you how to find bottlenecks, measure performance, and identify effective optimizations.

This book doesn't just cover kernel tuning: it shows how to maximize the end-to-end performance of real-world applications and databases running on Linux. Throughout, the authors present realistic examples based on today's most popular enterprise Linux platforms, Intel-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. These examples are designed for simplicity, clarity, and easy adaptation to any contemporary Linux environment. You'll discover how to

• Install and configure Linux for maximum performance from the outset

• Evaluate and choose the right hardware architecture for your Linux environment

• Understand Linux kernels 2.4 through 2.6: components, performance issues, and optimization opportunities

• Master core Linux performance tuning principles and strategies

• Utilize free, open source tools for measurement, monitoring, system tracing, and benchmarking

• Interpret performance data to analyze your Linux server's real-world behavior

• Optimize Linux system schedulers, memory, I/O, file systems, and networking

• Tune web, file, database, and application servers running commercial workloads

• Predict the impact of changes in tuning parameters or configurations

• Tune Linux code: optimize design, timing, sockets, threads, synchronization, and more

• Architect for maximum performance: SMP scaling, clustering, and topology

• Integrate kernel and application tuning in end-to-end system optimization projects

Whether you're an administrator, developer, integrator, or consultant, Performance Tuning for Linux Serverswill help you maximize the performance and value of every Linux system and application you run.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

About The Author

Sandra K. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Senior Technical Staff Member and the Chief Technology Officer of Global Small and Medium Business, IBM Systems and Technology Group. She was formerly the Linux Performance Architect with the IBM Linux Technology Center in Austin, Texas. She has more than sixteen years of experience in designing and evaluating the performance of operating systems and applications. Johnson is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology.

Gerrit Huizenga is a software engineer and architect for Linux Base Technologies in the IBM Linux Technology Center in Beaverton, Oregon. Gerrit has been architecting, designing, and implementing operating system capabilities with a focus on performance, scalability, standards, and security for twenty years. Prior to his work at the IBM Linux Technology Center, Gerrit was the Chief Technologist for Operating Systems at Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.

Badari Pulavarty is a senior engineer at the IBM Linux Technology Center in Beaverton, Oregon. He has fifteen years of experience developing UNIX operating systems.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews & Comments
This review is from: Performance Tuning for Linux(R) Servers (Hardcover) If you're responsible for Linux servers and you need to keep things running at peak efficiency, you *need* to get this book... Performance Tuning For Linux Servers, edited by Sandra K. Johnson, Ph. D., Gerrit Huizenga, and Badari Pulavarty. It's an excellent blend of theory and practicality. Chapter List: Part 1 - Linux Overview: Linux Installation Issues; Kernel Overview; Overview Of Server Architectures Part 2 - Performance Analysis Tools: System Performance Monitoring; System Trace Tools; Benchmarks As An Aid To Understanding Workload Performance Part 3 - System Tuning: System Performance Principles And Strategy - A Benchmarking Methodology Case Study; Scheduler Tuning; The Linux Virtual Memory-Performance Implications; I/O Subsystems-Performance Implications; File System Tuning; Network Tuning; Interprocess Communications; Code Tuning Part 4 - Performance Characterization Of Linux Server Applications: Web Servers; File And Print Servers; Database Servers; Application Servers Part 5 - Tuning Case Studies: Case Study - Tuning The I/O Schedulers In Linux 2.6; Case Study - File System Tuning; Case Study - Network Performance On Linux; Case Study - Commercial Workload Tuning; Tuning Kernel Parameters; Index This is one of those rare books that ranks high on many criteria... It's got a lot of theory, the "why" of different features as they relate to performance. It's also packed full of practical material. They tell you how to measure key components in the system and what parameters you can change to affect those areas. When you get done, you've covered every conceivable area that exists in the Linux environment. I particularly liked the blending of measuring/monitoring along with the instructions on how to change performance. The chapter on system performance monitoring tools can be used immediately to see how your system runs. Once you become comfortable using those tools, you can use them to run before and after comparisons of tuning efforts. There's no guesswork involved. Measure, tweak, and remeasure. Repeat as necessary. Same with the benchmarking tools. They will allow you to know without a doubt whether the changes you made work or not. I'm also impressed with the readability of the book on a couple of different fronts. For one, books like this can be dry as dirt, especially in the areas dealing with theory and architecture. But surprisingly, it really wasn't hard to follow, nor was I getting bored. The other reason the readability is surprising is that the chapters are done by 21 different contributors. When you get different chapters being done by different techies (with varying levels of communication skills), you normally get a very uneven book. Not so here... The editors should be commended for taking material that I'm sure was all over the board and weaving it into a cohesive and coherent volume. Bottom line... If you run a Linux system and you are responsible for making sure it performs, this is the book you need to have. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)