IS7070 - Capacity Management

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to define adequate controls for effective capacity management of DMACC IT services and infrastructure for ensuring that the capacity of the IT infrastructure matches the ever evolving demands of the business in the most cost-effective and timely manner.

Scope

This procedure applies to all:

• IT services and infrastructure managed and operated by DMACC IT Department.
• Group employees whether directly or indirectly who monitors the IT systems for capacity utilization and performance

Procedure Statements

The capacity management process shall identify capacity requirements based on business strategy and plans, business requirements, budget, existing IT capacity and emerging new technologies.

The capacity management process shall be subjected to continual improvement.

Monitoring, data gathering, analysis, reporting, forecasting and reviews will be undertaken consistently in a defined manner, with the data being stored securely and centrally.

There shall be real-time monitoring of infrastructure components and its resource capacity against pre-defined thresholds.

Alerts shall be raised, where applicable, to all relevant personnel when capacity thresholds are breached.

All capacity enhancement techniques such as tuning and consolidation shall be performed, as required.

All efforts shall be made to ensure that the capacity of systems and resources are tested before a new release, where applicable.

Impact Analysis

The impact of the new capacity requirements on the existing infrastructure must be assessed.

The assessment should investigate the type of changes that may be required in the existing infrastructure to address the new requirements.

The impact shall be assessed from both the IT management and IT technical point of view.

The outcome of impact assessment shall be documented in the capacity plan.

Solution Identification

A suitable solution shall be evaluated to satisfy the capacity requirements considering the impact assessment done.

• A solution could fall into any one of the following:
• Upgrades to the systems/ infrastructure
• Changes in architecture
• Fine tunings to existing systems
• Introduction of new technology
• Procurement of new systems or devices

The identified solution shall be documented in the capacity plan.

The proposed solution shall be reviewed for feasibility in terms of both cost and effectiveness before implementation.

Implementation

The identified solution shall be approved and implemented by following the relevant IT processes.

If a change is required, follow the change management procedure.

If a new hardware needs to be procured, and the solution, the Executive Director, Information Solutions will be advised of the need.

Define & Measure

The IT components which must be monitored for capacity requirements but not limited to are:

• Hardware from PCs, through file servers, up to mainframes
• Networking equipment (LANs, WANs, bridges, routers etc.)
• Peripherals (bulk storage devices, printers etc.)
• Software operating system and network software, in-house developed and purchased software’s.

Parameters and the corresponding threshold levels shall be defined against which the IT performance shall be monitored.

In events of threshold breach, necessary actions shall be instigated to prevent re-occurrence.

Analyze & Tune

The monitored data shall be analysed to identify trends from which the normal levels of utilization are understood.

The analysis shall be used to predict future resource usage and/or to compare the actual business growth against predicted growth.

The monitored data must be compared against the service level targets as set in the service level agreements.

For all violations to the service target, problem management process shall be initiated to identify the root cause of the breach and to implement corrective and/or preventive actions.

Tuning of existing resources shall be done under the control of change management procedure. Tuning is a process in which one or more parameters of a component are adjusted to achieve an improved result.

Capacity Plan

Forecasted capacity requirements must be documented in capacity plans which at a minimum must include the following information:

• Current utilization of resources
• Service and resource forecasts
• IT requirements and proposed solutions
• Details of impact assessment
• Associated financial costs
• Recommendations on resource tuning and/or resource upgrade

The approved capacity plans shall go through the defined activities of capacity management process as detailed in capacity management procedure.