The key features of performance tuning
Some of the tools in the tuning area have started out with support for one thing or, perhaps, for a few things such as memory analysis or load testing. Over time, however, quite a few of them have evolved in their own right or with the aid of plugins to often have multiple functions. They also often cover several areas in the tuning field.
So, what kind of support do we expect from a set of tuning tools? When looking at the enterprise stack, it becomes clear that we need different types of tools depending on the different layers of the stack:
For the Java-based layers of the stack—the JVM, middleware, and application—you'll first and foremost need to perform performance and memory profiling.
For the network, hardware, and OS layers, you will mainly need to monitor various resources such as CPU, memory, and network throughput.
On top of these, you also need to be able to put the system and its various components under the defined levels of stress or load...
