Guerrilla Tools

More Than a Monkey Wrench!

Instructor: Dr. Neil J. Gunther
Performance Dynamics Consulting
Castro Valley, California, USA

Last updated: Jul 9, 2003

Purpose

The structure of this class is intended to be lab-style with students actually participating in the construction of performance and capacity models using a variety of public domain and commercial tools such as:

PDQ - Pretty Damn Quick open source performance analyzer.
TeamQuest Model - Commercial performance modeling tool.
EXCEL - It's not just a spreadsheet! It's a programming environment.
Mathematica - A general purpose commercial symbolic computation program.
SPEED - From Performance Engineering Associates.
R - Free-ware version of commercial S+ statistical product.

all under the guidance of Dr. Gunther.

Requirements

The class size will be restricted to a relatively small number (10-15). So, book early, book often!
Online pre-registration is available. Additional registration details are provided at the end of this page, or contact Performance Dynamics Educational Services on 530-873-0575 for seating availability.

Prerequisites

You must have attended either Practical Performance Methods at Stanford University or Guerrilla Capacity Planning to qualify for this class. This ensures you have had some exposure to basic performance analysis concepts used in this class.

Equipment

All students will be required to bring their own laptop computers. This is necessary so that you can work on your own using the above tools on selected performance problems.

Case Studies

I am looking for case studies to analyze in the class. If you would like to apply Guerrilla techniques to your particular environment, this is the place to do it. Please fill out this Proposal Form.

Dates

Check class schedule page for the latest scheduling information.

Course Content

Class begins at 9am and ends at 5pm during each day.
A serviced morning break of half an hour at 10:30am.
Seated Lunch service is provided from Noon until 1pm.
A serviced afternoon break of half an hour at 3:00pm.

Day 1: Theory and Tools

Queueing Tools

Fundamental performance metrics and relations
Simple queues: D/D/1, M/D/1, M/M/1, M/M/m, M/G/1
Mr. Erlang and friends

Scalability Tools

Amdahl scaling bounds
Super-serial scaling model
Estimating parameters using EXCEL regression tools

Day 2: Case Studies

Capacity Study

EXCEL spreadsheet representation
PDQ representation
Including load-dependent effects

Sizing Study

IBM's LSPR(tm) MIPS Rating System
Enhancing SPEC performance measures
Spreadsheet sizing models

Day 3: Lab Sessions

The actual content will be determined, in part, by the kind of scenarios that attendees submit using this Proposal Form.

Terms and Conditions

Tuition Fee

See class schedule page for current pricing. Early Bird: if registered 14 days in advance of the course. Enroll online now!

Discounts

Corporate discounts for THREE (3) or more people from the same company are also available. Enquire when you book. Once a seat is booked, a penalty of $500 will be imposed for a one-time transfer of that seat to another session date. Inability to attend after such a one-time transfer will automatically forfeit the entire registration fee.

Refunds

Requests for refunds must be received in writing at least 14 days before the start date of the course. Substitutions may be made at any time.

Transportation

Information will be sent upon receipt of enrollment. A packet will include airport and transportation options.

Reservations

All confirmed reservations must be must be accompanied by a purchase order number, a check for the tuition, or credit card information for billing. Courtesy Reservations will be held for up to 30 days in order for paperwork to be processed so long as there is suffcient time and adequate space in thecourse.

Textbooks

No textbook is planned for this class.

Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel

All instruction takes place in the seminar ballrooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel 11950 Dublin Canyon Rd, in PLEASANTON, California (near the intersection of the 580 and 680 freeways). The city of Pleasanton is right next door to Castro Valley. There are no hotels in the unincorporated city of Castro Valley.

http://banners.wunderground.com/banner/infobox/US/CA/Castro_Valley.gif

Please note: You must book your own hotel room with the Crowne by calling (925)847-6000

Accommodations

A block of rooms has been set aside for Guerrilla students at a special corporate rate. Students must make their own reservations by calling (925)847-6000 and identifying themselves as a Performance Dynamics enrollee. You cannot book a room online at this special rate. You must call the hotel and tell'em we sent you.

Meals

Breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon breaks will be catered for by the hotel each day. See the Mini Survival Guide explaining how to get to the hotel and a list of local restaurants to eat at, once you do.

Travel Tips

If you decide to take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train, call the Crowne Plaza 1-925-847-6000 from the train on your cellphone and they will pick you up at the Pleasanton BART-station (not the Castro Valley station) and shuttle you to the hotel.

People coming from the 'Right' Coast may want to check air fares at JetBlue. Last May 2001, some students flew from New York to Oakland direct for $300 return.

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 2.25.
On 9 Jul 2003, 13:07.