Patent ID: 8028044

Claim:
A method implemented in a sizing infrastructure module, the method comprising: receiving, at the sizing infrastructure module executing on a first computer, from a first calling application program executing on a second computer of a plurality of computers in a computer network, a first capacity requirement, a first performance requirement, and a first reliability requirement for a first data storage system, the first computer configured as a centralized computer within the computer network so that the sizing infrastructure module is accessible by each calling application program of a plurality of calling application programs operating on the plurality of computers, wherein updates relating to each calling application program are updated within a database on the first computer, instead of on the plurality of computers; wherein the first performance requirement includes at least one workload definition, each workload definition describing a disk-access scenario; each workload definition having an associated required throughput that is included in the performance requirement, computing, by the sizing infrastructure module, a first configuration for the first data storage system based on the first capacity requirement, the first performance requirement, and the first reliability requirement, wherein computing the first configuration includes computing a required number of disks using the associated required throughput; returning the first configuration to the first calling application program; receiving, at the sizing infrastructure module executing on the first computer, from a second calling application program executing on a third computer of the plurality of computers a second capacity requirement, a second performance requirement, and a second reliability requirement for a second data storage system wherein the first, second and third computers are different computers; computing, by the sizing infrastructure module, a second configuration for the second data storage system based on the second capacity requirement, the second performance requirement, and the second reliability requirement; and returning the second configuration to the second calling application program.