Patent ID: 7050961

Claim:
A method utilizable by a Thin Client: Sizing Tool, for configuring Server Farms and for generating a proposed configuration of Servers and associated support apparatus established at one or more sites which will satisfy the requirement of a given Customer's Profile in regard to establishing a number of servers for each Server Farm which would be the most appropriate number of servers satisfying a given Customer's Profile, comprising the steps of: (a) calculating a basic solution for establishing the appropriate number of servers and types of associated support apparatus, for each site and for each Server Farm and wherein said Customer's Profile establishes the required amount of disk capacity which will be required for each User-type in using each particular application program, and wherein step (a) of calculating includes the steps of: (a1) retrieving from said Customer's Profile specific features and capabilities for each Server Farm at each site; (a2) retrieving from said Customer's Profile each User-type involved in each Server Farm; (a3) retrieving from said Customer's Profile each application program name used by each User-type in each Server Farm; (a4) retrieving from said Customer's Profile the required amount of disk capacity for each User-type using each application program and wherein said Customer's Profile provides information on the disk capacity requirement for each single Server Farm and wherein step (a4) further includes the steps of: (a4a) calculating the disk capacity requirement for a single Server Farm; (a4b) inserting the disk capacity requirement information onto a Disk Capacity Report; and wherein said Customer's Profile provides the actual User-Weight indicating user-usage as being light, medium, heavy or super-heavy, and wherein step (a4) includes the steps of: (a4c) filling out a Customer Data Report; (a4d) calculating the actual User-Weight for each User-type operating with each application program wherein a Server Information Database provides information as to the normal total number of users that will be supported by a Server Farm and said number is designated the adjusted total of users, and wherein step (a4d) includes the steps of: (a4d1) accessing said Server Information Database for Server data; (a4d2) calculating for each Server Farm the adjusted total of users for each application program wherein said Server Information Database provides means to calculate the required data transmission capability needed for bi-directional communication between users and said Server Farm, and wherein step (a4d2) includes the steps of: (a4d2a) calculating, for each Server Farm, the required data transmission capability in kilobits per second; (a4d2b) calculating the number of Servers to service the Customer's configuration.