[Techtalk] calculating server load capability

[Hamster]

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:06:49 -0500
"Carol Williams" <carolswilliams at gmail.com> wrote:

> I would suggest performing a load test against your server to see
> what the increases for cpu/memory are per connection or per 100
> connections. 

How do I go about doing this? I don't have 100 client devices that I
can plug in. I have do have 3 devices to play with, and plugging them
in at the same time and looking at load produces values that are so
insignificant that I can't actually use the info to extrapolate
anything. Is there software I can run that will simulate these types of
loads?

I really am lost here. I have to put a machine in to service 40,000
client devices, and I honestly have absolutely no clue if a Pentium III
will do the job or if I need some sort of quad processor with hyper
modulating and extra cream type machine or not. 


> With a service such as DHCP I would also monitor the
> network to make sure your bandwith is large enough to handle the
> number of clients you're expecting.

The one thing we're not short on is bandwidth. The server is going in a
fibre optic network.

Thanks, and sorry for being so dumb but I really am stuck as to
how to proceed with this one.

H.