Introduction to Panorama and ACE

Introduction to Panorama and ACE (3 days)

Prerequisites:
For Panorama: Basic understanding of server performance testing. Knowledge of Java and Java EE would be helpful, but not necessary.

For ACE: Basic understanding of applications, networking, and protocols.

Course Description:
Through labs and lecture, this course teaches you the fundamentals of using OPNET solutions in the IT space. The first two days focus on Panorama, and the last day, ACE.

Using Panorama, you will learn how to gain valuable insight into historical and real-time performance patterns of business-critical applications. This enables you to monitor thousands of application and system metrics proactively across multiple tiers to identify sources of performance problems or potential choke points, improving application response time and preventing application outages. This course provides training for both Panorama for Production and Panorama for QA.

Using ACE, you will learn how to capture, filter, and import packet traces to study application behavior, analyze and predict TCP behaviors that impact application performance, and create models of applications with ACE Whiteboard.

Agenda:

Day 1

Introductory concepts of performance tuning and the "science" behind Panorama
Panorama use cases
Correlation and analysis techniques
Dynamic thresholds, deviation scoring, and automatic baselines
Using the Panorama user interface
Forensic actions: beyond performance data
Panorama reports
Brief Overview of Load Testing Methodology
Perceptual Breaking point vs. Technical Breaking point
Potential issues with summarized external results from the load generator
Methodology for setting up step loads for Panorama
Baselining strategies
Best practices for analyzing step loads

Day 2

Diagnosing performance issues using live and historical data analysis
Characterizing normal performance, resource usage, and effects of load
Using limits, key metrics, correlation and deviation to interpret performance data
Building dashboard views for different user audiences
Using Forensics to troubleshoot intermittent performance issues
Using stored performance history to examine trends and create reports using Panorama's Reporting functionality
Troubleshooting problems with Panorama Transaction Visualizer
Core concepts of performance theory
The relationship between load, throughput, response time, and resources
Technical breaking points vs. perceptual breaking point
Identifying load propagation bottlenecks
Recognizing common issues using performance charts
Queuing theory fundamentals
Best practices to prevent misinterpretation of results
Key performance indicators (OS, App, DB)
Understanding Java/J2EE Heap Consumption and Garbage Collection

Day 3

Basic ACE functionality and workflows
Troubleshooting poor application performance with ACE
Predicting application behavior with ACE
Generating analysis reports with ACE
How to use ACE features for advanced application troubleshooting
How to "drill down" into an application and pinpoint the exact causes of delay
How to recognize repeating traffic patterns in an application
How to identify unusual protocol issues
How to find and solve problematic application and network interactions

IT QuickStart: ACE™ and IT Sentinel®

IT QuickStart: ACE™ and OPNET Panorama™

Introduction to OPNET Panorama™

Introduction to ACE™ and Cisco AAS