Apparatus and method for automating server optimization

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions for facilitating automatic server optimization in a system, the executable instructions comprising instructions to:

accept a set of initialization parameters;

analyze a set of one or more configuration sources;

determine a plurality of configuration settings;

receive a series of load levels;

select a load level;

test the plurality of configuration settings against the load level;

identify an optimal configuration setting for the load level;

record the optimal configuration setting;

calculate an expected load level for an upcoming period of time;

match the expected load level to a closest matching load level in the series of load levels;

apply the optimal configuration setting for the closest matching load level to the system;

monitor an actual load level and a set of performance metrics;

store the actual load level and the set of performance metrics; and

establish a set of rules for calculating the expected load level based on the actual load level and the set of performance metrics.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the set of initialization parameters are selected from a user specified set and a default set.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the set of initialization parameters are selected from a location of the set of one or more configuration sources, a set of requirements indicating how long the testing should run, a specification of available hardware and a list of optimization preferences.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3 wherein the optimal configuration is dependent on the list of optimization preferences.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein a configuration source in the set of one or more configuration sources comprises a set of attributes selected from one or more of maximum response time, CPU usage thresholds, RAM usage thresholds, fault tolerance, maximum number of threads, cache size, maximum number of users and available hardware required.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the series of load levels is received from one or more of the system or a user.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein a load level in the series of load levels is associated with a time interval selected from a combination of one or more of year, time of year, time of month, day of week and time of day.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein selecting aloud level, testing the plurality of configuration settings, identifying an optimal configuration setting and recording the optimal configuration setting are repeated for each load level in the series of load levels.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein the optimal configuration setting includes one or more of a set of values assigned to the set of attributes, a location of each interdependent server on the available hardware and a count of how many of each server type is required.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 operative with interdependent servers in a system of two or more interdependent servers, including one or more server types.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the system is a business intelligence system comprising one or more of a report repository server, a data analysis server, a report generation server and a report distribution server.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the expected load level is calculated using a set of load parameters selected from one or more of current load, load during the last time interval, and load during the last N intervals.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions for facilitating automatic server optimization in a system, the executable instructions comprising instructions to:

accept a set of initialization parameters;

analyze a set of one or more configuration sources;

determine a plurality of configuration settings;

receive a series of load levels;

test the plurality of configuration settings against the series of load levels, wherein testing comprises executable instructions to:

select a load level;

select a configuration setting;

apply the configuration setting;

simulate the load level; and

record a set of performance metrics;

identify an optimal configuration setting for each load level in the series of load levels;

record the optimal configuration setting for each load level in the series of load levels;

calculate an expected load level for an upcoming period of time;

match the expected load level to a closest matching load level in the series of load levels;

apply the optimal configuration setting for the closest matching load level to the system;

monitor an actual load level and a set of performance metrics;

store the actual load level and the set of performance metrics; and

establish a set of rules for calculating the expected load level based on the actual load level and the set of performance metrics.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 operative with interdependent servers in a system of two or more interdependent servers, including one or more server types.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the system is a business intelligence system comprising one or more of a report repository server, a data analysis server, a report generation server and a report distribution server.