[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Update on MassLNC Performance Evaluation for Evergreen

[Kathy Lussier]

Hi all,

As many of you know, MassLNC issued an RFP in the spring to hire a 
consultant to do a performance evaluation for Evergreen. I know we've 
been fairly quiet since the RFP was issued, but I'm pleased to announce 
that we awarded a contract to OmniTI http://omniti.com/ to perform the 
evaluation.

I would like to send along thanks to Rogan Hamby of SC LENDS and Sharon 
Herbert of SITKA (along with her great technical staff) who helped 
review the proposals and provided feedback to aid us in making a 
decision. Also, many thanks to those on the MassLNC team who helped in 
the selection process: Dan Pearl (C/W MARS), Jason Stephenson (MVLC), 
Martha Driscoll (NOBLE), and Tim Spindler (C/W MARS).

MassLNC has been busy getting a test server set up for the evaluation 
(thank you to Thomas Berezansky for his work on this). Once the server 
is ready, the evaluation will begin in earnest. I'm sending along 
OmniTI's next steps for the evaluation so that the community has an 
opportunity to provide feedback on their plans and to ask any questions. 
I also asked Pat Norton and Jon Sime from OmniTI to join us at the 
developers meeting today in case anyone has feedback to offer there.

CURRENT PROGRESS
As we wait for the test environment to be fully functional, we have 
requested both the database logs and Postgresql.conf files from MVLC, 
CW/Mars, and Noble.  We have begun reviewing both to determine two 
things prior to getting into the test environment:

1.)  Are there configuration settings that can be recommended in 
postgresql.conf

2.)  What are the slowest running queries according to the database 
logs.  As we compile a list of the latter they will allow us to focus on 
running those queries in the test environment and observing performance.

NEXT STEPS (ONCE WE HAVE A FULLY OPERATIONAL TEST ENVIRONMENT)
Database

  * Execute the worst performing queries and review results and
    potential improvements.
  * Examine in more detail how Searches are executed and possible
    improvements in using T-Search over ILike.

Staff Client

  * Put instrumentation in place to observe in more detail where
    bottlenecks are occurring
  * Determine recommendations based on observance of bottlenecks and
    current application architecture
  * Once the above strategies are in place in some form, we will be able
    to focus on the
    specific areas mentioned in the MassLNC RFP. These areas include
    potentially migrating to more
    recent releases of XULRunner, moving away from XULRunner, locating
    memory leaks,
    continued use/upgrade of the Dojo toolkit, and the feasibility of
    modifying the
    architecture to facilitate streaming requests.

Messaging

  * Take a detailed review of current messaging architecture
  * Determine if alternative technologies can be used to replace all or
    part of the existing messaging environment
  * If some other technologies can be used, run some tests to compare
    using other strategies for messaging in the Evergreen Environment

My hope is that this evaluation will lead to improvements that will 
benefit the entire community. Please feel free to send any questions or 
feedback our way!

I also want to send thanks along to the Massachusetts Board of Library 
Commissioners, which authorized the use of Library Services and 
Technology Act grant money to fund a large part of the evaluation.

Kathy


<http://omniti.com/>

-- 
Kathy Lussier
Project Coordinator
Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
(508) 343-0128
klussier at masslnc.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier

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