There are four steps for evaluating performance of a WebSphere Commerce website that is based on WebSphere Commerce Server.

• Identifying the workload
• Data monitoring and analysis
• Top-down tuning approach
• Closed-loop cycle

Identifying the workload

The workload defines how the performance of a system is evaluated. A workload should have the following characteristics:

• Measurable: A metric that can be quantified, such as throughput and response time.
• Reproducible: The same results can be reproduced when the same test is run multiple times.
• Static: The same results can be achieved no matter how long you execute the run.
• Representative: The workload realistically represents the stress to the system under normal operating considerations.

Data monitoring and analysis

Improving performance is always a matter of identifying where the bottleneck is, and changing your system configuration to avoid it. Monitoring system performance and identifying problems are the most essential skills to ensure good performance of the system. All tools have strengths and weaknesses. Some tools might alter the flow and the timing of the applications, but they provide information to the developer and the system administrator, such as Rational Application Developer's Profiling function. Other tools have minimal impact on the overall system but provide little information, or offer specific information that might not be helpful to identify the source of the problem.