Foreword

Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability

J.D. Meier, Srinath Vasireddy, Ashish Babbar, Rico Mariani, and Alex Mackman
Microsoft Corporation

May 2004

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patterns & practices Library

By Connie U. Smith

Performance is an essential quality attribute of software systems. Failure to meet performance requirements has many negative consequences, such as:

• Damaged customer relations
• Negative press coverage
• Falling stock prices
• Business failures
• Lost income
• Reduced competitiveness
• Increased hardware costs
• Additional project resources
• Project failure

Managing performance throughout the development process can reduce the risk of performance failure and lead to performance successes.

Prudent project managers, architects, designers, and programmers know that they should apply software performance engineering (SPE) methods from the outset of their projects. They define performance requirements, conduct quantitative performance analyses starting with the architecture and design, and continuing throughout development. They apply best practices to implement code that meets performance requirements as well as functionality, security, reliability, maintainability, and other quality concerns. They conduct performance measurements and stress tests to confirm that the system meets its performance requirements before deployment.

But with today's complex technology choices, complex software, extremely high demand, distributed hardware and software systems, and millions of implementation choices, how can we make sure that we have not overlooked some crucial aspect of the software that could have disastrous performance consequences?

This book is a comprehensive, thorough guide to performance issues that need attention when constructing software. The implementation guidance is extensive, and even an expert will benefit from it. It would take years of experience to learn all of this material, much of the experience would be "lessons learned the hard way." Today, few developers learn all these topics in universities, so it will help many improve their skills.

It is specific to .NET; however, it contains some information that is applicable to all software systems. It serves as a good reference to look up specific questions. It is also a good handbook for reviewing the subjects before beginning a new project.

Everyone who develops software should read this book. It will guide you to the pertinent chapters for your interests and responsibilities.

Connie U. Smith, Ph.D.
Principal Consultant
L&S Computer Technology, Inc.
March, 2004

Coauthor, Performance Solutions: A Practical Guide to Creating Responsive, Scalable Software

Recipient of the Computer Measurement Group's A.A. Michelson Lifetime Achievement Award for her Software Performance Engineering contributions

Creator, SPE·ED™, The Software Performance Engineering Tool

Dr. Connie U. Smith, a principal consultant of the Performance Engineering Services Division of L&S Computer Technology, Inc., is known for her pioneering work in defining the field of Software Performance Engineering (SPE) and integrating SPE into the development of new software systems. Dr. Smith received the Computer Measurement Group's prestigious A.A. Michelson Lifetime Achievement Award for technical excellence and professional contributions for her SPE work. She is the author of the original SPE book, "Performance Engineering of Software Systems," published in 1990 by Addison-Wesley, the more recent book, "Performance Solutions: A Practical Guide to Building Responsive, Scalable Software," also published by Addison-Wesley, and approximately 100 scientific papers. She is the creator of the SPE·ED™ performance engineering tool. She has over 25 years of experience in the practice, research, and development of the SPE performance engineering techniques.

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