Unit 12 - Baselines & Benchmarks

Overview

In this unit, we focus on baselining, benchmarking, testing methodology, and data analytics — all essential skills for Linux system administrators. These topics allow us to understand the current state of our systems, measure performance under varying loads, and validate improvements with real data.

We’ll explore how to gather accurate system information using tools like iostat, sar, stress, and iperf3, and learn how to develop test plans that can support decision-making and capacity planning. Whether you're justifying budget increases or validating a new storage solution, knowing how to gather and present performance data makes you a more effective administrator.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

Define and use key concepts: baseline, benchmark, high watermark, scope, and methodology
Use tools like sar, iostat, stress, and iperf3 to collect performance data
Create and execute test plans to evaluate system behavior under different loads
Apply data analytics concepts: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive
Communicate system performance clearly with stakeholders through objective evidence

Relevance & Context

Understanding how your systems behave under normal and stressful conditions is a cornerstone of professional Linux administration. In today’s environments, decisions about agents, updates, or infrastructure changes require proof — not guesswork.

This unit prepares you to be the voice of data in meetings with architects and management. From proving system utilization for budget requests to testing performance claims from vendors, these skills help you become a confident, evidence-driven engineer.

Prerequisites

Before starting Unit 12, you should have:

Basic Linux administration skills and terminal comfort
Familiarity with resource categories: CPU, memory, disk, and networking
Access to a Rocky 9 (or similar) Linux system with sudo or root access
Ability to install and use CLI tools (dnf install, rpm, etc.)

Key Terms and Definitions

Baseline

Benchmark

High Watermark

Scope

Methodology

Testing

Control

Experiment

Analytics