Preconditioning for stochastic simulation of computer system performance

A method of preconditioning a performance scenario specifying a hardware configuration including at least one device as part of a simulated deployment of software, the method comprising:

• generating at least one sample transaction associated with the simulated deployment;
• determining a transaction latency statistic representing a duration of time over which the device would perform an action associated with the sample transaction;
• determining a device utilization statistic representing a level of utilization experienced by the device when performing the action;
• and
• determining an overall device utilization statistic based on the transaction latency statistic and the device utilization statistic.

A method of preconditioning a performance scenario specifying a hardware configuration including at least one device as part of a simulated deployment of software, the method comprising:

• generating a plurality of sample transactions associated with the simulated deployment;
• determining respective costs associated with performing at least one action associated with each of the sample transactions on a reference device;
• aggregating the respective costs of the action into an aggregated action cost;
• determining an instantaneous device utilization statistic representing a level at which the device would be utilized when performing the aggregated action cost;
• determining a action latency statistic representing a duration of time over which the device would execute when performing the aggregated action cost;
• and
• determining an overall device utilization statistic based on the action latency statistic and the instantaneous device utilization statistic.