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Chapter 1. Introduction

To learn about features introduced in each Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 minor release, see the Release Notes for respective minor versions.
The Performance Tuning Guide is a comprehensive guide to optimizing the various subsystems that make up Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for specific purposes. This guide also outlines the performance monitoring and tuning tools available in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
Before you begin tuning, Red Hat has the following important recommendations:
Back up before you configure
The default settings in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 are suitable for most services running under moderate loads. Improving the performance of a specific subsystem may affect another system adversely. Back up all data and configuration information before you begin tuning your system.
Test configuration out of production
The procedures documented in the Performance Tuning Guide are tested extensively by Red Hat engineers in both lab and field. Nonetheless, Red Hat recommends testing all planned configurations in a secure testing environment before applying those configurations to production systems.

Who Should Read This Book

The Performance Tuning Guide has been written primarily for two distinct but overlapping audiences:
System administrators
The Performance Tuning Guide documents the effects of each configuration option in detail so that system administrators can optimize Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for their specific purpose. Procedures in this guide are suitable for system administrators with Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification or an equivalent amount of experience (3–5 years' experience deploying and managing Linux-based systems).
System and business analysts
This guide explains Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 performance features at a high level. It provides information about how subsystems perform under specific workloads, allowing analysts to determine whether Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is suitable for their use case.
Where possible, the Performance Tuning Guide also refers readers to more detailed feature documentation. This allows readers to develop the in-depth knowledge required to formulate the detailed deployment and optimization strategies necessary for infrastructure and deployment proposals.