Performance Enhancement and Response Team (PERT)
The Performance Enhancement and Response Team (PERT) has been created as part of the GÉANT2 project's PACE (Performance and Allocated Capacity for End-users) activity. The team assists users in troubleshooting network performance issues, and is producing user guidance on QoS matters.
The PERT is staffed both by people with cross-disciplinary expertise, who can localise the performance bottleneck, and by networking, programming and engineering specialists who are capable of exploring the identified trouble spot in greater depth.
In pursuit of end-to-end performance optimisation, the team deals with a range of user types and network elements:
- National research and education networks (NRENs)
- The GÉANT and GÉANT2 wide-area networks (WANs)
- End users' campus networks
- End systems hardware and operating systems
- Software used in networked applications.
The PERT had some experience – and some successes – during its initial phase as an informal, volunteer-based team which responded to performance issues reported by users of GÉANT. As it moves on to the support of GÉANT2, the PERT will expand and develop more formally.
The pilot service was launched with funding from the GÉANT2 project on 1 November 2004, with full service beginning on 1 March 2005, offered initially over GÉANT. The PERT will provide service over GÉANT until the GÉANT2 network begins operation. Anyone who needs the PERT's help can log a problem using their normal IT support channels. The issue can then be escalated to the PERT as appropriate. The PERT will respond to all NREN queries by next business day, and all help provided is on a best-efforts basis.
The team will operate a ticket system for handling performance issues that are reported, and will handle tickets according to formal troubleshooting procedures that will continue to be refined as the team’s experience increases. It will provide documentation targeted at end users and at PERT members themselves, including a comprehensive knowledgebase.
