In this chapter, you have learnt the basics of the performance tuning process: let's shortly recap the most significant points:
Performance can be evaluated with two main counters: The Response Time and the Throughput. The Response Time can be defined as the time it takes for one user to perform a task. The Throughput is the number of transactions that can occur in a given amount of time.
In order to meet higher loads, applications need to be scalable. You can scale your applications vertically (that is switching to servers with higher capabilities) or horizontally (that is adding a line of servers).
In order to improve the performance of your applications, you have to consider all resources which are around the application: the Java Virtual Machine, the middleware, the hardware, and how you code the application itself.
Maximum application performance can be achieved only if performance tuning is considered to be a part of your overall software development plan.
In the next chapter, we are going to introduce a few essential tools, which you can freely download, and use in order to tune your Enterprise applications and your operating system as well.