Peter,
> Why does administration require that all the machines be hosted at one
> site? Most administration is by remote login, and for the physical
> maintenance you could have someone on site do it.
Right, and that's made more complex if the main users aren't clear on where
the machine is.
> > and the ability to to do multi-machine configurations.
>
> Well, that is interesting, but not a requirement. If the machines are not
> at the same site, just don't use them for multi-machine configurations;
> just pick different ones. (Hey, maybe someone wants to test WAN
> configurations.)
Actually, it *is* a requirement. Doing a real DBT5 or EAStress test run
requires at least 2 machines, plus storage, and 3-4 machines is more
interesting. Having the machines scattered hither and yon will both
complicate the maintenance of the test lab and limit its usefulness.
I also think you're arguing for the sake of arguing; you don't do performance
testing and AFAIK are not planning to host any of the machines. So why are
you picking nits?
--
Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL @ Sun
San Francisco