Capacity planning for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

This article provides an overview of how to effectively plan and manage the capacity of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 environments. This article also describes how to maintain a good understanding of the capacity needs and capabilities of your deployment, by analysis of performance and volume data. It also reviews the major application impacts that affect capacity, including content characteristics and usage.
Capacity management is an ongoing process, because no implementation remains static with regard to content and usage. You need to plan for growth and change, so that your SharePoint Server 2010–based environment can continue to deliver an effective business solution.
Capacity Planning is only one part of the capacity management cycle. It is the initial set of activities that brings the design architect to the point where there is an initial architecture that the architect believes will best serve the SharePoint Server 2010 deployment. The capacity management model includes additional steps to help you validate and tune the initial architecture, and provides a feedback loop for re-planning and optimizing the production environme.