For information about how to tune the Gateway, WebSphere Business Integration Server, the Message Flow Server and DB2 databases to further enhance message processing and throughput in HCN, see AppendixC, "Performance tuning" on page 235. This section walks through scenarios to improve performance as applicable within the scope of this redbook. Effective planning ensures that you can balance the various options to attain the optimal processing performance in your HCN implementation. Before you begin Before you begin, you need to record the following: Your network and servers (hardware) configuration. Your system design for the Message Flow Server and Publisher Gateways. The usage pattern at the publishing organizations. For example the pattern for entering medication orders into the pharmacy system at the end of rounds in a hospital ward will generate bursts of entries for processing at the HCN Publishing Gateway. By identifying these patterns, you will be able to tune the Publisher Gateway appropriately to process the entries efficiently. The current performance, capacity and throughput of your HCN installation. Current size of your databases.