Using a test server helps you plan the final resource requirements for your system and helps you discover resource deficiencies that you might not have anticipated.
In particular, disk resources can have a dramatic effect on the final design of the production system. For example, you may decide that, in the event of a media failure, a particular database requires nonstop recovery. This means you must configure one or more additional database devices to mirror the critical database. Discovering these resource requirements in a test server allows you to change the physical layout of databases and tables without affecting database users.
Use a test server to benchmark both SAP ASE and your applications using different hardware configurations. This allows you to determine the optimal setup for physical resources at both the SAP ASE level and the operating system level before bringing the entire system online for general use.