This invention is a system and method for configuring data storage in accordance with workload requirements. The method of this invention allows management and planning for data storage system requirements based on user or administrator defined requirements. It also allows such a user or administrator to iteratively adjust and balance tolerances for performance thresholds or capacity parameters against each other. The invention provides an easy to use user interface that simplifies the configuration and planning task and eases restrictions on the amount of experience and knowledge that a user of the tool needs to achieve a satisfactory data storage solution.