26 May 2011
From what should we start when performance testing task is formulated as a "system should be productive" or "do a load testing?
Try to go on a following way:
1. Define the problem and its conditions:
- what exactly do you need to know: system response time when a certain load, the duration of the transaction or the maximum number of users at work of that will be met a certain conditions (the response time of no more than time N, the server responds Service Unavailable), etc.
2. Specify information about the system under test:
- How many users its use directed to;
- Which browsers are used, from what countries is expected the most users, their correlation and other statistical information (during the test configuration it will be important to know what operating systems and hardware will be in the majority of end users);
- The most common business scenarios, and what components they use (for example, an online store is a search, view the product catalog, making a purchase);
3. Learn about what hardware will be used, or already used for production servers. Arrange the same test environment.
4. Find out where the actual production servers are and what the available bandwidth. Try to arrange the same conditions.
5. Select a tool for testing. Do not forget to make sure that it supports the communication protocol server and client.