Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting ready for load testing
Load testing is an exercise to validate the system's capability to handle expected
peak load. The maximum number of concurrent requests that the system is expected
to handle is known as the
peak load
. Load testing is performed by artificially
generating a number of concurrent requests on the system using load testing tools.
To begin with the load testing exercise, the first step would be to capture that load
testing requirements.
Capturing load testing requirements
To perform load testing, we need to design load testing scenarios, set up load
testing environments, and so on. Load testing scenarios heavily depend on load
testing or performance-related requirements. Also, depending on the performance
requirements, a load testing environment has to be set up. Here is a brief checklist
to capture all load-testing-related requirements:
1.
Concurrent users
: It is very important to know the maximum amount
of load that is expected on the system. It is measured by the number of
users accessing the system at the same time. This is the most important
requirement to be captured to conduct load testing. Sometimes concurrent
user requirements are more specific, such as
X
number of concurrent users
who will access page
Y
. If such requirements are available, load testing
scenarios can be designed realistically. This requirement acts as an input
for a load testing exercise.
2.
Response time
: It is also very important to measure the response time
of every request when the system is heavily loaded. Every system has
accepted the response time limit. Here is some examples of response
time requirements:
° The response time for all pages except the home page should be less
than or equal to 4 seconds. The home page response time should be
less than or equal to 8 seconds.
° It is impossible to make sure that the response time of all requests stays
within the expected limits. Hence, most of the time the response time
is referred to as the average response time. Sometimes requirements
specifically state that an
X
percentage of requests must have a response
time in the given range. It is very important to capture such details
to design load testing scenarios and acceptance criteria accordingly.
Response time requirement acts as an acceptance criteria for the load
testing exercise.
