
Load Testing is the most common type of performance testing, conducted to understand an application’s behaviour under a specific expected load.
Load tests are used for checking the scalability and response time, among many other things.
In this article, we’ll explain the internal mechanics of load testing, and its impact with some use cases and scenarios followed by an insight on how to do it.
Here examples are specific practices adopted along with tools that a tester should keep in mind as he/she gears up for performing Load tests.
We’ll also introduce you to Testscenario, a top-rated QA services and solutions provider that will help you better understand how our handy work serves as the foundation of your application’s robustness.
Load Testing Definition and Purpose
Load testing is a performance testing that refers to subjecting a system, software product or software application under load or the expected usage in real-world conditions to observe how it behaves.
In first place is finding the maximum operating capacity of an application, identifying any bottlenecks (performances) specifically violations of SLAs.
Load testing does us a favour of examining the application under normal as well abnormal traffic resources and helps make sure that applications are performing accurately or not.
Why is Load Testing needed?
As the name suggests, load testing ensures that your applications function smoothly under different loads; this means a vibrant and robust application will assure reliability to its users.
- Bottlenecks Identification: It helps in identifying why a server is slow and to what level it can handle the requests, an application running smoothly with 100 users but crashes while serving more than that.
- Better User Experience: One of the primary advantages entails smooth performance both under normal and heavy load for enhancing overall user experience.
- Troubleshoot: Recognizes issues prior deployment which can prevent unexpected downtime that is expensive and damaging a brand’s reputation.
Types of Load Testing
- Capacity Testing: It is basically used to know the highest number of users an application can sustain before performance starts degrading.
- Stress Testing: Ensures the application can handle extreme load conditions, sometimes beyond its designed capacity i.e. breaks)
- Soak Testing: Soak testing refers to running the app under a high load for an extended period so that we can know if there is any memory issue like how long the request stays in pending status and whether it will be available, again or not.
- Spike Testing: Determines whether the application is able to sustain heavy load spikes that increase with minimal notice on time.
Load Testing Process
- Define Objective: Define goals, identify the critical scenarios, select a testing environment, and select metrics.
- Preparation: Setting up tools for load testing and configuring the test environment for execution.
- Scripting: Based on real-world user interactions with an application, create script test case scenarios.
- Execution: Conduct the actual load testing by gradually ramping up the load to evaluate performance.
- Monitoring: Observe and analyze response times, throughput, and resource utilization to find performance bottlenecks.
- Validation: Properly validate the accuracy and reliability of the data gathered before proceeding with analysis.
- Reporting: Prepare reports including key findings, performance metrics, and areas of possible improvement observed in the process of testing.
- Optimization: Run iterations of changes according to the test results; and allow retesting for optimization of application performance.
Load Testing Key Metrics
For load testing, activity metrics are very important because they let us see how well an app works under a lot of stress. These kinds of measures let us assess speed, stability, and efficiency in performance—the three most important things for a smooth user experience. The key metrics include:
- Average Response Time: This shows how responsive an app is by showing how long it usually takes to respond to user requests, and serves as an indicator of the responsiveness of the application.
- Error Rate: This shows the percentage of requests that failed, which are sign of program capacity or technical issues.
- Throughput: This tells you how well the application handles data by showing you how much data it calculates and how much bandwidth it uses during tests.
- Requests Per Second: This is the number of requests that the program handles every second. It gives you an idea of how busy the server is.
- Concurrent Users: Knowing how many busy users are using an app at the same time can help you figure out it’s peak user time.
- Peak Response Time: This shows the record of the longest time it took to reply to a request. This helps find delays and places where data processing might be slowing down.
Tools for Load Testing
- Apache JMeter: Open-source implementation of a load and performance testing tool, that has metrics reporting according to your needs.
- LoadRunner: A highly efficient performance testing tool provided by Micro Focus Solutions used for any kind of application/system like it could be web-based, email server or mobile bases where we can identify how the system behaves under heavy load.
- Gatling: A high-performance load testing tool which is open-source. It works in a developer-centric way and takes care of developers’ productivity as well, thus this becomes an easy to understand the kind of software
- Neotys NeoLoad: An innovative, load testing tool for the most demanding web and mobile applications.
Discover Testscenario: Your ultimate End-to-End testing solution with advanced load testing capabilities, customised as per your application needs.
Best Practices for Load Testing
Load Early and Often: Conduct Routinely Load Testing
Exercise early on in the development cycle to identify bottlenecks ahead of time; then, make it a regular routine during the optimizer phase.
This proactive approach helps to ensure that your application is able to scale with the demands of a growing user base as it matures.
Real-world user conduct and scenarios, applicable For practical situations to mimic the habits of this end user in addition to use cases.
Factors such as user location, types of devices, and network conditions need to be considered in order to generate truly representative load tests.
Monitoring and Analysis
Use powerful monitoring tools to monitor performance metrics like response time, throughput, CPU and Memory usage, or error rates.
This will show you where the bottlenecks in performance must be (after some analysis) .
Scalability Testing
Keep in mind to integrate scalability testing when devising your load testing plan so as to observe how your app behaves under different user loads.
This allows spotting of issues around allocation of resources and system architecture.
Collaboration and Communication
Promote collaboration of development, QA, and operations teams to perform load testing fairly in a comprehensive manner.
Performance issues need to be handled quickly, and in order for that to happen, working together as a team and effective communication is necessary.
Introducing Testscenario: Your Partner in Load Testing
Testscenario offers a comprehensive testing solution specialising in load testing, performance testing and quality assurance. We have a team of experts dedicated to improving reliability and performance of your applications, enabling tailored testing services that work for you.
Why Choose Testscenario?
- Expertise: Our team is composed of seasoned professionals with a wealth of knowledge on load testing methodologies and tools.
- Bespoke Solutions: We will provide personalised testing support based on the unique operation and needs, vice versa of your use cases/vision.
- Insights with Advanced Tools: We analyse the performance of your application in greater depth by using high-end load testing tools. Those Include:
- Detailed Reports: Key Findings, Performance Metrics And Areas Of Suggested Improvement
- Customer Support: Our focus is to offer outstanding customer support; in making sure you have an easy, streamlined experience throughout the load testing process.
Our Load Testing services
- Load Testing Strategy: We help you create a well-rounded load testing strategy that outlines goals, scenarios and metrics.
- Test Design & Execution: Our team creates and runs the test scripts to mimic daily use-cases producing reliable results.
- Performance: Advanced monitoring tools are used to monitor performance metrics and bottlenecks.
- Identification & Reporting: Our informative reports give you an insight into your application performance and best area to look on.
- Around the Clock Support: We provide you with ongoing support to help with all performance problems as well as optimise your applications.
Conclusion
Load testing is a crucial part of validating the performance and reliability of your applications. It can help you deliver a flawless user experience and avoid costly downtime by mimicking real-world user behaviour, as well as identifying performance bottlenecks.
Leverage the powerful and extensive testing professionals of Testscenario to create a resilient, reliable application capable of handling any amount of load.
Interested in speeding up and stabilising your own applications? Explore further at Testscenario or get a personalised demo with our team! Contact us today so we can support you, to make sure your apps are robust enough for any load and good and fast enough, from the human on user perspective.