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Testing RESOURCES Posted In | Automation Testing, Software Testing Tools, Types of testing | Last Updated:
QA Testing TRAINING "February 12, 2015"
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Why Performance testing?
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Performance testing has proved itself to be crucial for the success of a business.
► Web Application Testing Not only does a poor performing site face financial losses, it also could lead to Learn & Master Software Testing
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No one wants to put up with a slow performing, unreliable site in cases of

purchasing, online test taking, bill payment, etc. With the internet being so
widely available, the alternates are immense. It is easier to lose clientele than
gain them and performance is a key game changer.

Therefore, performance testing is no longer a name sake checkpoint before going

live. It is indeed a comprehensive and detailed stage that would determine
whether the performance of a site or an application meets the needs.

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Introduction

The purpose of this test is to understand the performance of application under

load, particularly users.

Types of Performance Testing

Load Testing

Load testing is a type of performance test where the application is tested for its
performance on normal and peak usage. Performance of an application is
checked with respect to its response to the user request, its ability to respond
consistently within accepted tolerance on different user loads. !selci tA
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The key considerations are:
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SoapUI Tutorial #3
1. What is the max load the application is able to hold before the application
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2. How much data the Database is able to handle before system slowness or
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Stress Testing
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Stress testing is the test to find the ways to break the system. The test also
New Emerging Trends in the Job
gives the idea for the maximum load the system can hold.
Seeking Market (Part 1) – Shorter
Resumes
Generally Stress testing has incremental approach where the load is increased
6 Questions to Determine if a
gradually. The test is started with good load for which application has been
Candidate is Fit for the QA Job
already tested. Then slowly more load is added to stress the system and the
How is Regression Testing
point when we start seeing servers not responding to the requests is considered
Performed? Can It be Done
as a break point.
Manually?
During this test all the functionality of the application are tested under heavy load
and on back-end these functionality might be running complex queries, handling
data, etc.

The following questions are to be addressed:

What is the max load a system can sustain before it breaks down?
How is the system break down?
Is the system able to recover once it’s crashed?
In how many ways system can break and which are the weak node while

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 handling the unexpected load?

Volume Testing

Volume test is to verify the performance of the application is not affected by

volume of data that is being handled by the application. Hence to execute
Volume Test generally huge volume of data is entered into the database. This
test can be incremental or steady test. In the incremental test volume of data is
increased gradually.

Generally with the application usage, the database size grows and it is
necessary to test the application against heavy Database. A good example of
this could be a website of a new school or college having small data to store
initially but after 5-10 years the data stores in database of website is much more.

The most common recommendation of this test is tuning of DB queries which

access the Database for data. In some cases the response of DB queries is high
for big database, so it needs to be rewritten in a different way or index, joints etc
need to be included.

Capacity Testing

=> Is the application capable of meeting business volume under both normal and
peak load conditions?

Capacity testing is generally done for future prospects. Capacity testing

addresses the following:

1. Will the application able to support the future load?

2. Is the environment capable to stand for upcoming increased load?
3. What are the additional resources required to make environment capable
enough?

Capacity testing is used to determine how many users and/or transactions a

given web application will support and still meet performance. During this testing
resources such as processor capacity, network bandwidth, memory usage, disk
capacity, etc. are considered and altered to meet the goal.

Online Banking is a perfect example of where capacity testing could play a major
part.

Reliability/Recovery Testing

Reliability Testing or Recovery Testing – is to verify as to whether the application

is able to return back to its normal state or not after a failure or abnormal
behavior- and also how long does it take for it to do so(in other words, time
estimation).

An online trading site if experience a failure where the users are not able to
buy/sell shares at a certain point of the day (peak hours) but are able to do so
after an hour or two. In this case, we can say the application is reliable or
recovered from the abnormal behavior.

In addition to the above sub-forms of performance testing, there are some more
fundamental ones that are prominent:

Smoke Test:

How is the new version of the application performing when compared to

previous ones?
Is any performance degradation observed in any area in the new version?
What should be the next area where developers should focus to address
performance issues in the new version of application?

See also => Smoke Testing in functional testing.

Component Test:

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 Whether the component is responsible for the performance issue?
Whether the component is doing what is expected and component
optimization has been done?

Endurance Test:

Whether the application will able to perform well enough over the period of
time.
Any potential reasons that could slow the system down?
Third party tool and/or vendor integration and any possibility that the
interaction makes the application slower.

How does Functional Testing differ from Performance Testing?

Identification of components for testing

In an ideal scenario, all components should be performance tested. However, due
to time & other business constraints that may not be possible. Hence, the
identification of components for testing happens to be one of the most important
tasks in load testing.

The following components must be included in performance testing:

------------

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#1. Functional, business critical features

Components that have a Customer Service Level Agreement or those having

complex business logic (and are critical for the business’s success) should be
included.
Example: Checkout and Payment for an E-commerce site like eBay.

#2. Components that process high volumes of data

Components, especially background jobs are to be included for sure. Example:

Upload and download feature on a file sharing website.

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#3. Components which are commonly used

A component that is frequently used by end-users, jobs scheduled multiple times

in a day, etc.
Example: Login and Logout.

#4. Components interfacing with one or more application systems

In a system involving multiple applications that interact with one another, all the
interface components must be deemed as critical for performance test.
Example: E-commerce sites interface with online banking sites for payments,
which is an external third party application. This should be definitely the part of
Perf testing.

Tools for performance testing

Sure, you could have a million computers set up with a million different
credentials and all of them could login at once and monitor the performance.
Apparently it’s not practical and even if we do, do that, we still need some sort of
monitoring infrastructure.

The best way this situation is handled is through – virtual user (VU). For all our
tests the VU behave just the way a real user would.

For the creation of as many VUs as you would require and to simulate real time
conditions, performance testing tools are employed. Not only that, Perf testing
also tests for the peak load usage, breakdown point, long term usage, etc

To enable all with limited resources, fast and to obtain reliable results tools are
often used for this process. There are a variety of tools available in the market-
licensed, free wares and open sourced.

Few of the such tools are:

HP LoadRunner,
Jmeter,
Silk Performer,
NeoLoad,
Web Load,
Rational Performance Tester (RTP),
VSTS,
Loadstorm,
Web Performance,
LoadUI,
Loadster,
Load Impact,
OpenSTA,
QEngine,
Cloud Test,
Httperf,
App Loader,
Qtest,
RTI,
Apica LoadTest,
Forecast,
WAPT,
Monitis,
Keynote Test Perspective,
Agile Load, etc.

See Also => List of top 15 Performance Testing tools

The tool selection depends on budget, technology used, purpose of testing,

nature of the applications, performance goals being validated, infrastructure, etc.

HP Load Runner captures majority of market due to:

1. Versatility – can be used on windows as well as web based applications.

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 It also works for many kinds of technologies.
2. Test Results – It provides in-depth insights that can be used for tuning the
application.
3. Easy Integrations – works with diagnostics tool like HP Sitescope and
HP Diagnostic.
4. Analysis utility provides a variety of features which help in deep analysis.
5. Robust Reports – LoadRunner has a good reporting engine and provides
a variety of reporting formats.
6. Comes with an Enterprise package too.

The only flip side is its license cost. It is a little bit on the expensive side – which
is why other open source or affordably licensed tools that are specific to a
technology, protocol and with limited analysis & reporting capabilities have
emerged in the market.

Still, the HP LoadRunner is a clear winner.

Future in Performance Testing Career

Performance testing is easy to learn but need lots of dedication to master it. It’s
like a mathematics subject where you have to build your concept. Once the
concept is through, it can be applied to most of the tools irrespective of the
scripting language being different, straight forward logic not being applicable, look
and feel of the tool being different, etc. – the approach to Perf testing is almost
always the same.

I would highly recommend this hot and booming technology and to enhance your
skill by learning this. Mastering PT could be just what you are looking for to move
ahead in your software testing career.

Conclusion
In this article we have covered most of the information required to build a base to
move ahead and understand the Performance testing. In the next article we
will apply these concepts and understand the key activities of
Performance testing.

Next Tutorial => How to Performance Test an Application

Load Runner is going to be our vehicle in the journey, but the destination we want
to reach is to understand everything about performance testing.

Stay tuned!

About the Author: Chetan Kaushal is helping us for this ‘Performance testing
with LoadRunner’ tutorial series. He is having over 6 years of experience working
on performance testing projects using HP LoadRunner and Performance Center
tools.

In the meantime if you have any questions related to performance testing,

load testing or LoadRunner please ask them in the comments below.

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converted by [Link]
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What is Performance Testing? Difference Between Performance
Testing, Load Testing and Stress Testing – With Examples
Want to Stress Test Website with 10,000+ Users? Use WAPT Pro x64
Load Engine
Web Application Load, Stress and Performance Testing Using WAPT
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Tools with Download Link

53 comments ↓
#1 Topher

Thank you so much for this great article. It really informative. Keep up the
good work

#2 Kiran

Can you please add tutorial of Jmeter.

#3 Rakesh

Nice article to know the funda of performance testing

#4 Pravin

Many Thanks for sharing this articles.

#5 Udara

Can you please add tutorial for selenium & Jmeter.

#6 Udara

can u pls add tutorials for selemium & jmeter.

#7 Pallavi

Thanks for this article. Good information shred for performance testing
basics.

Along with Load runner can you please share tutorial for performance
testing tool – Cloud test.

#8 Ankit

when we will grt its second tutorial ? After 2 3 days ihave to work on load
[Link] pls post it soon

#9 Sachin

Great Documentation on the Performance testing terms (statements) ..

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 Now, the question which always arrives in my mind about performance
testing is –

What is the actually time to do (start) performance testing ?

As we know the performance testing deals with load, stress, Volume

testing…., so is that mean we should do performance testing at the end of
development process, or if not……. then what is the relevant way to begin
with performance testing in Software Project ?

Kindly elaborate your points on above issue.

#10 Bhavesh

Thanks for such a informative articles on performance testing.

#11 sathish

Good Article

#12 Yogesh

How to decide the application performance is good or poor?

Suppose there is application take 1 hr to send the 1GB file to
database,So how to decide its performance?

#13 Ashu

I would like to pursue my software testing career ahead into performance

testing. what are the job opportunities available in this respect to
performance testing.

Please suggest

#14 sarvesh

Thanx Vijay for this greate intresting article……..thanx again…

#15 Chetan

Thanks everybody for appreciating the article and work.

#16 Chetan

@Kiran, @Udara- We will definitely consider your request. Thanks

#17 Chetan

@Sachin-Previously when Performance testing was not given so much

importance so it was done at the end and whatever were the minimum
changes required to tune the application after the performance testing
were considered . But now industry is very much aware of need of
Performance testing. So the culture is now to have “Built to Performance”
application where performance of application is checked from time to time.

Developers check the performance of their code in unit testing through

profilers. And when a functionality is ready to test, Performance team

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 starts their performance testing and give feedback to Dev team so that
they can fix the performance issues along with the release of next
functionality. So with each release Dev team keep adding functionality and
tuning the application in their integration phase.

#18 Bamidele

You have tremendously educate me about performance testing. Thanks.

#19 Vijay

@ Ankit – Video tutorials will be on Monday.

#20 Anusha

when can we get the next part of tutorial and practical session?

#21 Kedara

Thank you and please also help us on Selenium…:)

Thanks In Advance

#22 Sumit Jaiswal

It’s great article for the Beginner’s.

I would be expecting more practical example’s, apporach , and solution to
the error’s which we encountered while creating Load Script’s and
Performance Test.

Hope you full fill my expectation.

All the Best.

#23 priyanka

Great article!! Can u please provide tutorials for JMeter…

#24 Sachin

@ Chetan.

Thanks a lot Sir !

Firstly you understan dmy Question very much exact.

and the answer is great along with the Software Development Track.

Really Nice

Thanks,
Sachin

#25 Sachin

@ Yogesh.

Below are two bullet points i would like to mention (for answering you) –

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 1. PM (Product Manger) should decide the Performance limits. and if your
Application (software) full fill the limits than the Performance is as
Expected.

In your example first you should know what is the expected behaviour
(expected speed) and then you can say it is Good or Poor.

2. Performance Testing has Load testing, Stress Testing, Volume

Testing… (you can see in tutorial above).
So if all this Testing Results are Good (Actual Result = Expected Result)
then the performance is Good and if not you can guess it.

Your nots are Welcome !

#26 Anthony

Excellent article to understand the need of Performance Testing.

#27 Merlyn

Thanks. Excellent material.

Looking forward to the tutorials which I expect to cover not merely basics.

#28 Pravin

Hello Chetan,
Thanks,Really helpful material.
Please tell me how to write performance testing test cases manually.
pravinyeole04@[Link]

#29 Ritu

Thanks for article

#30 chetan J

Thanks for your efforts Chetan Kaushal. i am the old reader of this blog
can we start same tutorial for Jmeter I am interested in Jmeter because of
open source, any help from your side will be helpful.

#31 Gourav Soni

Hello Sir,

I am very thank full to you that u understand me, what is performance

testing exactly…thanks alot my blassings are with you….

Keep it up sir……

#32 Sudhakar

Thankq so much for providing very useful information

#33 Sangram Kumar Das

Thanks for this Article. This is a nice Documentation on the Performance

testing terms and statements.

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 Looking forward to your next article.

#34 Girish

Thanks! Amazing artical on Performance Testing.

Good Work Thank you so much.

#35 Dipesh

I just want to know that theoritically the article was best and can we have
practise of this at home…I mean to say is it essential that we should work
in a corporate for getting full hands on experience of load runner.

We can learn it from here but where can we practise these steps any link
from where we can download.

#36 ade

Can some please tell me what problems they have faced doing perf
testing and how it was resolved..?

#37 prakash

hello sir,actually i am a begginer for load runner and i know all the
[Link] i want to learn loadrunner scripting using [Link] i search
[Link] can anyone please help me to how to start the scripting
part.

#38 Rajesh

Hello Sir

It was a wonderful article about Performance Testing.

Was very interesting to go through …and was helpful as well.
Thank you so much for taking the interest in creating such pages..

#39 Sher

Hi Vijay !

I’ve one query about automation testing. Is there any open source
automation testing tool available that support flex based applications?

Need your thoughts on it.

Regards,

Sher

#40 Mukta

Hi Chetan,

I am a manual testing professional with 5 [Link] experience. I want to

switch to automation industry now. Could I please request you to help me
which automation tool I should go into. I have knowledge of qtp and have
done 1 small project of mobile application as well. I have done functional
testing of web services using SOAP UI but not fully into the tool. I am
befazzled about which one I should go in? Which tool/technology will help

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 me in career growth? I thought to prepare loadrunner by myself, hence
explored your site and found it very useful n informative. Could you
[Link] will these tutorials of loadrunner be enough to enter in
performance testing automation or to clear interview? Will you cover any
project to make us understand practically how to start performance
testing using loadrunner? Is there any programming language or scripting
[Link] to learn loadrunner? I am not able to take any decision in
regardence of qtp, selenium, loadrunner, mobile testing, soap ui…please
help [Link] forward for your suggestions, I hope you won’t disappoint
me. Thanks n Best Regards!

#41 srikanth

I wanted to learn testingtools. .can you pls help me out for complete
course soft copy. ..&materials which u have…
I am middle class family.i can’t pay money…I am providing my contact& e
mail ids…pls share d video tutorials to my mail id..

Mob:8099174104 email:kvrsrikanth6@[Link]. ..waiting

#42 Nitin Sharma

Highly informative. Thanks for sharing.

#43 Kallem Rajender

Good and basic required information provided.

Good for beginers.

#44 Neha Srivastava

hello sir,
This article is very helpfull to me. I have two year experiance on PHP
development, But now I want to switch into testing [Link] I am not
working anywhere. I dont have any idea about automation testing. Will you
please help me to make my carrer in software testing.

#45 Vivek

I need to test a software for performance which will have lot of servers in it
with proper IP Address, does any of the performance testing tools support
creating virtual servers as many as needed for testing.

#46 mahendra

Good 1 to a fresher whoz going 2 start the career of performance testing

#47 Karthi

I want to thank for the information, it really helpful to know a bit of what is
performance testing? . I have one year experience in Manual Testing with
background of B.E (ECE), As I am planning to learn Loadrunner,but i don’t
have any programming or scripting language so far..Is that create any
conflict to learn loadrunner..or do i need to know any programming
language to learn..please advise i will decide my career based on your
kind reply

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#48 Madhura Deshmane

It is good article for beginner in performance Testing

#49 Aditya Deshpande

I want to learn how the performance is tested using load runner or any
other testing tool.
If any one is having notes or any study material please forward it to my
mail id.

#50 Santhosh

It is really great one for beginner

#51 Vamsi

Nice article and i can kick start my PT prep..:)

#52 KIRAN

good article

#53 Anna

Please let me know you can train on load runner advanced topics onsite?

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