Software testing tools and load testing information

Good artilcle comparing Apache Tomcat performance differences between the Windows and Linux platforms.

The Tests

“Public Web sites and intranet applications see distinctively different distributions of user bandwidth. For public Web sites 56k to 4Mbit connections are typical. For intranet applications 10Mbit-100Mbit is common (this bandwidth is shared). So a maximum 10Mbit bandwidth per user was selected for simulation purposes. The bandwidth was limited for each virtual user by the testing tool.

Note that with a bandwidth per user of 10Mbit on a 100Mbit network, no more than 10 users could be supported using their full bandwidth (assuming 100% network efficiency, which Ethernet can’t achieve). However, all the scenarios contain significant “think time” (time between pages) that allows more than 1,000 users to use the 100Mbit bandwidth. Each test was stopped before any indications were given that the throughput capacity had been reach to ensure that our measurements were an accurate gauge of the server’s performance.

Construction of Test Cases

The test case required a servlet that could return Web pages of a specified length referencing a specified number of external resources (images were used in this simulation). The servlet used provided the required functionality hard-coded in the servlet. Its source code is publicly available in the ContainerBenchmark.java file. Once the servlet and necessary resources were installed (via a WAR file), the test tool was used to record the scenarios interactively using the Web browser. In this case Opera 8.01 was used, but which browser is used to record the scenarios should not affect the test. Each scenario was recorded over the duration listed above. The testing tool was configured to simulate an approximately equal share of “think time” between each page, lingering slightly longer on the last page before restarting the test. (See Figure 1-2-3)

Testing Procedure

Test case recordings, virtual user simulation, and data gathering were all managed by the testing tool in this case Web Performance Trainer 2.8, Build 629.”

Performance testing

DETROIT, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ —

Compuware Corporation today introduced the new version of its performance testing solution, Compuware QALoad 5.5. This new release extends Compuware’s history of delivering enterprise performance-testing capabilities to organizations by improving tester efficiency through wizard-driven automation and through enabling a collaborative approach to improving application quality.
“QALoad’s new automated parameterization wizard and rules library will dramatically increase productivity for our clients,” said Thomas Poirier, CEO at Persystence, Inc. “The ability to simplify the creation, storage and sharing of rules is a crucial time-saver for difficult-to-automate patterns and could reduce script creation and maintenance by as much as forty or fifty percent.”
Compuware QALoad is an automated load-testing tool for web, Java, .NET, packaged ERP/CRM applications and distributed environments. Compuware QALoad simulates thousands of users performing key business transactions against an application to ensure its performance and scalability prior to deployment. With Compuware QALoad, testers can quickly pinpoint problems, optimize system performance and help ensure successful application deployment.

Borland Software has released an upgraded version of Borland SilkTest(R), the enterprise-class functional testing product. Borland recently acquired Segue Software and added this tool to Borland’s Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) portfolio. SilkTest 8.0 offers new features designed to help organizations optimize the quality of software by streamlining and automating testing efforts. It also adds support for testing Eclipse-based applications and those applications running on the latest Internet browser and Microsoft .NET 2.0 environments.

From TMCNet

“SilkTest 8.0 provides a full-featured automated functional testing system designed to ensure software meets designated functionality, quality, and reliability requirements. Automated functional testing is a key component of any comprehensive software quality process, enabling enterprises to thoroughly verify application functionality with accuracy, comply with industry and company standards, and streamline this critical but time consuming process.

SilkTest is a member of Borland’s Silk(TM) quality and performance management product line, and will play a role in Borland’s upcoming Lifecycle Quality Management solution, expected to be introduced later this year.

“SilkTest provides a sophisticated system for test planning, development, execution and reporting across multiple platforms, development environments and browsers,” said Erik Frieberg, vice president of product marketing and strategy at Borland. “Its tight integration with Borland’s other test, performance management and requirements management products enables IT teams to improve quality throughout other phases of the development lifecycle. This lifecycle approach aids efforts such as requirements-driven testing and helps customers be more efficient in their existing development and testing processes.” ”

Fom CSL Blog

opensourcetesting.org: Open Source Testing tools, news, and discussion.
pensourcetesting.org aims to boost the profile of open source testing tools within the testing industry, principally by giving users easy access from one central location to the wide range of open source testing tools available.

These tools are free as in speech, not free as in beer. While you will not need to pay a vendor to use the tools, they still have a cost of ownership through evaluation, implementation, training and maintenance costs, the same as any software does. But with a handful of commercial vendors dominating the proprietary software testing tools market, make no mistake about it – these tools can make a real difference to your life as a testing professional!

Opensourcetesting.org was started in March 2003 with what amounted to a personal list of about 50 tools found that I’d come across on Sourceforge and thought the world should know about! Following a one-off evening of marketing activity, comprising a targeted press release and a couple of forum postings to comp.software.testing and qaforums.com, the ball started rolling. The first month averaged about 300 unique users per week and it’s since been rising steadily month-on-month to about 1200 unique users per week after 9 months, and continues to rise steadily.