One of the most important & underrated parts of performance testing is load testing. Most people consider all performance testing is load testing, but that’s basically a misconception. There are several types of tests that combine to form “performance testing”. Before we get into performing Software Security Testing, let’s go over some basic info on what a load test actually is.
What is Load Testing?
A load test is the approach in which multiple users running the same application to see whether a system application handles the load without impacting functionality or performance.
Strategies to Prepare for Load Testing
1. Right Workload
Make sure don't test your application on a large scale. There’s no need to stress your platform beyond what is actually required. It is a good practice to produce higher traffic loads to be on the safe side, but to be productive focus on evaluating the right workload.
Of course, your mobile app may experience demand during peak time. But it is suggested that you begin load testing with regular throughput before you focus on testing your peak times.
2. Prepare Load Generator
Make sure the load generators are ready to address the workload. If you’re not aware about the load generators they are basically the computers that run virtual user tests. A virtual user is basically a script working like a real user when making instantaneous requests to your mobile application test. This mobile application testing is usually done by emulating browsers communicating with the backend of the system.
3. Scripting
It's not sufficient to create test acting like real-world scenarios. You need to make sure that your scripts are not overloading the test tool. Simply optimize the settings for your test scenario. Time, duration of run, as well as the monitors selected can put stress on your tool. Take any dynamic data that needs to be taken into consideration. You don't wish to code a test generating unrealistic failures because of a poorly written script. Be sure to generate the right amount of data, enabling successful tests at the end of the day.
4. Workload Scheduling
Workload scheduling means how fast you plan to ramp up and ramp down your virtual users. What will the impact on the load generators be? What is the effect that it's going to have on the application or applications itself? These are things crucial for performance testing services when determining a workload event. You don't want to create any artificial bottlenecks.
5. Think Time
Think time is a crucial entity of the script logic. All tools must have some logic of how to add think time by declaring how many seconds you want the virtual user to wait. Think time is important to mimic the right workload as per the real behavior of the virtual user. Just like a functional Selenium test, it's also suggested to use think time instead of sleep function. Not implementing think time in a correct manner is another common performance testing mistake. You really need to build a realistic performance that emulates how a real user is going to interact with your product.
Conclusion:
Before planning to perform load and performance testing services, you need to target the right workload traffic. Find out the virtual user's footprint in order to prepare the correct amount of load generators and the distribution of the virtual users among them. Make sure to create the data that the virtual users are going to use, and you need to prepare the environment, hardware, whatever it is, the application under test, whether it is the testing tool itself.
