How To Make Load Tests More Realistic – Simple Strategies

A quick and unrealistic load test can be counterproductive or even useless. Hence, the result is an overload of unreliable information.

However, by conducting a realistic load test, you can test every layer of your application. By doing so, you can even determine the performance of all the servers and detect any problems with your application.

In light of this, let’s discuss some realistic ways to test your application’s load.

1. Aim For Right Workload

The first thing you should avoid is testing your application on a large scale without being required to. It’s not necessary to stress your platform beyond its capabilities.

Testing a higher traffic load than expected is good for staying on the safe side; however, you should focus your efforts on estimating the correct workload your app will see in production to be realistic and productive.

Your website or app will likely experience demand during several peak or spike load times based on seasonal events unique to your industry. However, before testing your peak times, it is recommended that you first simulate a normal day’s throughput.

Hence, developing a model for user load should be the high-priority step in any load testing project. An important component of such a model is a workload profile.

An appropriate load test profile depends on the type and goals of the test. By selecting workload profiles that reflect anticipated real-life loads over time, we can answer the “main questions of load testing” more accurately.

For example, “Can N users search simultaneously on my site? ” and How many users can my site support while staying within specified performance and quality guidelines? ”

2. Specify Parameters For Test

Testers can parameterize a load test so that multiple parameters are changed just in time as the test progresses. When playing back a test, using the same recorded data for every user isn’t a good practice since that does not represent real-life conditions. By using special variables, you can solve the problem. Variables can be used to store desired data, which test requests can then use.

For example, it would be simplest to test the application using multiple virtual users with different UserIDs and Passwords. It is possible to retrieve UserIDs and passwords from text files, database tables, or load test software itself can even generate them.

Parameterization does not mean capturing a session ID from a response and passing it to the server on future requests. It is sometimes mistaken for parameterization, but it is often called correlation.

Also Read: Why Load Testing Is Important For Your Website?

What is the best way to perform parameterization?

Performance testing software affects the answer to this question.  Some tools require you to code the logic directly into the script using the scripting language provided by the tool.

Other tools provide a wizard that identifies eligible parameters and allows you to provide different parameters based on the project’s needs.

What are the benefits of parameterizing tests?

1. This applies restriction against a user logging in more than once simultaneously in your application.
2. Database caching can be avoided by using different parameter values.
3. The behavior of users is more realistic when they act as individuals rather than as clones.
4. Using parameterized URLs allows you to run the same test on different environments. Instead of re-scripting the test, where you can only change one parameter value.

So, to improve your website’s performance, use parameterization next time when you perform a load test.

3. Run Load Test In Real Browsers

A real-world end-user interacts with the website using a browser such as Chrome. This means using the regular Chrome browser for load testing allows you to see real-world user behavior on your website.

Load Testing With Chrome Browser

Through load generators, browser-based load testing simulates actual users by creating regular Chrome browser instances and navigating the website using simple scripts. In this way, a real-world environment is created that is almost identical to what real users would experience.

Users who perform browser-based load tests are called Browser Level Users (BLUs).

A browser-based load testing script includes instructions for navigating and interacting with the website. This includes the types of buttons to click, the types of navigation, the types of information to enter in input boxes, how to interact with elements, and when to interact with elements. In this way, testers can simulate the most accurate user journey possible.

Also Read: Load Testing vs. Performance Testing vs. Stress Testing

Advantages of Real Browser-Based Load Testing

Simple Scripts

Creating browser-based load-testing scripts doesn’t require a deep understanding of protocols. For example, if you would like to create a login action, you need to fill in the username and password and which button to click to proceed. You do not need to learn anything about authentication protocols or any other technicalities.

Reduced Test Complexities

Browser-based load tests are simpler to create and initiate than traditional load tests, which require parameters and values.

Front-end Optimization

As your users interact with your website through a regular web browser, you can collect the most accurate real-world data with browser-based load testing. You can optimize your front end by doing this.

4. Send Concurrent Request To Server

Concurrent requests to server execution can be used to find bottlenecks under peak load conditions and prove application performance.

A web server is a blend of software and hardware that responds to internet requests using HTTP and other protocols. The hardware side consists of the computer devices that store web server software and website files.

Software-wise, a web server is responsible for handling web user requests and storing information received from a user agent. A website cannot access or display content without a web server, which is why performance and load testing are so important.

Web server load testing examples

It is possible to load tests in a variety of ways. A few examples include:

• The simultaneous download of large files from the internet
• Using a server to run multiple applications simultaneously
• Increasing the amount of email traffic on the server
• Reading and writing data simultaneously on a hard disk

How to perform Load Testing?

A web server load test can be performed in various ways, depending on the server you are using. Nevertheless, here are some ways to load tests.

Manual Load Testing

Manual load testing is primarily done by users and does not produce repeatable results. Since this process is difficult to coordinate, it rarely produces a conclusive measurable load test result.

In-house testing

A load tester that is tailored to an organization’s servers is required for in-house testing. This is more costly and time-consuming for organizations that recognize the importance of high-performance web servers, but it is worth the investment.

Open-source load testing

Manual testing is high-risk for showing problems, and not everyone can afford their own testing tool. Alternatively, you can use open-source load testing tools. These free and open-source tools perform basic tests quickly and correctly compared to their paid counterparts.

Load Limits In Web server Load testing

During web server load testing, one of the main objectives is to measure the response time. Nevertheless, a web server can become unresponsive if it reaches its limit. It is, therefore, crucial to understand what load limits are, why they occur, and their symptoms.

Every web server has a predefined load limit, meaning it can only handle a certain number of client connections simultaneously. A maximum number of requests can also be served per second by web servers.

Factors that determine these conditions include:

1. Server settings
2. Types of HTTP requests on average
3. Dynamic or static content requests
4. Compressed or cached content
5. Active connections to a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) server
6. Web server hardware or software limitations

Ultimately, the maximum capacity of a server is determined by sending concurrent requests during server load testing. Hence, realistic load testing services for your application require this step.

Also Read: Jmeter Vs LoadRunner: Which One Is Better for Performance Testing?

5. Ramp Up & Ramp Down Time

Virtual users logging in and out simultaneously is probably unnatural for an application. Consider making the ramp-up and ramp-down times longer if you can. Running a load test requires a ramp-up time since it takes some time for your test to reach a steady state. The best time to measure response time and other factors is between ramp-up and ramp-down times.

The question now arises, what are ramp-up and ramp-down times?

In load tests, ramp-up speed refers to how fast new concurrent users can access an application. Real-time applications tend to have their own peak times, during which concurrent users tend to increase slowly.

Load test ramp-up speed is the speed at which the peak traffic is reached over a series of times. The ramp-up speed should always match the user pattern as closely as possible.

Additionally, ramp down during load tests means when peak hours are over, we tend to see a drop in concurrent users; ramp down can be found on a time series plot as the speed of the drop in users.

Note: Our applications should be load tested using the same strategy. So, consider embedding this approach for better load testing.

6. Analyze Data Of Load Test

There is a lot of data generated during the load testing service period. Finding everything you need in the test results is not easy. No matter how straightforward it is to analyze data (or how automated it is), it is still a pretty challenging process. The best way to handle such situation is to have a plan.

You should be looking at the following load test results and interpreting them based on the results.

1. Page Load Time

Definitely, you want to know how long it takes for each page in your scenario to load. Maybe you have a strict Service Level Agreement (SLA) that dictates how quickly pages must load, or maybe you just want to know. Your application may also experience stoppages if one page takes longer to load than others.

2. Response Load Time

It is not enough to know the loading time of a page. The reason for a slow page must be understood. Average response times give you a detailed understanding of the time spent on each response. Load tests can be continuously integrated with monitoring tools once they have been run.

3. Errors and Warning

Knowing what errors and warnings were generated and at what level of load they occurred is essential. Charts are especially useful for displaying this information. Errors and warnings must be observed, and changes must be made as the load increases.

4. Input and output throughput

Testing a system involves seeing how much data goes to and comes from it. It is imperative in cases where load increases but bandwidth plateaus. It is often possible to fix this by changing a setting at some point in the process, such as at the firewall.

5. Hosts

There is an increasing number of third-party hosts that today’s websites use for things like content delivery networks, ad servers, analytics servers, and social media, so these need to be accounted for in your reports as well.

The ability to view all calls to a particular host is also equally important. The response time for requests made to a host from your pages will add to the time it takes to render those pages. Whenever a call takes a long time to respond to, you need to be aware of it and possibly take action.

Conclusion

Preparation is the key to being on the safe side, even for seasoned testers. A load test should be as close to a real-life event as possible to avoid false positives. So, do follow above mention tips and procedures for better load testing in a realistic manner.