Performance is typically associated with efficiency and reliability, a measure of adaptability under a defined set of circumstances. In the process of software development, applications are not solely designed based on its functionalities. A system’s behavioral responses under normal and stress conditions are taken into consideration as well in order to build an efficient and reliable product of quality standards.

Poor performance typically occurs when system resources are under stress or reaching its maximum capacity. Known as bottlenecks, these are the issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve application optimization. To reduce these performance issues, a method on how to predict applications behavior in a production environment is needed. Performance validation through load testing enables to define and isolate bottlenecks in any component of the system architecture.

Manual load testing is not a practical option because of its inability to emulate behavior of hundreds to thousands of users and repeat tests consistently. The best method of implementation is through automated load testing with the aid of a performance validation tool.

Several performance testing tools are available in the market. One of which, and the most widely used, is HP LoadRunner. LoadRunner consists of four components that make up the whole product, namely, the VuGen, Controller, Load Generator, and Analysis. Scripts are generated using VuGen, a protocol-level capturing tool. These scripts known as VUsers are grouped as a scenario and are placed in the Controller. The Controller designates the load to the Load Generators, where emulation of real users accessing the application is being processed. While in load testing, monitoring data is collected from the servers or SUT (System Under Test) and are stored in Analysis. These data are then being analyzed for bottlenecks and behavior to determine the next course of action such as tuning, scaling, or defining a new SLA.

LoadRunner, as a monitoring tool, is not intrusive in any environment with the capability of not requiring installation of agent programs on the servers in the environment. It collects information of monitoring counters of the native monitors. Native monitors are the programs/modules that are built-in with the system being monitored. For example, in monitoring Windows System Resources, LoadRunner draws information from the built-in tool, Perfmon, which is available for almost all Windows OS. For Unix System Resources, it uses rstatd daemon of Unix OS for monitoring.

HP LoadRunner is a comprehensive testing solution for predicting system behavior and performance. It is a load testing tool that facilitates load testing against application, thus determining the behavior of the application - server and network, when under normal load, stress or prolonged testing depending on the objective of the load. It enables robust means of verifying that application’s architecture is built for more efficient performance and reliability.

Here in the Philippines, CheQ Systems is the premiere provider of Performance Testing Services. Our experience and expertise in this field are what our clients have a high regard for and have been loyal to over the years. We are also an authorized partner of HP for its software testing solutions. We look forward to working with you soon for your performance testing requirements.

Rommie L. Patricio
Research and Development Manager
CheQ Systems, Inc.