Software Performance Testing: A Comprehensive Tutorial

This software performance testing tutorial describes types of performance testing and software performance testing tools. Performance testing types include load, stress, soak, and spike. Performance testing tools mentioned are HP LoadRunner, IBM Rational, NeoLoad, SOASTA CloudTest, Silk Performer, SOAtest, Raw Load Tester, LoadUI, and LoadStorm, among others.

What is Performance Testing?

There are two main aspects to consider while developing software: functionality and performance.

• Functionality: This part takes care of the functional behavior of the software or application, designed to meet user needs.
• Performance: This part ensures the software or application works efficiently without crashing on target resources, maintaining speed and accuracy.

This tutorial will discuss various performance aspects. Performance testing is fundamentally a non-functional type of testing. It’s implemented and executed during the architectural and construction phases of the software development life cycle. It evaluates performance aspects such as reliability, scalability, and speed.

Why is Performance Testing Needed?

The main goal of performance testing is to eliminate any problems that might prevent the system from functioning well in a real-time environment. It’s carried out before the product or system is launched in the market or deployed. Performance testing monitors and reports various parameters, including CPU usage, memory usage, power consumption, network bandwidth, and cache performance.

Performance testing is widely used across various industries to test applications in sectors like medicine, healthcare, biotech, aerospace, automotive, and defense.

Types of Performance Testing

Let’s understand different performance testing types:

Performance testing is divided into various types based on the application and severity of the test. These include:

• Load Testing: Load testing assesses the system’s behavior under specific load conditions. For example, multiple users accessing the application simultaneously within a specific time period. This is most applicable for testing client-server-based web applications.

• Stress Testing: Stress testing examines the software application under extreme load conditions to identify any issues that arise when the software is subjected to such stress. This test is usually carried out for a shorter duration.

• Soak Testing: Soak testing assesses the application under extreme load conditions over a longer period. This is crucial, as the system might crash due to memory leaks or CPU failures over extended durations. These issues are often identified by soak testing, which might not be detected by load and stress testing alone.

• Spike Testing: With spike testing, the application is subjected to varying load conditions over a longer period. The main goal is to check when software performance degrades and whether the system can handle the load. It also checks whether the application will fail or withstand varying load conditions.

Software Performance Testing Tools

The following table summarizes various software performance testing tools used across the industry for a wide variety of applications. This includes HP LoadRunner, IBM Rational, NeoLoad, SOASTA CloudTest, Silk Performer, SOAtest, Raw Load Tester, LoadUI, and LoadStorm.