You can use this load testing strategy to get a basis for your further load tests, or to assess how your server performs against the service-level agreement (SLA).
Your test should help you determine what response is normal for the server. You can then use these values to set up the assertion in other tests. You may also find server or target Test Case problems that would prevent longer load tests from running correctly. This is also a good way to check if your server performs according to the SLA.
Test Parameters
To create baseline tests, we recommend using the Baseline load test template. By default, it will create a test with the following parameters:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 minutes |
| Load type | VUs |
| Simulated load | 20 virtual users |
| Wait time | One second |
| Warmup time | 15 seconds |
| Assertions |
Time taken – Average Time taken – Max |
| Created monitors | CPU |
| Created statistics |
Two charts are created:
Baseline
Monitors
|
If you simulate the Fixed load profile with the VUs load type, you specify the constant number of virtual users to be simulated.
If you simulate the Fixed load profile with the Rate load type, you define the constant speed at which new users arrive to the server.
To estimate the server performance, add assertions and server monitors that will check the response time, the size of transferred data and other values to which your SLA can refer.
Here is what your test results may look like:
Click the image to enlarge it.
Assertions and Server Metrics
To examine the server performance, you can track various server-side metrics or use assertions.
Server Metrics
With ReadyAPI, you can track various server-side metrics like memory and CPU usage, the number of database requests per second, and so on. To do this, you need to configure server monitors in your load tests. For detailed information, see the topics of the Server Monitoring section.
You can check metric data on the Server Monitoring and Statistics pages of the load test inspector.
The exact metrics to be checked depend on your server type and on the type of your server applications. For information on the available metrics, see Monitor Reference.
Assertions
Below are some load test assertions that you may find useful in baseline tests:
| Assertions | Description |
|---|---|
| Test Target – Time Taken | Lets you control the request simulation time. |
| Test Steps – <Test Step Name> – Time Taken | |
| Load Test – Failures – Total | Lets you check the total number of errors that occur during the test run. |
| Test Target - Failures – Total | |
| Test Steps – <Test Step Name> – Failed | |
| Test Steps – <Test Step Name> – Transactions | Lets you monitor the number of simulated transactions. |
| Test Target – Throughput | Lets you monitor the throughput (bytes per second or transactions per second). |
See Also
Fixed Profile
2. Load Test Editor Interface Overview
ReadyAPI Performance Licenses