Load Testing - Why Is It Important?

Author: Taqi Ahmed

A fundamental subset of Performance Testing, Load Testing is earning tremendous importance in today’s technology scenario. The web application ability, to control effectively a large number of patterns and volumes is measured by performance testing ability before it gets active.

Load testing of the APIs and web applications is a testing exercise that necessarily tests the system’s performance under the situation of peak traffic. To conduct load testing, a model with an application’s expected usage is created by the testers just by affecting simultaneous access of the application by various users.

Today, we are here to dig out the reasons that will depict the importance of load testing. Let’s start:

  • Measuring the Quality of Service and Performance of a Website

Load testing makes a performance testing company capable of measuring the Quality of Service (QoS) performance of the website belonging to the organization depending on the actual behaviour of the user. Being the part of this type of testing, the evaluation of the website’s performance is carried by the testers using distinct tools and frameworks like LoadRunner, CloudTest, BlazeMeter, Loader.io, Blitz, Apache JMeter, and more. The statics of hardware and software that the testers monitor include memory, CPU, revert time of the physical servers, and outcome of the system under test (SUT).

  • Recognizing important Parameters of Application Performance

To identify the notable parameters of an application effectively, load testing always stand-out with spread arms. The response time is comprised of these parameters, for each transaction of an application, software affecting design issues, performance under loading situations of database/ system components, and delay in network between the client demand and server response.

Moreover, issues with software configurations, like database server, application server, and web server are too interpreted taking along the faults grounded in hardware, such as memory limitations, CPR maximization, and network obstructions.

  • Interpreting the OSI Protocol Stack

The overall OSI protocol stack is analyzed by load testing along with targeting on GUI performance, like in the regression testing scenario. Hypertexts that are transmitted on clicking the button by the user from the web browser is sent by load testing tool. During the involvement of multiple-user environments, hypertext is set by load testing tools for all the users, each with the different login ID and password.

  • Gaining penetration into the Slow System Performance Reasons

For the top-notch performance testing services, the way out is covered again by load testing. The process rotates mainly all around the calculation of the system performance to assure the no system downtime while an application is accessed simultaneously by various users.

To get the exact reason behind the system’s slow performance, load testing tools can be used by the testers. These reasons can be software database server or application server, network congestion, network latency, load balancing, and client-side processing between various servers.

  • Determining the highest Operating Capacity of an Application

With the helping-hand of load testing, the highest operating capacity of an application can be effectively ascertained by an organization. Under normal loading conditions and also as expected peak load conditions, the evaluation of the system behaviour is accomplished by load testing. Testers are for spotting out the degradation causing elements. Therefore, load testing is also tagged as reliability testing, volume testing, or concurrency testing, as it assists the testers for monitoring the calibre of the present infrastructure to execute the under test application.

  • Enhancing the application’s Scalability

The highest number of possible users that can be supported by an application can be determined by the testers through load testing. For the users, this information means a lot, as while there is a requirement of extra infrastructure to accomplish the potential demand for computing the application ahead.

Apart from application scalability, special load testing can also be performed by the testers, above the usual load testing, while the execution of the certain events is being carried out like Cyber Monday, sporting events, music festivals, or Black Friday.

  • Lowering Cost Assumption of an Application Breakdown

A crucial testing technique, load testing is employed by the testers for inspecting an application’s issues before resolving them. The subsequent preventions and early detections of issues and defects can set up to a significant decline in cost implications of an application’s failure. While load testing is absent, during the production, failures can lead to the cumbersome costs for an organization because of the absence of the application in the huge traffic condition.

A highly prolific mechanism of software testing namely load testing allows an organization to get the limits of the potential capacity of its website or application. Load testing also assures to contribute to the higher satisfaction of the users, the software performs making load testing an important section of the optimization process and web design. The high-quality assurance of application is lent by successful load testing that can work for various users of the organization.