Application performance can be affected by many different factors. And, differences among development teams in how they handle these factors can cause noticeable differences in the user experience. That is why it is important to understand how to more effectively measure, monitor, and improve application performance. Better tools for performance testing of desktop applications can help you do this more efficiently.
This book will help you to choose the right performance testing tool, based on your needs. The initial chapters give an overview of performance testing in general, followed by a review of all the main free and commercial tools available in the market. After that, there are chapters that focus on specific areas of the tool landscape. This is a very practical book with many links to real-world tools. If someone wanted to be inside your head when you were working at your computer doing internet research, they would go through all of your tabs in order to get an idea for what you are doing. They are able to do this because internet
LoadNinja
It allows you to create scriptless sophisticated load tests and reduces testing time by half. It also replaces load emulators with real browsers and gets actionable, browser-based metrics at ninja speed. LoadNinja empowers teams to increase their test coverage without giving up on the quality by removing the tedious efforts of dynamic correlation, script translation, and script scrubbing.
| Features | Protocols |
| Scriptless load test creation & playbackReal browser load test execution at scaleVU Debugger debug tests in real timeVU Inspector manages virtual user activity in real timeIt is hosted on the cloudBrowser-based metrics with analytics and reporting features | HTTPHTTPSSAP GUI WebWebSocketJava-based protocolGoogle Web ToolkitOracle forms |
Apache JMeter
JMeter is an open source tool that can be used for performance and load testing for analyzing and measuring the performance of a variety of services. This tool is mainly used for web and web service applications.
| Features | Protocols |
| It supports multiple load injectors managed by a single controllerHighly portable and supports all the Java-based appsLess scripting efforts as compared to other toolsSimple charts and graphs for analyzing key load related statistics and resource usage monitors.Supports Integrated real-time, Tomcat collectors for Monitoring | HTTPHTTPSXMLSOAPJava-based protocolsFTP |
WebLOAD
WebLOAD is an enterprise-scale load testing tool. It features a comprehensive IDE, Load Generation Console, and a sophisticated Analytics Dashboard. This is a web and mobile load testing and analysis tool from RadView Software.
| Features | Protocols |
| Flexible test scenario creationSupports every major web technologyPowerful correlation engineAutomatic bottleneck detectionGenerate load on-premise or in the cloudNative JavaScript scripting | HTTPHTTPSXMLEnterprise applicationsNetwork TechnologyServer Technologies |
LoadUI Pro
LoadUI Pro allows you to quickly create scriptless sophisticated load tests, distribute them on cloud using load agents and monitor the performance of your servers as you increase the load on them. You can access detailed reports and quickly automate your load tests.
| Features | Protocols |
| Scriptless Load test creationPreconfigured load test templates like spike, baseline, stress, smokeDrag and drop load tests on distribution agents on cloudSophisticated analytics and statists features for reportingQuick conversion of functional tests | HTTPRESTSOAPJSONAPI BlueprintJSON SchemaXML Schema |
LoadRunner
Micro Focus LoadRunner, previously known as HP LoadRunner, is a highly sophisticated software load testing tool that detects performance issues in web applications. Nevertheless, it is not limited to testing web applications or services. It is also optimized for testing ERP software and legacy system applications, as well as Web 2.0 technologies.
Moreover, Load Runner is the tool to test old-fashioned proprietary protocols, so we believe that the second place in this list is nothing but fair for it.
LoadRunner enables software testers to have complete visibility over their system’s end-to-end performance. It is specialized in detecting bottlenecks before the application enters the implementation phase. Thus, users can evaluate each component individually before it goes live.
Similarly, LoadRunner is helpful when detecting performance gaps before implementation or an upgrade of a new system. At the same time, it provides users with highly advanced predictive features to forecast expenses for up-scaling application capacity. Due to accurate predictions of expenses related to hardware and software, it is easier to improve the capacity and scalability of your application.
Pros
- Accurate detection of system, end-user, and code-level bottlenecks
- Discovers root cause of application performance issues
- Reduces cost of application downtime stemmed from performance issues
- Allows performance testing of existing legacy applications with new technologies
- Enables testers to test mobile applications
- Reduces software and hardware costs by forecasting software capacity and scalability
- Enables software teams to configure intelligent service-level agreements before their product goes live
- Gives users shorter test cycles to expedite application delivery
- Offers effective tool utilization tracking
- Browser-based access to global test resources
- Optimal usage of load generator farm
Cons
- Extremely expensive (see our comparison article Jmeter vs Loadrunner)
- Uses a lot of memory and crashes if the system cannot meet its computing requirements
- May have compatibility issues
- Usage license is based on the number of virtual users
Protocols
LoadRunner supports all kinds of protocols related to its services.
Pricing
| Community Edition | Virtual user days | Volume Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Get 50 virtual user licenses for life | Gives you the option to add more virtual users | Contact vendor for quotation |
| Free | Starts at $1.40 per virtual user day | |
Best For
Micro Focus LoadRunner is a highly sophisticated and versatile load testing tool optimized for testing various platforms. However, due to its price the tool is more suitable for medium- to large-sized organizations.
Kinsta APM
Need a hassle-free performance monitoring solution for your WordPress website? Try Kinsta APM. It’s designed to let you find and resolve performance issues on your Kinsta-hosted sites. With a simple and easy-to-use UI, Kinsta APM is for everyone, whether they’re beginners to experts. Plus, it’s available in 10 languages under MyKinsta.
Kinsta APM provides insights on slow PHP transactions, external requests, MySQL queries, and more. You can debug database queries, non-optimized themes or plugins, and longer API calls and external URL requests, along with identifying slowest, median, and average transactions.
It’s helpful for everyone, from agencies and ecommerce site owners to developers, by helping them find and troubleshoot performance issues quickly while reducing their expenditure on costly APM tools.
Features and Benefits:
- Customer support team: With over ten years of experience, Kinsta’s seasoned customer support team will resolve all your site issues with 24/7 availability and a 100% solve rate. You can chat with them directly through MyKinsta and get instant replies.
- Pricing: The tool is free for every website that Kinsta hosts, no matter what plan you’ve chosen. You can also book a live demo to test the performance yourself.
Conclusion
Performance testing software, built to increase the speed and accuracy of performance testing by providing more relevant and actionable information up front. Unlike many tools, perfSONAR does not attempt to emulate the end user experience, but instead provides test engineers with an accurate picture of how their software will perform at scale.