Leveraging Cloud Computing for Load Testing of Web Applications

In this article I would like to discuss the aspect of load-testing as part of Cloud-Testing and it's impact over traditional testing.

First, I would like to mention some terms and abbreviations used in this article.

Load Testing

In load or performance testing you want to subject your software to an equal amount of virtual users as would be in an actual production environment. You would then want to monitor the performance under the specified load, usually on a target-test environment identical to the production environment, before going live.

The Traditional Way

Traditionally, to support such a test, you would need the following components in place:

• A good load-testing software
• Sufficient load-testing hardware for your load-testing environment
• Target testing hardware similar to your production hardware for your target-test environment with your software installed
• Sufficient bandwidth for realistic simulation
• Skilled professionals to run, monitor and analyze the results of the tests
• Tools to enable you real-time monitoring of all vital signs of your servers and applications under test
• Other equipment to simulate realistic environment

Cost of such an environment and the priority of load-testing versus on-going production tasks, bring decision-makers to make compromises and find less adequate solutions to the problem of validating performance under load and throughout time. These compromises are a subject for a different blog.

Organizations invest thousands of dollars in developing software applications that are the core business and revenue generator of these companies. Load-testing and performance validation are crucial for ensuring a software version is ready for production thus reducing the risks of unpleasant surprises under load.

Load-testing is a way to ensure and protect the organization investment in development and IT.

The 'Cloud' Way (Cloud-Testing)

With Cloud-Testing compromises are no longer necessary. Cloud-Testing leverages cloud-computing resources and models to enable all aspects of load-testing in a highly cost-effective manner. With Cloud-Testing you have unlimited resources at your disposal, paying only for what you consume, only when and if you consume it.

I would like to describe few services offered by cloud-intelligence.com:

 JMeter in the Cloud  – A full SaaS solution for load-testing of web applications, combining state-of the-art open-source technology and cloud-computing resources to support your entire load-testing requirements at a reasonable cost. Unlimited resources, rich scripting and graphical functionality, zero setup time.

It takes only a few hours to launch a test of 10,000 concurrent users, complex database transactions and authenticated users. The cost of such setup is considerably low compared to other available load-testing solutions. While in the past, for a medium size organization, the capital expense of a load-testing solution was at tens of thousands of dollars, now this cost can be replaced with an operating expense of few hundreds of dollars per month – all included.

Another solution is VirtualLabs. With this service you can build your testing environment in the cloud. A virtual lab TCO varies from about 20% to 50% of a real lab. Your virtual lab is hosted for you, ready to execute whenever you require it. Unlimited resources are available. You pay only for what you consume.

You can use CloudMon to monitor your target servers and applications in real-time. You don't need to use special hardware or software to monitor your applications. It is provided to you from the cloud as part of the Cloud-Testing service.

And finaly, you can use LoadIntelligence which is a new service by CloudIntelligence providing an end-to-end solution for load testing of web applications. It includes hardware, software, hosting and professional services while leveraging state-of-the-art JMeter in the Cloud Cloud-Testing technology.

So, this is about it. You can use JMeter in the Cloud as your load testing solution. Use VirtualLabs to simulate your production servers. Use CloudMon to monitor everything in real-time. You don't need to pay a whole lot of money, you can use it on-demand and pay only according to your consumption. If you are not a load testing professional and you want it all done for you, simply use LoadIntelligence.

About Cloud-Computing

Cloud-computing is actively revolutionizing the traditional IT scenery. It's all about paying only for what you consume. It is a legitimate way for companies to significantly lower costs of infrastructure while increasing operations. Cloud-computing enables non-expensive and rapid system deployment. Unlimited computing resources and pay-as-you-go model allow each business to scale according to actual business activity increase and pay only for its consumption.

Cloud-computing is supported and lead by industry giants including Sun Microsystems, IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and others.

If you care to read more about Cloud Testing and how you can benefit from it, feel free to visit: www.cloud-intelligence.com

--Alon Girmonsky

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