Effective Application Performance Testing

Performance testing is not yet an established practice; it is a field that is emerging and soon would be an essential part of software engineering. It aims to evaluate system performance in terms of its ability to respond and continue to perform under specific conditions.

Performance testing can also be undertaken to determine how a system or application is performing in terms of resources consumption, time taken to complete one process or to check responses to certain tests it may be subjected to.

There are different types of application performance testing:

Configuration test: This is carried out to determine performance changes as a result of alterations in the system configuration or configuration of its parts.

Endurance test: Endurance tests examine application behavior and response under sustained activity or workload periods. Any decrease in performance quality or response time is noted. It is usually measured against values recorded at the beginning of the testing.

Load test: This test includes testing the application for its performance after specifying a number of users carrying out operations within a given time. This test can detect problems in the application software, depending on the criteria being tested.

Stress test: The stress test determines the extent to which the application can manage excess workload while continuing to perform at its optimal values. It helps to evaluate application performance, especially when expected load overshoots normal limits.

Another version of testing with increased workloads is called spike testing, where performance is evaluated while subjecting the system to unexpected spurts of high workload levels. Spike tests help determine whether the system will handle the sudden increase or fail.

Reliable performance testing

There are various performance testing tools and software to carry out reliable performance reviews. An ideal solution for performance testing should cover end-to-end performance of the system or application as well as evaluate it on the basis of real-time user experience. It should also determine whether the Service Level Agreement is being followed or not, as well as monitor the availability of critical applications and their performance before end users face problems.

The ideal performance testing software will not only detect problems, it will also generate an alert that will allow the system administrators to reach out and correct the error before detection by end-users.

About the Author:

Tevron develops and delivers powerful and comprehensive application performance solutions, service level agreement, end to end performance, and performance testing solutions available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise application monitoring solutions and testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe. Tevron's solutions are scalable, flexible, and easy to maintain; they are also designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Challenges Faced In Application Monitoring

Often, application monitoring is not taken seriously till the time a project goes live. At that stage, it gets difficult to tap problems and fix issues because end users are already involved. For this reason, application monitoring is best included at the time of deployment.

What are the other common challenges faced in application monitoring?

1. Applications with direct user-interface: Those applications that contain a higher volume of user-interfaces, such as banking applications or other interactive applications such as a touch-screen kiosk at a public place are prone to breaking down and leading to inconvenience, before being controlled effectively.

Application monitoring efforts introduced at the time of deployment itself can prove to be useful in detecting trouble before it grows bigger and affects operations. Proactive monitoring involves studying the application till it reaches a level where performance can suffer if the issue is not resolved.

2. A large user base: Applications that involve large user bases, for example a user base across the country, or globally. These applications need to support several parameters such as communication and illustrations that support several different languages and cultural preferences. In case of a global user base, such as that of a bank, the application may also need to support different currencies.

Effective performance of such applications may depend on performance monitoring undertaken by independent support groups located on site.

3. Shared resources and systems: Tracing problems is always difficult when there are multiple systems. In case of a shared system, most resources are also shared to enable optimization. However, when monitoring application performance of shared systems, the entire system must be expected to share the burden of breakdowns or a decrease in quality.

A similar problem is faced in set-ups that involve clusters of systems that share memory and network. Often, tracing the problem is the first challenge in monitoring performance in such applications because the source could be anything from a shared disk, to a CPU.

Meeting the challenges

The ideal performance monitoring tool will monitor the application, analyze performance in terms of quality and speed, and take corrective steps before the problem reaches the end user. Superior application monitoring tools also ensure SLA enforcement and bring out unauthorized changes or modifications to the system.

About the Author

Tevron develops and delivers powerful and comprehensive application monitoring solutions, service level agreement, end to end performance, and performance testing solutions available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise application monitoring solutions and testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe. Tevron's solutions are scalable, flexible, and easy to maintain; they are also designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.

Significance of Remote Desktop Services Monitoring

Remote desktop services monitoring is indispensable for keeping an eye on applications running on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Monitoring is essential to make sure that all applications are running as designed, particularly regarding their performance and response. Remote Desktop Services (RDS) monitoring can help detect problems in these applications before they blow up into issues of larger proportions.

However, RDS monitoring systems work better when:

> They are sensitive to catching responses and gauging problems
> They create alerts at the relevant time

Why install RDS monitoring at all?

Small businesses have limited budgets. This can translate into reduced infrastructure as well as restricted manpower. Remote desktop protocol (RDP) thus works very well for small businesses, while reducing the need for heavy investment in dedicated IT systems and manpower. Remote desktop services monitoring enhances and helps optimize RDP by ensuring it is performing at its peak.

Delays in detecting problems can result in delayed resolution time, leading to loss in productivity and, more seriously, business.

Effective remote desktop services monitoring

An effective RDS monitoring system has certain characteristics that enable it to optimize the work of Remote Desktop Protocol systems, as well as applications running on RDP.

Complete monitoring

RDS monitoring can engage the RDP like a human user, thus effectively testing applications and their performance. Moreover, engaging applications like a human user includes replicating moves and keystrokes. This allows for inconsistencies to be caught, even if they are at various different stages of the application.

Regular monitoring

Regular monitoring is essential to ensure problems are detected before they grow into bigger issues. Regular monitoring also provides understanding of the normal or usual behavior of a particular application while highlighting any aberration or deviation.

Real time monitoring

Real time monitoring is a very effective way of nipping trouble at the root. In case of problems with your RDP, your RDS monitoring system should ideally generate real time alerts that allow you to grab the problem and resolve it before it affects your users' systems.

An effective RDS monitoring system will replicate user behavior to access and test functioning of applications on the RDP effectively. Further, it should be independent and not make its presence known to the users. This in turn allows for increased efficacy as well.

Utilized effectively, an RDS monitoring system can save up immensely on cost and time - both of which are ingredients essential to the success of the small business.

About the Author

Tevron develops and delivers powerful and comprehensive Application Monitoring Solutions including RDS monitoring, Service Level Agreement, End to End Performance, and Automated Testing Solutions available globally. Tevron has also successfully delivered enterprise Application Monitoring Solutions and Testing solutions to support every IT enterprise application to hundreds of customers across the globe.

Tevron's solutions are scalable, flexible, and easy to maintain; they are also designed to support diverse environments, business processes and applications with a service oriented management.