Choosing a Performance Tool

A variety of test tools are available; see Tools for Performance Testing and Evaluation for a partial list. Testers of the PT application used the load test tool WebLoad 3.51, by RadView Software. This tool was chosen because it was able to perform the following actions:

• Measure the rate at which the PT application can process transactions originating on the user-services part of the PT application (running on Microsoft Internet Explorer) and completed possibly with a round-trip to the business and data layers of the application running on a server computer.
• Provide a way to execute a variety of different transactions, weighted to reflect the likely real-world use of the PT application (see Using Test Scripts).
• Increase the workload by adding virtual users in a controlled, continuous way. Test software must be able to maintain the weighted mix of transactions while gradually increasing the workload.
• Record the results in the chosen metric — transactions per second — for all workload levels over the course of the test.

An additional advantage of the test tool that was chosen was the fact that its scripts use JavaScript. This means that testers can edit the scripts without needing to learn an additional, nonproprietary, language.