1.Explain what is performance testing?
Performance testing is done for quality assurance. It involves testing software applications to make sure that the software is working well under their expected workload.
2.Mention different types of performance testing?
Load testing
Stress testing
Endurance testing
Spike testing
Volume testing
Scalability testing
3.List out what are the common performance problems that users face?
Longer loading time
Poor response time
Poor Scalability
Bottlenecking (coding errors or hardware issues)
4.List out some common performance bottlenecks?
Some common performance bottlenecks include
CPU Utilization
Memory Utilization
Networking Utilization
S limitation
Disk Usage
5.List out some of the performance testing tools?
HP Loader
HTTP Load
Proxy Sniffer
Rational Performance Tester
JMeter
Borland Silk Performer
6.Why has JMeter become a natural choice of tester when it comes to performance testing?
JMeter tool has benefits like
It can be used for testing both static resources like HTML and JavaScript, as well as dynamic resources like Servlets, Ajax, JSP, etc.
JMeter has a tendency to determine the maximum number of concurrent users that your website can handle
It provides a variety of graphical analyses of performance reports.
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7.Mention what all things are involved in the Performance Testing Process?
Right testing environment: Figure out the physical test environment before carry performance testing, like hardware, software and network configuration.
Identify the performance acceptance criteria: It contains constraints and goals for throughput, response times and resource allocation.
Plan and design Performance tests: Define how usage is likely to vary among end users, and find key scenarios to test for all possible use cases.
Test environment configuration: Before the execution, prepare the testing environment and arranges tools, other resources, etc.
Test design implementation: According to your test design, create a performance test.
Run the tests: Execute and monitor the tests.
Analyze, tune and retest: Analyze, consolidate and share test results. After that, fine tune and test again to see if there is any enhancement in performance. Stop the test, if CPU is causing bottlenecking.
8.List out some of the parameters considered for performance testing?
Memory usage
Processor usage
Bandwidth
Memory pages
Network output queue length
Response time
CPU interruption per second
Committed memory
Thread counts
Top waits, etc.
9.List out the factors you must consider before selecting performance tools?
Customer preference tool
Availability of license within customer machine
Availability of test environment
Additional protocol support
License cost
Efficiency of tool
User options for testing
Vendor support
10.Mention what is the difference between JMeter and SOAPUI?
JMeter:
It is used for load and performance testing HTTP, JDBC, JMS, Web Service(SOAP), etc.
It supports distributed load testing.
SoapUI:
It is specific for web services and has a more user-friendly IDE
It does not support distributed load testing
For most IDE, it has plugin support.
11.Mention what is the difference between performance testing and functional testing?
Functional Testing:
To verify the accuracy of the software with definite inputs against expected output, functional testing is done.
This testing can be done manually or automated
One user performs all the operations
Customer, Tester and Development involvement is required
Production sized test environment is not necessary, and H/W requirements are minimal.
Performance Testing:
To validate the behavior of the system at various load conditions, performance testing is done.
It gives the best result if automated
Several users perform desired operations
Customer, Tester, Developer, DBA and N/W management team
Requires close to production test environment and several H/W facilities to populate the load
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12.Mention what is the benefit of LoadRunner on testing tools?
Benefit of LoadRunner testing tools is
Versatility
Test Results
Easy Integrations
Robust reports
Enterprise Package
13.Explain what is Endurance Testing and Spike Testing?
Endurance Testing: It is one type of performance testing where the testing is conducted to evaluate the behavior of the system when a significant workload is given continuously
Spike Testing: It is also a type of performance testing that is performed to analyze the behavior of the system when the load is increased substantially.
14.Explain what are the common mistakes done in Performance Testing?
The common mistakes done in Performance Testing are:
Direct jump to multi-user tests
Test results not validated
Unknown workload details
Too small run durations
Lacking long duration sustainability test
Confusion on definition of concurrent users
Data not populated sufficiently
Significant difference between test and production environment
Network bandwidth not simulated
Underestimating performance testing schedules
Incorrect extrapolation of pilots
Inappropriate base-lining of configurations
15.Mention the steps required in JMeter to create a performance test plan?
To create a performance test plan in JMeter:
Add thread group
Add JMeter elements
Add Graph result
Run test & get the result
16.Explain how you can execute spike testing in JMeter?
In JMeter, spike testing can be done by using the Synchronizing Timer. The threads are jammed by synchronizing the timer until a specific number of threads have been blocked and then released at once, creating a large instantaneous load.
17.Explain what is the throughput in Performance Testing?
In performance testing, throughput refers to the amount of data transported to the server in response to the client request at a given period of time. It is calculated in terms of requests per second, calls per day, reports per year, hits per second, etc. Performance of application depends on throughput value, higher the value of throughput -higher the performance of the application.
18.Mention what are the phases for automated performance testing?
Phases for automated performance testing includes
Design or Planning
Build
Execution
Analyzing& Tuning
19.Mention what is the difference between the benchmark testing and baseline testing?
Benchmark Testing: It is the method of comparing performance of your system performance against an industry standard that is set by other organization.
Baseline Testing: It is the procedure of running a set of tests to capture performance information. When future change is made in the application, this information is used as a reference.
20.Mention what are concurrent user hits in load testing?
In load testing, without any time difference, when multiple users hit on the same event of an application under the load test is called a concurrent user hit.
21.Why is Performance Testing performed?
Performance Testing is performed to evaluate application performance under some load and stress condition. It is generally measured in terms of response time for the user activity. It is designed to test the whole performance of the system at high load and stress conditions.
Example: Customer likes to withdraw money from an ATM counter, a customer inserts a debit or credit card and waits for the response. If the system takes more than 5 min. then according to requirements, system functioning fails.
22.What are tools of performance testing?
Following are some popular commercial testing tools:
LoadRunner(HP): this for web and other application. It provides a variety of application environments, platforms and databases. Number of server monitors to evaluate the performance measurement of each component and tracking of bottlenecks.
QAload(Compuware): used for load testing of web, database and char-based system.
WebLoad(RadView): it allows comparing of running test vs. test metrics.
Rational Performance Tester (IBM): used to identify presence and cause of system performance bottlenecks.
Silk Performer (Borland): allow prediction of behavior of e-business environment before it is deployed, regardless of size and complexity.
23.Explain the sub-genres of Performance testing.
Following are the sub-genres of Performance Testing:
Load Testing: It is conducted to examine the performance of application for a specific expected load. Load can be increased by increasing the number of users performing a specific task on the application in a specific time period.
Stress Testing: It is conducted to evaluate a system performance by increasing the number of user more than the limits of its specified requirements. It is performed to understand at which level application crashes.
Volume Testing: This is used to test an application in order to determine how much amount of data it can handle efficiently and effectively.
Spike Testing: what changes happens on the application when suddenly large number of user increased or decreased.
Soak Testing: It is performed to understand the application behavior when we apply load for a long period of time what happens on the stability and response time of application.
24.What is performance tuning?
To improve the system performance we follow a mechanism, known as Performance tuning. To improve the systems performance there are two types of tuning performed:
Hardware tuning: Optimizing, adding or replacing the hardware components of the system and changes in the infrastructure level to improve the systems performance is called hardware tuning.
Software tuning: Identifying the software level bottlenecks by profiling the code, database etc. Fine tuning or modifying the software to fix the bottlenecks is called software tuning.
25.Explain the basic requirements of the Performance test plan.
Any Software Performance Test Plan should have the minimum contents as mentioned below:
Performance Test Strategy and scope definitions.
Test process and methodologies.
Test tool details.
Test case details including scripting and script maintenance mechanisms.
Resource allocations and responsibilities for Testers.
Risk management definitions.
Test Start /Stop criteria along with Pass/Fail criteria definitions.
Test environment setup requirements.
Virtual Users, Load, Volume Load Definitions for Different Performance Test Phases.
Results Analysis and Reporting format definitions.
