Load Testing Blog
The Fastest Webserver?
Looking for the snappiest, fastest web server software available on this here internet? So were we. Valid, independent, non-synthetic benchmarks can be difficult to find. Of course, we all know that benchmarks don’t tell us everything we need to know about real-world performance; but what’s the fun of having choices if we can’t pick the best?
Exactly. I decided to do a little research project of my own.
Test Plan
I selected for this exercise recent (as of October 2011) versions of Apache, Nginx, Lighttpd, G-WAN, and IIS — a list that includes the most popular … Continue reading »
Internet Explorer Static File Caching Defect
In going through cases we have with some customers, we’ve seen a few instances where Internet Explorer does not cache shared static resources. Within Load Tester, this problem becomes immediately apparent:
Note that the shared CSS, Javascript, and images are re-requested again on the About page and every other recorded page that uses them. Note also, these files don’t come back with a 304 (Not Modified), but instead the full content of the file is sent over and over again through a HTTP 200. Normally, the browser should load these files … Continue reading »
Microsoft Affirms the Importance of Web Performance
No, Microsoft has not admitted that our load testing solution is superior…yet. We anticipate that announcement any day now :>
At last year’s Velocity conference, Microsoft’s Eric Schurman (working on Bing optimization) presented results of tests that Microsoft ran to measure the business impact of the performance of Bing, Microsoft’s newest search platform. Using an A-to-B test platform that directs a subset of their users to a dedicated testing system, they are able to directly observe the effect of specific changes to the performance of the Bing test site. They … Continue reading »
Configuring and Analyzing Performance Goals
A tutorial on customizing the analysis that Load Tester automatically provides in its reports.
User-Level Analysis of Performance Results
By analyzing data against applied user levels, rather than only against elapsed time, Load Tester permits better understanding of performance and of capacity.
Load Testing with IE 8.0, Firefox 3.5
The performance improvements in the latest browsers (Internet Explorer 8.0 and Firefox 3.5) have been eagerly awaited for many months…though they come at a price.
Business Impacts of Performance
One of the opening sessions of the Velocity 2009 conference was a joint session with engineers from Microsoft Live Search (Bing) and Google Search…yes, they were together on the same stage :>
Both organizations wanted to measure the effects of performance on the business – i.e. on revenue. Revenue for search sites is based on the number of searches and on the number of clicks on results. Both of the search giants have experimentation platforms which allow them to send a small portion of real users to a different version of the search … Continue reading »
Web Performance, Inc. Releases Safari 4 Browser Performance Research Reports
Durham, NC (PRWEB) – Once again Apple is claiming the superiority of its Safari web browser, and once again Web Performance, Inc. (WPI) is testing that claim. WPI used its industry-leading Web performance web load and stress testing software to evaluate Safari’s performance in real time.
WPI tested Safari 4, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), and Chrome 1, using Firefox 3.0 as a baseline. They tested all of the browsers on the top 15 most popular sites as ranked by Alexa.com as of February 3, 2009. Sites included … Continue reading »
Instant Load Generator Automates Massive Load Tests
Durham, N.C. — Simulating very large numbers of users accessing a website just got much easier with the release of the Instant Load Engine™ from Web Performance, Inc. Companies that rely on their websites to handle thousands of customers at a time know the value of testing to insure their site’s performance and reliability, but the testing process often incurs long delays as the testing software is installed on up to hundreds of computers. For example, generating 50,000 simultaneous users could require anywhere from 40 to 100 computers … Continue reading »
Web Performance, Inc. Releases Safari Browser Performance Research Reports
Durham, NC (PRWEB) — Web Performance, Inc. (WPI), the creator of industry-leading Web performance web load and stress testing software, releases its latest investigative research report on Apple’s Safari Web browser. In response to Apple’s claims that its recently released Windows version of the Safari Web browser was the “fastest browser on Windows,” WPI put these claims to test.
