Nearly every useful web application is backed by some sort of database – usually a relational database. Many database administrators (DBAs) have never participated in a load-testing campaign and are sometimes even considered tangential to the load testing process.
However, your DBA is a crucial part of the load-testing team. In addition to the obvious skills of database performance analysis and tuning, the DBA brings other advantages to the project:
There is one disadvantage: If your DBA is involved in the testing, it is a lot harder to blame them when things go wrong! (and we never pass on a chance to give our DBAs a hard time )
This quote from Why IBM DB2 DBAs Love Load Testing illustrates one reason we love working with customers who get their DBAs involved with the load testing process:
“DBAs prefer to be proactive and deal with potential issues before they become production nightmares.”
What should a DBA be looking for during a load test? Here are the key issues to be watching for:
The article I referenced above has a DB2-specific title, but actually applies equally well to most web-based systems. I recommend passing it on to your DBAs when you invite them to your next load testing project.
Chris Merrill, Chief Engineer