Summary

A successful performance test requires disciplined execution. A staged approach starting with a simple configuration and adding complexity at each stage works best. Run sufficient test iterations to understand the performance characteristics of your application and the impact as you add load. Use these tests to remove bottlenecks and lay the foundation for successful production performance and capacity planning. Although you may be tempted to test all your web site components at once, a more measured approach always saves time and helps you readily identify bottlenecks.

Also, just as you bring equipment into the test in a controlled manner, so you should validate your web application software in a similar fashion. Begin with simple, single- user tests of your code paths to find any errors or missing static components. As you increase load, validate your environment by observing the results variance between runs. Excessive variance usually indicates problems with the environment you must resolve before you can conduct a meaningful test.

This chapter covered the basic processes and stages of a good performance test. In the next chapter, we discuss capturing key measurements as the tests run.