Load Testing Parameterization

What are the reasons why parameterization is necessary when load testing the Web server and the database server?

Questions by mathan_vel   answers by mathan_vel

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russp

  • May 12th, 2009
 

I can give a few situations when parameterization may be necessary when load testing a Web server and database server.  They are;  when it is desired to simulate real-world conditions with a variety of users having different profiles, when there are many servers behind a load-balancer, or when particular users may reside in multiple databases. 

Parameterization may be necessary when the server is setup to cache a response for a given user.  If the same user is used over and over, you may only be looking at the performance of a front-end cache on the server.    The same is true for a database.  For example an LDAP database will cache user response data.  If you are attempting to measure how the back-end responds to first-time requests (eg with an empty cache), you'll need to hit the server with a variety of users.

If your System-under-test has multiple front-end servers, parametizing the server names effectively allows you to redirect requests as needed - simulating load balancing.

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