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Best Performance Testing Tools

  |  January 11, 2021
Best Performance Testing Tools

Implementing the best performance testing tools allows for an optimized end user experience and improved web performance.  In order to execute accurate and effective performance testing, it is important for QA engineers to have access to the right set of tools. With the plethora of performance testing tools, it has become tedious to pick the right tool for your use case.  Let’s explore our list of the best performance testing tools. 

Open Source Website Load Testing Tools

Apache JMeter

Apache JMeter clones and downloads source code to help test engineers contribute to their issues page. Test engineers can use it to develop their own, highly customized JMeter Plugins.

Here are some of its benefits:

Ease of scripting language

JMeter supports Groovy or Java Expression Language (JEXL). Both languages provide optimal performance under high load conditions. You can leverage these languages to resolve technical challenges during performance script development.

Learning Opportunities

Being an open-source load generation tool, JMeter provides an enhanced personal approach with logic controllers, samplers, and assertions among others. You can leverage JMeter to build scripting skills through Groovy or Java to help you learn complex coding while working on supporting languages.    

Advantages

Here are some advantages of Apache JMeter:

  • Load and performance testing different conditions and users
  • Fully-featured test IDE
  • Completely Java based tool
  • Command-line mode for performance and load testing
  • Load test is executed in a distributed manner
  • Dynamic HTML report
  • Ability to extract data seamlessly
  • Replaying test results and offline analysis

Gatling

Gatling leverages Akka, Scala, and Netty as its technology stack. It offers maintenance, ease of use, and high performance. It is capable of dealing with logic amid requests and efficiently handles virtual users with their original data and browsing path.

Here are some of the noteworthy points of Gatling:

  • Offers the ability to write performance tests as source code
  • Stores tests under the version control frameworks
  • Promotes collaboration among developers
  • Keeps historical changes
  • Mitigates the loss of work

Capable API Assertions

Gatling offers a complete package of functional assertions to enable testers to run multiple functional tests. You can do this while running regular performance tests. Its flexible API enables you to run the checks for specific or entire requests.

Ease of readability

The tests are easily readable to leverage domain specific language for understanding tests. It enables team members to collaborate seamlessly without wasting bandwidth.

Seamless integration with real-time monitoring tools

It helps test engineers save time as it provides an idea of the test result before the test run is complete.

Premium Website Load Testing Tools

LoadRunner (LR)

LR can simulate thousands of users simultaneously to check the capacity of the app on any platform and environment. It is capable of applying consistent and end-to-end stress in controlled and repeatable ways. The data generated from the test is leveraged to detect potential scalability issues that can hamper app performance in real-world situations.

Key Components of LoadRunner

You can use its VuGen (Virtual User Generator) to script and record multiple business processes to represent user actions.

The LR Controller help you create a custom scenarios to map the expected load on the application or the system. It helps in accurate collation and execution of results.

The LR Agent works as the communication control bridge between controller and load generator. The controller runs the RAD (Remote Agent Dispatcher) procedure to launch the agent. It gives commands like stop, initialize, run, and pause. 

Key Benefits of LoadRunner

LR enables reliable and repeated performance testing; essential for troubleshooting during the software development process. Analysis of generated results enables test engineers to finetune apps through the testing phase and identify the potential bottlenecks.

Here are some benefits:

  • Eliminates the risk of launching applications that don’t meet the demands
  • Supports major protocols
  • Generates scripts with GUI through a single click recording
  • Offers Intelligent services level management
  • Monitors and analyze
  • No need for installation

BlazeMeter

BlazeMeter brings cross-enterprise software test automation that can be leveraged through the product development life cycle. It helps performance engineers create scripts through Blazemeter UI or JMeter UI. Set up your test execution with the Blazemeter tool.

You can leverage BlazeMeter to enable an entire team of Developers, Ops, DevOps, and QA testers to achieve continuous or on request testing for APIs and applications. Use its hybrid solutions with cloud or on-premise frameworks. BlazeMeter also supports popular tools including JMeter & Selenium and you can integrate it with APM, CI, and CD tools.

Complete compatibility with open source JMeter tool 

BlazeMeter helps test engineers gain knowledge and leverage open-source knowledge bases.

It is fully compatible with JMeter versions. All you have to do is upload and run scripts. It also offers concurrency, easy GUI, and other JMeter properties.

APM & Continuous Integration

BlazeMeter supports a plethora of CI tools. Apart from enabling test engineers to schedule load tests, it also provides the option to apply tests..

Easy & Insightful Reporting System

Blazemeter reporting generates insightful and easy to understand data reports. Within a few minutes of running the load test, BlazeMeter delivers the performance report with KPIs such as throughput, error rate, response time, and percentages. The report also gives details about the test segregated by location, test cases, and any specific request label.

Retrace by Stackify

Retrace is a fully integrated and multi-environment APM+ tool for .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Ruby, and Python applications. Retrace is an easy to use SaaS app monitoring solution for developers.  It integrates APM, error/logs, and server health metrics into one tool for nonprod, QA, and prod environments. Retrace includes: 

  • APM – Offers code-level application performance visibility
  • Transaction tracing – Gain access to code level traces of your code’s performance
  • Metrics – Monitor application, server, and custom metrics
  • Logs – Searching, aggregation, and management
  • Errors – Reporting, aggregation, and alerting
  • Alerts – Robust alert and monitoring capabilities

Unlimited Users

Retrace’s unlimited user functionality allows all team members the ability to troubleshoot your application.  Admins can determine team member access through by assigning roles. 

Dev-Centric

Retrace was created for developers, by developers.  Alerts and notifications help developers identify underlying performance vulnerabilities and avoid technical debt.  Gain greater visibility into your code with CPU% monitors, memory usage, SQL query monitors, website check monitors, error rate monitors, and more. 

Integrated Errors and Logs

Retrace’s integrated logs and errors correlate all your data together in one place.  Retrace automatically collects the details you need to quickly troubleshoot app errors, such as log statements, errors, SQL queries executed, and external HTTP web service calls.  Our favorite logging features include real time log tailing and structured logging.  

Try your free, 14 day Retrace trial.  

Wrapping Up

To select the right tool, you should evaluate project requirements by analyzing the production usage, user experience, behavior pattern, and delivery deadlines. The best performance testing tool for your use case is based on the size of the organization, application usage, resources, budget, and space.

Improve Your Code with Retrace APM

Stackify's APM tools are used by thousands of .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python, & Ruby developers all over the world.
Explore Retrace's product features to learn more.

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