Service for load testing a transactional server over the internet

• US 6,477,483 B1
• Filed: 01/17/2000
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mercury Interactive Corp. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Scarlat, Yuval, Gilad, Zohar
• Primary Examiner(s): Hilten, John S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRETLOW, DEMETRIUS R
• Application Number:
  US09/484,684
• Time in Patent Office: 1,023 Days
• Field of Search: 702/186, 702/182, 702/176, 702/187, 702/188, 702/123, 703/13, 703/21, 703/22, 703/23, 703/24, 709/224, 709/223, 709/100, 709/218, 709/219, 714/47, 714/25, 714/38, 717/4, 717/8
• US Class Current: 702/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet

Abstract

A service provider remotely load-tests web sites or other transactional servers over the Internet using a hosted service. The service is particularly useful for load testing a web site or web site application that has not yet been deployed. Initially, the owner or operator of the web site (“customer”) registers with the service through an online registration process. The customer also makes a staged implementation of the web site accessible to the service provider over the Internet. Using information remotely obtained from the customer during registration, the service provider develops the load test and then executes the load test from a remote server farm. The server farm preferably has sufficient processing power to simulate tens or hundreds of thousands of concurrent users. The customer may also have the opportunity to participate in the load testing process using a hosted collaboration application.

Claims

1. A method of load testing a transactional server, comprising:

remotely obtaining information about the transactional server from a business entity associated with the transactional server;

generating a load test based on the information remotely obtained from the business entity, wherein the load test specifies actions of simulated users of the transactional server; and

running the load test from a server farm that is remotely coupled to the transactional server by a public network to apply a load to the transactional server over the public network, wherein running the load test comprises ramping up a number of said simulated users over time while monitoring response times of the transactional server.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein running the load test comprises running the load test against a staged implementation of the transactional server.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the public network comprises the Internet.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein remotely obtaining information about the transactional server comprises using a web site to register the business entity.

5. The method as in claim 4, further comprising posting results of the load test on the web site for remote viewing by the business entity.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein running the load test comprises applying a load to a version of the transactional server that has not yet been deployed.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the transactional server is a web site system.

14. The method as in claim 1, wherein load testing the transactional server comprises using a controller to remotely specify load testing operations to be performed by servers of the server farm.

15. The method as in claim 1, wherein load testing the transactional server comprises using a load balancing algorithm to assign load testing tasks to servers of the server farm.

16. The method as in claim 1, wherein load testing the transactional server comprises determining a maximum number of concurrent users the transactional server can handle before performance becomes unacceptable.

17. The method as in claim 1, wherein load testing the transactional server comprises using IP spoofing to create a traffic pattern in which different simulated users have different IP addresses.

8. A method of testing a transactional server, comprising:

providing a staged implementation of the transactional server that is remotely accessible via the Internet; and

running a load test against the staged implementation of the transactional server from a server farm that is remote from the transactional server and coupled to the transactional server by the Internet, wherein running the load test comprises ramping up a number of simulated users over time and monitoring and recording response times of the staged implementation of the transactional server during application of a load thereto.

9. The method as in claim 8, further comprising developing the load test based on information remotely obtained from an operator of the transactional server through an online registration process.

10. The method as in claim 9, further comprising posting results of the load test on a web site for remote viewing by the operator.

11. The method as in claim 8, wherein running the load test comprises running the test against a version of the transactional server that has not yet been deployed.

12. The method as in claim 8, wherein providing a staged implementation of the transactional server comprises placing the staged implementation at an Internet address that is not generally known.

13. The method as in claim 8, wherein the transactional server is a web site system.

18. The method as in claim 8, wherein running the load test against the staged implementation of the transactional server comprises using a controller to remotely specify load testing operations to be performed by servers of the server farm.

19. The method as in claim 8, wherein running the load test against the staged implementation of the transactional server comprises using a load balancing algorithm to assign load testing tasks to servers of the server farm.

20. The method as in claim 8, wherein running the load test against the staged implementation of the transactional server comprises determining a maximum number of concurrent users the transactional server can handle before performance becomes unacceptable.

21. The method as in claim 8, wherein running the load test against the staged implementation of the transactional server comprises using IP spoofing to create a traffic pattern in which different simulated users have different IP addresses.

22. The method as in claim 8, further comprising remotely developing the load test using a hosted, web-based collaboration tool.

23. A load testing system that provides functionality for remotely load testing target server systems over a wide area network, the load testing system comprising:

a plurality of server computers connected to the wide area network, said server computers hosting a load testing application that provides functionality for applying a load to a target server system over the wide area network and for monitoring response times of the target system during application of said load; and

a controller that provides functionality for controlling the plurality of server computers over a network connection to specify and execute load tests in which a load is applied by the plurality of servers to the target server system;

wherein the controller implements a load balancing algorithm which assigns load testing tasks to individual servers of the plurality of servers to distribute a processing load associated with execution of load tests.

24. The load testing system as in claim 23, wherein the plurality of server computers are interconnected by a local area network.

25. The load testing system as in claim 23, further comprising a web site system that provides remote access to a data repository, said data repository storing test scripts run by the plurality of server computers during load tests, and storing performance data resulting from execution of load tests.

26. The load testing system as in claim 25, wherein the web site system includes a hosted collaboration tool that allows users to remotely participate in the development of load tests.

27. The load testing system as in claim 23, further comprising a hosted collaboration tool that allows users to remotely participate in the development of load tests.