QW2002 Paper 7I2

Eric D. Siegel
(Keynote Systems )

Don't Get Trampled by the Crowd: Realistic Load Testing of Web Sites Across the Internet

Key Points

Presentation Abstract

Use of traditional tools and techniques designed for clientserver or terminal-host systems on dedicated networks will almost certainly produce misleading results when used on Web systems. During this intensive session we'll look at the reasons why traditional load tests fail to produce realistic loads for Web applications and how such flaws lead to deceptive conclusions and inaccurate business and technical decisions. We'll look at the difficulties caused by abandonment, poor session structures, diffused servers, and lack of direct control over many Web and Internet resources. We'll also examine relevant portions of the Internet's structure (DNS, peering, caching, third-party servers and content distribution networks, server system connectivity, etc.) that may impact the end-user's perception of your Web site's performance and that must be considered in designing an accurate test. We'll then give detailed recommendations about how to construct load tests that realistically depict both the true end-user load and the true end-user experience.

About the Author

Eric Siegel, Principal Internet Consultant at Keynote Systems, has been a member of the Internet community since 1978. He is the author of "Designing Quality of Service Solutions for the Enterprise" (John Wiley & Sons) and is an instructor and panelist in Internet performance and QoS at major industry conferences such as Networld+Interop, CA World, Service Networks, Quality Week, WWW Conferences, and CMG. Before joining Keynote, Mr. Siegel was a Senior Network Analyst at NetReference, Inc., where he specialized in network architectural design for Fortune 100 companies, and he was a Senior Network Architect with Tandem Computers, where he was the technical leader and coordinator for all of Tandem's data communications specialists worldwide. Mr. Siegel also worked for Network Strategies, Inc. and for the MITRE Corporation, where he specialized in computer network design and performance evaluation. Mr. Siegel received his B.S. and M.E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, where he was elected to the Electrical Engineering honor society.