Introduction
In the cloud, there’s almost infinite access to resources for computing, storage, and networking, allowing all kinds of applications to be scaled exactly the way a business needs. But it’s important to constantly measure and test the performance of these applications in the cloud.
Performance is the key to a trouble-free communications environment – which means that performance testing all your applications is vital, as it directly impacts end users, and customer experience.
The purpose of performance testing is to test applications for functional as well as non-functional requirements, to ensure that all is working well under the designated and expected workload.
What is load testing?
Load testing is a performance evaluation method, using specific software that increases the load on your website or contact center environment. This allows you to monitor performance as the load scales and concurrent users flood the system.
Any business supplying goods and services knows that there can be huge spikes in traffic on their websites at certain times. For example, the holidays can mean that many DevOps teams will be under additional pressure as holiday orders and new device users overload the system with orders and concurrent connections, all browsing all at the same time.
Cloud based load testing best practices
As technology has advanced, and websites and web applications have migrated to the cloud, enterprises have lost some control over issues such as performance and latency. The cloud provider may have an SLA and an uptime assurance, but unless you’re actively testing those promises with cloud based load testing tools, you may never really know if the provider is honoring its guarantees.
A cloud-based load test is a cost-effective means of testing applications at scale, and allows you to get an analysis of maximum performance by enabling you to simulate exaggerated load tests. This could constitute tens of thousands – up to millions of concurrent users, with complex web applications, coming from multiple geographical locations.
Performance testing ensures that your website/application will behave as expected and gives you opportunities to enhance the user experience. Performance testing results can be different based on the infrastructure you are using for the testing – on-premises vs.x cloud-based performance testing solutions. While cloud-based solutions are a way to go for most companies, on-premises performance testing solutions also have a use case for many.
What is On-premises Performance Testing?
On-premises performance testing involves setting up and managing testing infrastructure in your office or a physical data center that you control. From purchasing of hardware and software to maintaining end-to-end aspects of the testing infrastructure is your responsibility. On-premises performance testing also requires setting up a dedicated testing team with required skills that fit your testing dynamics. This gives you better control over the testing process with increased security.
Advantages of On-premises vs. Cloud-based Performance Testing :
Better Control
On-premises performance testing offers better control over the infrastructure and testing process as a whole. You can upgrade and configure your hardware and software whenever you need it without depending on a third-party vendor. Testers can also leverage this control by tweaking with infrastructure configurations for exploratory testing.
Increased Data Security
On-premises performance testing happens in your office or your own data center. This means if you are working with sensitive data, you don’t have to worry about compromising it to a third-party vendor. This gives a sense of enhanced data security to your organization.
Lower Long-Run Cost
In some cases, If you have frequent testing requirements and your requirements don’t change much over time, having an on-premises performance testing set up can prove to be cost-effective in the long-run.
Accessibility
On-premises performance testing can be accessed and utilized without the need for connecting to the internet for internal systems. However, you can do it from within the infrastructure premise.
Disadvantages of On-premises Performance Testing :
High Initial Investment
For setting up on-premises performance testing infrastructure, you need to invest in hardware, software, and workforce. This can prove to be quite costly and time-consuming.
Scalability and Maintenance
On-premises performance testing infrastructure requires regular updates, configuration management, and upgrades for optimal performance. Scaling the infrastructure when your requirements increase add up to additional overhead for cost and time.
No Geographical Leverage
Performance testing gives the best result when you simulate the most realistic user load. Suppose you have a website/application that is accessed by users of different geographical reasons. In that case, an on-premises setup will fail to simulate actual users by not generating load from those locations.
Limited Testing Flexibility
On-premises performance testing offers flexibility in configurations and updates, however, testers may find it challenging to change configurations every time you need to run multiple scenarios with different configurations.
The Need for Cloud-based Performance Testing Solution
With the evolution of agile processes, rapid prototyping, and cloud infrastructure, most companies prefer a cloud-based performance testing solution – and for good reasons. The following are some of the vital features and advantages that cloud-based tools offer and are key features when deciding on an on-premises vs. cloud-based solution :
•On-Demand. Get up and running with your tests in minutes.
•Fully-Managed. No need to worry about updates, upgrades, maintenance, and scaling.
•Geo-locations. Run your tests from multiple locations with the most realistic user load.
•Cost-effective. No infrastructure overhead and reasonable monthly pricing.
•Access. Run your test cases from anywhere and anytime.
Conclusion
On-premises vs. Cloud-based Solutions
On-premises vs. cloud-based performance testing setup is time-consuming and requires heavy investment in infrastructure, maintenance, and workforce. On the other hand, cloud-based performance testing solutions are quick to get started and offer vital features for modern websites and applications. LoadView, our cloud-based performance testing tool, enables you to test your websites/applications with the most realistic user load, giving you accurate results.