From: "M. Edward (Ed) Borasky" Date: 2009-02-26T12:06:57+09:00 Subject: Re: Load/Stress/Performance Testing via Ruby Dav Yaginuma wrote: > Thanks Ed, > > Good to know I wasn't missing something obvious. > > I've contacted sales reps for SilkPerformer and LoadRunner. My fear (and > unfortunate experience) with this kind of software is that you spend a lot > to get a complicated but powerful system that then requires more time (and > money) to make actually work. They both seem to have a lot of features that > I don't need, so I was hoping to find something more streamlined and > ruby-oriented first. It's good to be aware of all the alternatives though, > so thanks for the pointer. I had heard of LoadRunner but not SilkPerformer. > > 50 concurrent virtual users probably won't cost you a lot. They usually charge a base price plus a price per virtual user. The assumption is that your business will grow, you'll need to emulate more users, and you'll be able to buy more virtual users. For what it's worth, the real "secret sauce" in the recorders is the ability to extract session data, cookie send / receive, parsing data out of the returned HTML and branching on it, etc. Pure record / playback isn't all that hard to do, it's the "other stuff" that makes these tools worth the money. P.S.: It warms my heart to know that there are actually web application developers out there who realize the *need* for load testing. There are some big name web sites out there that seem to go into deep space when they update the database, for example. And load testing can also give you *good* news ... you may need *less* server than you're planning on. -- M. Edward (Ed) Borasky http://www.linkedin.com/in/edborasky I've never met a happy clam. In fact, most of them were pretty steamed.