Configuring a load test requires you to select a load testing type. LoadView will replicate the test scenario of the chosen type to simulate virtual user load during a test run. This article is intended to help you make a decision on which type of load testing to use for your load test.

The choice depends on whether you want to test a web application, web page, web services performance, or web server limits.

Selecting Real Browser test allows you to track load impact with scripted actions as well as test a single web page performance by opening it in a real browser (Chrome, Microsoft Edge, mobile browsers/devices, etc.). To test web resource limits by sending HTTP/S requests to the target URL without opening it in a browser, select the HTTP/S option.

For additional details, read our Comparison of HTTP vs. Real Browser Load Tests article.

Real Browser – Web Application Test

Want to test the scalability of your web applications? Specifically, you may want to check if a large number of simultaneous users can browse the landing page, log into a website and submit a form, or add a product to the shopping cart without significant delays.

The Real Browser test allows you to record user interaction steps on the target website, turn those steps into a script, and then reproduce it by emulating the specified number of concurrent users to your website. Furthermore, this is the most comprehensive solution that uses real browsers to load and check all web elements responsible for user interaction. The test allows you to test browsing, web form submissions, and other types of user interaction with your web application. This allows you to determine which individual web elements are bottlenecks within overall performance.

Single Web Page

If you want to test a single web page performance to ensure an outstanding user experience, you can record a user visit in a real browser and test a variety of web technologies (JavaScript, CSS, etc.) that define the user interface. LoadView will load the page and test all visible page content, including dynamic elements, in a real browser window to measure response times and display actual page performance. For example, you can test a landing page with a login form to verify how it performs under extreme load.

If web page load testing in a real browser is not your priority and you simply want to test if a single URL performs as expected under load, opt for the HTTP(S) load test type.

For additional details on configuring a Web Applications test, read more here.

HTTP/S, SOAP, Rest WEB API

The stack of test targets is the simplest way to test web resources or API and SOAP-based web services performance. These tests allow you to check if a web resource can handle a particular load and ensure there are no significant delays in response time under load.

These types of tests will not tell you if your website user interface is sensitive to the load, but allows you to test and better understand your server or API performance. For additional details on configuring the targets, read more in the corresponding articles: HTTP(S), SOAP, Rest WEB API.

Postman

If you have been using Postman to test Web API performance or monitoring Postman traffic with Dotcom-Monitor, the Postman Collection test can be a quick and effective tool to set up a load test in LoadView. To start with configuring a load test, all you have to do is create a Collection from the existing Web API calls in Postman and upload it to Dotcom-Monitor. Please visit our detailed guide on load testing with Postman Collections: Postman Load Testing: LoadView Tutorial.

JMeter

If you have your test plan created in JMeter and want to use it for load test setup in LoadView, select JMeter load testing type. All you need to do is import the JMX file with your test plan into the LoadView platform and configure the test scenario to run the test. Before you start, check the following article for some tips on load testing with JMeter Test Plans –  Load Testing Using JMeter Test Plans.

Selenium

If you mastered Selenium IDE and want to use LoadView to execute your Selenium load tests, you can do this with our Selenium IDE integration. Save your Test Suite created in Selenium to the IDE file, select the Selenium test type in LoadView and upload the file. Learn how to set up and run your Selenium Load test in LoadView in the Load Testing Using Selenium Tests article of our wiki.

Streaming Media

If your goal is to test the performance of your media resource and you have a static RTP link to access the stream source, select the Streaming Media test type. When the media file URL is not publicly available, consider the Real Browser test type to set up your test. Check our load testing recommendations for audio and video streaming services in the How to Load Test Streaming Media with LoadView article.

The Streaming Media test type allows you to test publicly available media resources by simulating thousands of concurrent users streaming the target media. For additional details on configuring a Streaming Media test, read more here.

WebSocket

If you want to test a single WebSocket URL to ensure that your interactive application can handle high volumes of simultaneous connections without performance issues, select the WebSocket test. By simulating real-world traffic, you can identify bottlenecks and optimize performance before issues impact users. Learn more here.