With Cloud Computing, Who Needs Performance Testing?
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The document highlights the challenges in performance testing, emphasizing that simulated tests often do not reflect real production environments, leading to unexpected hardware needs. It discusses the importance of identifying queuing centers in systems to assess performance and scalability, while advocating for the value of performance testing despite the temptation to overspend on hardware. The document stresses that understanding queuing behavior is critical for meeting functional requirements and managing risks in cloud computing environments.
With Cloud Computing, Who Needs Performance Testing?
- 1. Webinar June 24th 2014 Albert Witteveen
- 2. You just woke up after a 10 years nap: Team member: “We can add extra processing power and memory on the fly. An extra database has a lead time of two weeks”
- 3. Does this sound familiar: Performance test: everything OK Day 1 on production: we end up adding more than four times the hardware
- 4. 1. the tools simulate but are not quite equal 2. load profiles are based on too many assumptions 3. we report more accurately than we can measure 4. long setup time → limited amount of tests 5. we hide it all in complex reports
- 5. We send and accept the same requests and responses but can't anticipate slight changes In production, a lot more is going on than just our test Did we really get a good response Similar hardware is expensive
- 6. Cloud computing: adding extra hardware can be done on the fly and on a moments notice With the high costs of performance testing and how easy we can 'speed things up' if needed: Why bother testing? The money is better spent on that extra hardware
- 7. Just start with an overkill of hardware and scale down to what is actually used!
- 10. Computers are running or idling. The queuing theory is an established model for performance engineers It can describe the behavior of systems on every layer
- 14. Queuing center: a location in our system where waiting (queuing) occurs a Bottleneck if you will ◦ They can exist anywhere: CPU, Memory, Network, IO, other systems ◦ There is always one or more queuing centers ◦ A queuing center really determines the performance ◦ The queuing center provide key information on scalability ◦ Service and wait time are the real components of performance
- 15. Queuing model describe anything: large connected systems, small, embedded ... You can 'zoom in' and the model can describe the behavior or the server You can keep zooming in to CPU, network etc.
- 16. Multiple zoom levels Residence time = wait + service time There is always a queuing center No queuing center found: look harder
- 17. Cloud computing not infinite: Financial limit Technical: IO/Network/CPU speed per process We don't build supercomputers to calculate a mortgage offer
- 18. Always find the queuing centers Based on the result: judge 'yes we are likely to meet requirement X Y and Z' Show where the risks are 'requirement x cannot be feasibly met for function y' Explore the risks
- 19. Explore identified resource heavy components with stakeholders, developers and oracles ◦ Other use of this component? ◦ Real frequency of usage? ◦ Validity of the (generic) requirement for this function? Place the results in context: ◦ You may have a bigger issue than you thought ◦ Or it is actually OK for this usage
- 20. Define a set of key functions/use cases with stakeholders and experts (i.e. functional testers) Per test identify at least one queuing center Compare with generic requirements ◦ Can meet ? ◦ Risk exist → explore → place in context →define further test The model allows you to place real behavior in context and a realistic assessment of risk
- 21. If no queuing center was found → monitoring was not sufficient Queuing centers: ◦ Tell you about the risks to core functionality: performance and financial ◦ Tell you on the ability to scale ◦ Improve response time in scaling up
- 22. Stakeholders don't (necessarily) understand queuing models Explain in what matters to them: i.e. when making the offer it takes 15 seconds to generate Think of the systems as queuing systems and explain behavior
- 23. Knowing what the behavior is can tell you: ◦ if you can handle requirements ◦ how to scale if needed ◦ estimate if performance can be met within budget ◦ if you need to adapt your cloud (i.e. improve IO/network, CPU) So yes: it still makes sense to do performance testing
- 24. Batch process tested to be run from multiple servers Process needed to be faster Risk: 'on-line' processes on server should not be impacted Finding: 3 servers, three times as fast. But no queuing center found??? Deep diving in CPU monitoring showed the queuing center: Process was pausing/waiting after each cycle Conclusion: → on-line processes not impacted as there was sufficient CPU time for other processes
- 25. Stress point found Unclear where queuing center was Cause: JAVA memory management can be deceiving on OS level. Rule that the queuing center needed to be found made us find out. The absence of a queuing center makes you look further