SOCIABILITY(sensitivity) TESTS
Sensitivity analysis testing can determine impact of activities in one system on another related system. Such testing involves a mathematical approach to determine the impact that one system will have on another system. For example, web enabling a customer 'order status' facility may impact on performance of telemarketing screens that interrogate the same tables in the same database. The issue of web enabling ca be that it is more successful than anticipated and can result in many more inquiries than originally envisioned, which loads the IT system with one work than had been planned.
TUNING CYCLE TESTS
A series of test cycles can be executed with a primary purpose of identifying tuning opportunities. Tests can be refined and re-targeted on the fly to allow technology support staff to make configuration changes so that the impact of those changes can be immediately measured.
PROTOCOL TESTS
Protocol tests involve the mechanisms used in an application, rather than the applications themselves.For example, a protocol test of a web server will involve a number of HTTP interactions that would typically occur if a web browser were to interact with a web server - but the test would not be done using a web browser. LoadRunner is usually used to drive load into a system using VUGen at a protocol level so that a small number of computers can be used to simulate thousand of users.
THICK CLIENT APPLICATION TESTS
Thick clients, also called heavy clients, are full-featured computers that are connected to a network. While a thick client is fully functional without a network connection, it is only a "client" when it is connected to a server. The server may provide the thick client with programs and files that are not stored on the local machine's hard drive.
A thick client is a purpose built piece of software that has been developed to work as a client with a server. It often has substantial business logic embedded within it, beyond the simple validation that is able to be achieved through a web browser. A thick client is often able to be very efficient with the amount of data that is transferred between it and its server, but is also often sensitive to any poor communication links. Testing tools such as WinRunner are able to be used to drive a thick client, so that response time can be measured under a variety of circumstances within a testing regime.
Developing a load test based on thick client activity usually requires significantly more effort for the coding stage of testing, as VUGen must be used to simulate the protocol between the client and the server. That protocol may be database connection based, COM/DCOM based, a proprietary communications protocol or even a combination of protocols.
THIN CLIENT APPLICATION TESTS
An internet browser that is used to run an application is said to be a thin client. But even thin clients can consume substantial amounts of CPU time on the computer that they are running on. This is particularly the case with complex web pages that utilize many recently introduced features to liven up a web page. Rendering a page from after hitting a SUBMIT button may take several seconds even though the server may have responded to the request in less than one second. Testing tools such as WinRunner are able to be used to drive a thin client, so that response time can be measured from a users perspective, rather than from a protocol level.
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