As your software development project approaches completion, one test is essential for understanding its deployment readiness: load testing. This type of performance testing allows you to determine the behavior of web applications under normal and peak load conditions, as well as their breakpoints (if they occur under peak load conditions). At its core, load testing is used to confirm whether your web application meets the expected performance goals, which are typically determined in Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

As more and more users rely on web applications to access products or services, load testing is crucial for verifying whether the application can operate normally in actual load scenarios. Load testing not only reduces the risk of software failure, but also reduces the risk of users feeling frustrated and completely abandoning applications due to downtime - which may affect the company's bottom line. According to Gartner's data, the average cost of enterprise network downtime is $5600 per minute, which is over $300000 per hour.

If you are not familiar with load testing or are preparing to perform your first load test, this guide can provide assistance. Below, we will decompose how load testing works, as well as how to successfully execute load testing and the different load testing tools that need to be considered.

How does server load testing work?

Through specialized testing software, load testing places simulated "loads" or requirements on your web application to ensure it remains stable during runtime. During load testing, the testing software will measure the capacity of the web application through transaction response time. If your application has the ability to extend response time or becomes unstable under specific levels of simulated traffic, your software may have reached its maximum running capacity - which means a solution to this software bottleneck needs to be addressed and implemented.

Through load testing, the development team can easily measure and analyze the following content:

The entire rate, especially those that need to support peak load conditions.

Resource utilization level.

Hardware environment performance, such as CPU, RAM, etc.

Load balancer performance.

Concurrency issues.

Software functional errors at different load levels.

Software design defects.

How many users can the application handle before crashing.