Finding a good Load Testing Tool

[textile]Finding a load testing tool that is appropriate to the problem your facing is often a difficult task... Either the tool is prohibitively expensive or it raises concerns among senior managers because it isn't expensive enough (e.g. Open Source)... Ultimately, we want to select a tool that is going to allow us to deliver value through our load, stress and performance testing efforts... We are not limited to those tools that have spent the most on marketing (reflecting that in their price).... there are a number of viable alternatives. People often use one of the big-guns because they have confidence in the fact that lots of people are using them so, why not start with the big 4/5 as your short-list?... Simply because they aren't necessarily the best tool... however... you need to allow for the context of your situation... you often don't have much time to select a tool. Someone somewhere has decided at the last minute that you need load testing - and they often have no idea about the cost or the complexities involved in finding a tool that meets your needs in that context... Saving time by starting with the well known tools as your short-list is a benefit that costs money... so be prepared to spend it... If you do have time to select a tool, decide what you need it to do and where its strengths lie. In "this comparison between LoadRunner and OpenSTA":http://www.testingreflections.com/node/view/361 there are a number of categories that you may find as a useful starting point. They are reasonably generic and you can assign your own weightings against them. A very useful "list of performance testing tools":http://www.performancetester.com/mambo/component/option,com_weblinks/Itemid,4/catid,68/ can be found on Roland Stens' website "performancetester.com":http://www.performancetester.com You can also refer to the "lists previously mentioned by Alexander Podelko":http://www.testingreflections.com/node/view/906 :

"http://www.softwareqatest.com/qatweb1.html":http://www.softwareqatest.com/qatweb1.html "http://testingfaqs.org/t-load.html":http://testingfaqs.org/t-load.html "http://www.opensourcetesting.org/performance.php":http://www.opensourcetesting.org/performance.php