Supported Test Types
Webserver Stress Tool supports a number of different testing types. For example
Performance Tests—this test queries single URLs of a webserver or web application to identify and discover elements that may be responsible for slower than expected performance. This test provides a unique opportunity to optimize server settings or application configurations by testing various implementations of single web pages/script to identify the fastest code or settings.
Load Tests—this tests your entire website at the normal (expected) load. For load testing you simply enter the URLs, the number of users, and the time between clicks of your website traffic. This is a “real world” test.
Stress Tests—these are simulations of “brute force” attacks that apply excessive load to your webserver. This type of “brute force” situation can be caused by a massive spike in user activity (i.e., a new advertising campaign). This is a great test to find the traffic threshold for your webserver.
Ramp Tests—this test uses escalating numbers of users over a given time frame to determine the maximum number of users the webserver can accommodate before producing error messages.
Various other tests—working with Webserver Stress Tool simply gives you more insight about your website, e.g. to determine that web pages can be requested simultaneously without problems like database deadlocks, semaphores, etc.