Response Time Testing measures the time taken for one system node to respond to the request of another. It is the time a system takes to reach a specific input until the process is over. For example, you have API, and you want to know exactly how much time it takes to execute it and return data in JSON. Response Time measures the server response of every single transaction or query.
Response time starts when a user sends a request and ends at the time that the application states that the request has completed.
Types of Response Metrics
| Response Time Metrics | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Average Response Time | The Average Response Time is the average time taken for every round trip request. The Average Response Time includes the loading time of HTML, CSS, XML, images, JavaScript files, etc. Therefore, the average is affected when slow components are present in the system. |
| Peak Response Time | The Peak Response Time helps us to find potentially problematic components. It helps us to find all the irregularity in the website or system where a certain request is not handled correctly. For example, there may be a large database query executed which can affect the response time. This query does not permit the page to load at the desired time. |
| Error Rate | The Error Rate is a mathematical calculation which displays the percentage of problem requests against all requests. This percentage counts all HTTP status codes displaying an error on the server. It also counts requests which are time out. |
Response Time Testing Tools
There are many Response Time testing tools are available in the market. Three most prominent Examples of response time testing tools are:
1) JMeter
Apache JMeter is an open source load testing tool. It is designed to measure the performance of websites. This load testing tool can be used in DevOps methodology.
Features:
- JMeter allows performing load and performance test for various server types.
- This load testing tool store its test plans in XML format which allows users to generate the test plan using a text editor.
- The tool can be used to perform automated and functional testing of the applications.
2) Load runner
Loadrunner from Micro Focus is a widely used Load Testing tool. It is one of the best alternatives to JMeter that offers a user-friendly monitoring and analysis interface with colored charts and graphics.
Features:
- Supports continuous testing
- LoadRunner can effectively work on several enterprise environments
- It is possible to run multiple protocol script with Loadrunner
- Integration with various development tools like Visual Studio, Jenkins, Selenium, etc.