> The free tools just don't have what it takes to > uncover all the potential problems your site can > encounter under load. There's a good reason why > the big tools can command such high prices.
As someone who's used tools at both extremes - Segue SilkPerformer on the high end, OpenSTA on the low end - I'd disagree with this a little bit. In my opinion, the problem with the free tools isn't necessarily that they "don't have what it takes", just that they aren't nearly as easy to use, so you have to spend a lot more time learning how to get useful data from them. At this point, I feel comfortable using OpenSTA for most testing needs, although I'd certainly prefer an unlimited SilkPerformer 5 user license! > Designing, building, and analyzing a truly effective > load test is very time intensive and therefore rather > expensive. This is certainly the truth, even with the most accessible tools out there. There's often a large logistical burden in doing these tests - if you can't test in a preconfigured lab environment, there's the considerable work of setting up a test network. There are different sorts of load tests, with different goals - performance tuning tests vs capacity planning tests. A capacity planning test for a large, complex public site might be a month's worth of work or more! Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ voice: (202) 797-5496 fax: (202) 797-5444 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
