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JMeter: Basic Terminology

Before proceeding with this tutorial, let us first understand some key terms which are associated with the testing of any application.

Performance Testing

• Software performance testing is a type of non-functional testing in which the performance of the application is evaluated under expected or higher load.
• Performance testing is carried out to measure different performance attributes of the system like – response time (speed), reliability, resource usage, scalability, Stability under variety of load conditions etc.

Why do we need Performance Testing?

• Before launching the final software product in the market, the product should be tested against the speed, scalability and stability under variety of load conditions.
• If the product goes live without doing performance testing, itmay cause issues like slow processing and poor usability which likely to gain a bad reputation and it affects the expected sales goal directly.

Types of Performance Testing

Load Testing

• Load testing is a type of performance testing that simulates a real-world load on any software, application, or website.
• It helps to determine how the system behaves under both normal and at peak conditions.
• Load testing can be performed under controlled lab conditions to compare the capabilities of different systems or to accurately measure the capabilities of a single system.

Stress Testing

• Stress testing is also a type of performance testingwhich helps to determine the ability of a computer, network, program or device to maintain a certain level of effectiveness under unfavourable conditions.
• Stress testing is also known as Fatigue testing.