The Need
When UPC began to plan an upgrade of its servers, it needed to run a load test to make sure that the new server configuration would meet required transaction processing time. In order to facilitate this upgrade, UPC needed:
- a simulator that could generate a large volume of transaction requests to a processing server
- a mechanism to count requests sent and responses received, providing a detailed report on activity for every second of processing time
- enter specific criteria for each test and to view reporting results.
The Solution
Customized load testing tool
To accomplish this task, Softjourn designed and developed a POS devices simulator as a multi-threaded service for Linux, with a Unix domain socket interface. This service sets up virtual POS terminals and generates transaction traffic to a specified processing server. The service performs extended logging, which helps identify problems, such as when the transaction server fails to process all requests.
Undertake the exact tests needed
Softjourn’s solution included a web interface through which UPC personnel are able to enter specific criteria for each test and to view reported results. The web interface was implemented using PHP and communicates with the service via a Unix domain socket.
Achievements of the project
- A fast Linux application capable of generating a large volume of transaction requests.
- Confidence in the tests run. Scalability.
