WebAppLoader: A simulation tool set for evaluating web application performance

Abstract

In this paper we present WebAppLoader, a set of tools that allows for analysing web application performance as it is perceived by the user. This is done by creating 'virtual users' through tracing of web sessions and then simulating groups of virtual users by simulating sets of replications of earlier traced samples. The groups are defined based on a trace, and the number of users performing a trace as well as their start times can be adapted. Measurements of the transaction times broken up into several segments are taken on the client side. The resulting tool suite has three main components, one for tracking a web session, one for simulating repetitions of that trace and one for taking and evaluating measurements. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.