Load Testing Software [closed]

Question

I am working on a proposal for my company into purchasing some load testing software. I have to give 2 choices. One of my choices I am proposing is HP(Mecurary) Loadrunner. Is there another program out there that is comparible with Loadrunner? We are looking at using the software to test the performance of the following.

C# .NET Template

Microsoft® .NET 2.0, 3.0

Microsoft® SQL Server Informix

Web (HTTP/HTML)

Web Services

Web and Multimedia

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

Domain Name System (DNS)

Microsoft® Exchange (MAPI)

Answer 1

OpenSourceTesting.com has a list of OSS performance tools.

The Software Testing FAQ also has a list of commercial and OSS performance testing tools.

Since it looks like you're on a Windows platform, you can also use the following tools:

• Visual Studio Application Center Test (Enterprise Editions only?)
• Microsoft Web Application Stress tool (aka WAS, aka "Homer"; predecessor to Application Center Test)

There are a lot of options out there, but it seems like you have a good handle on your requirements. I recommend doing a trade study of your top choices, using weighted criteria and a rank of how each product scores (sort of like a custom "Consumer Reports" style comparison). This will help you reduce any preconceived notions towards or against a product, and also gives your management a sound empirical reason as to why you choose the tool you did. This can go a long way in justifying the cost for a big ticket item.

Also, for the commercial tools, the vendors will often come on site and set up a demo system to test your code. We did this a few years back with Mercury, Rational and NuMega. It really helped cut through the presentation B.S. and see exactly how the products could be used with our apps.