Understanding What Load Impact's Load Testing Tool Is All About

Load Impact has been making waves lately. They executed their 100,000th load test since their launch in 2009, in early April. They were also recently chosen as one of Europe's 100 hottest companies. With so much recent buzz, many people are still wondering what their Load Testing Tool is all about. Here a quick look at what this product offers.

What Does the Load Testing Tool Do?

Load impact is an online service that will help you find out how much traffic your website can actually handle. It does this by simulating user traffic. For example, it can simulate how your website will respond if 50 people would simultaneously load your web page. It will then record load page times to let you know how well it is loading. There are several different types of load tests that can be performed: Timeout, Ramp-Up, and Fixed.

• Ramp-Up – these tests use low load level at the beginning of the test and increases it until the maximum predetermined level is reached.
• Timeout – these tests are ramp up tests that will stop when the target server becomes to slow, or the maximum load level is reached.
• Fixed – these tests use a non-changing load level throughout the entire test.

Why Is Load Impact's Load Testing Tool Unique?

This load testing tool is unique because unlike its traditional counterparts, everything is done online. This means that you do not need to install, operate, or configure the testing infrastructure. Everything is ran on their servers. The primary benefit that this provides is that you do not need to add any special software or servers to complete the testings. Additionally, you will be able to view all of the progress live. You can also surf your own site, while Load Impact records all of your actions. Then all of your simulated users will do exactly what you did.

How Much Does This Cost?

There are 4 different price points that you can choose from: free (Light), $9/day (Basic), $49/day (Professional), or $99/day (Advanced). At these price points, there are a variety of different settings that are made available. Here is a look at some of the most important features to keep in mind.

1. Load Level

This is the number of users that will access your site. The free version allows up to 50 users, while the Advanced version allows for up to 5000 users.

2. Daily Data Transfer

This is the amount of data transfer allowed per 24 hours. The free version allows for 1 GB, while the Advanced version allows up to 200 GB.

3. Tests

Every version allows for Ramp-Up tests, while only paid versions offer Timeout tests, Fixed tests, and a Session Recorder.

Slow websites can cause a variety of problems, which makes load testing an increasingly important tool. Load Impact's Load Testing Tool seems to meet a need that has not be filled. They have done this by moving the entire process online, without the need to install, setup, and maintain any software on your own servers.

Wondering how your website behaves under heavy load? Just enter the url in the form below and click start test:

• Google Releases Open Source Server-Side Optimization Module
• Have You Optimized Your Website for Speed Yet? You Should
• LiteSpeed Web Server: A Lightweight, High-Performance Alternative to Apache
• An Overview of the Load Impact Page Analyzer
• Why You May Want to Try a PHP Accelerator
• Free Web Page Speed Testing and Optimizing Tool