Segue refines Web load-testing package

LEXINGTON, MASS. - Customers looking to verify the content of their Web pages and get a better sense of how their Web site is performing may be interested in software from Segue Software.

Segue last week bolstered its traffic testing software, SilkPerformer V, with the ability to verify content while performing load tests, the company says. The feature simulates users visiting a Web site, clicking on applications and requesting content. During the tests, the software checks if the content being delivered to end users is accurate and error-free, the company says. Often when an application is stressed to perform under peak loads, it will deliver errors in content, Segue says.

And with another new component, TrueLog Explorer, SilkPerformer users get a visual log of all errors that occurred during the test. Typically, users would have to manually go through logged text files after the tests. The software also reduces the risk of "swamping the system" by only reporting on the errors that occur during the test, rather than sending all the performance data at once.

The company also improved SilkPerformer with wizards to walk users through the scripting process they use to create simulated transactions used in the tests.

One user says the new features will help less-experienced staffers get up to speed on using the software.

"With the wizards, users can take advantage of that automation and use less time writing code to run tests," says Carl Gerstle, senior quality assurance engineer at Mirror Image Internet in Boston. Gerstle has been beta-testing the product for about a month and has used Segue load-testing products for more than four years.

SilkPerformer V server software can be installed on any Microsoft Windows server or workstation. The software emulates the conditions of a Web site under different traffic loads and simulates users making requests for content and performing other Web-related transactions. Network administrators write scripts with the server software.The scripts then run against Web and application servers and databases, monitoring how well the machines respond to their requests. The scripts return performance metrics, such as application response time, server utilization and availability to the server software.

Segue's SilkPerformer competes most closely with Mercury Interactive's LoadRunner product.

SilkPerformer V is available for $50,000 for unlimited load testing for up to 100 virtual users. Users of SilkPerformer 4.5 will get the upgrade free.

Segue: www.segue.com

Read how Rick Parkinson of Cymerc Exchange chose a managed service provider over buying Segue's Software and doing the job himself.