Soak Testing is part of performance testing and is a kind of software testing for Systems under Load (SUL). This testing is carried out to determine and verify that the software is able to withstand high volumes over an extended period. Soak testing can uncover issues such as memory allocation, log file handles, database resource utilization, and others. A performance testing company uses soak testing to measure the stability of the system over an extended period and as part of load testing services.
A soak test is expected to execute more transactions in the entire day – those that would be typical on a busy day – to determine any issues with performance that could crop up due to a large number of transactions. This kind of test is also referred to as a stability test. Software testing experts recommend soak testing since the analysis from it forms a critical part of app development.
It is important for businesses to understand that soak testing can only be carried out by an expert company proficient in the realm of software testing. This is so since soak testing uses a whole lot of data, and only experts would be able to remove any incidental issues without wasting time and other precious resources. Such a company would be able to swiftly diagnose and rectify any performance issues, before they become bottlenecks using the most contemporary techniques, tools, and methodology.
Characteristics of Soak Testing Soak Testing is also called Endurance Testing – as the name suggests, it helps to determine whether the software being tested can ‘endure’ continuous high loads and estimate the reaction parameters of the system. There are several occasions when a business would experience peak usage over a longer duration, of their software and unless the system is able to endure such loads, it would crash and result in mayhem. For example: a popular e-commerce site declared massive discounts of a range of items over a period of 3 days. However, within a few hours the site crashed leaving the company embarrassed and the consumers extremely irate and feeling cheated. Such incidents bring a bad reputation to a company and in some cases can turn litigious.
A soak test should have the following ‘qualities’:
- The duration of the peak soak test would be regularly controlled by the available time
- The app should continue functioning without any issues even in a broader timeframe
- It must cover the testing parameters as determined by the business and testing partner
Every system has a typical support window time period. The time between such ‘windows’ helps to determine soak test coverage. A soak test is indispensable to identify a memory leak, depletion of system resources, and lessening of resources with a database management system.
In Conclusion:
Given the importance and sensitivities involved in a perfect software/system, it is necessary for specialists to conduct soak testing. Companies may not be equipped to understand and determine their soak testing requirements, and need to partner with a leading software testing company. Connect with us today to help determine your soak testing requirements, and know more about the wide range of services we offer.
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