July 08 2008

Web 2.0 performance testing

A new tool from Keynote allows businesses to performance test Web 2.0 sites

Performance testing dynamic and HTML websites is now a fairly straightforward process, however the rise of Web 2.0 sites that don’t rely on clicking to reveal another new page have been almost impossible to test. However Keynote has now developed a scripted system that allows you to test Web 2.0 sites as easily as Web 1.0 sites.

KITE 2.0 (Keynote Internet Testing Environment), is the latest version of Keynote’s product for testing and analysing the performance of Web applications. KITE 2.0 gives users the flexibility of testing instantly from their desktop or from geographic locations across Keynote’s on-demand global test and measurement network.

According to Keynote KITE 2.0 enables Web developers, QA professionals, performance analysts and others, to execute rapid performance analysis and validation by measuring the end user experience of next Web 2.0 applications that include AJAX and asynchronously downloaded content.

KITE 2.0 offers both instant testing from the desktop and from a pre-selected group of geographic locations across the Internet. KITE users can upload Web transaction scripts from the desktop to the Keynote global test and measurement network and receive free instant performance data from five cities: San Francisco, New York, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. And, because Keynote’s test & measurement network spans the globe, KITE users can upload the same scripts to more than 70 metropolitan areas worldwide to continue monitoring and gathering performance data worldwide. The top five technical features of KITE 2.0 include:

• Performance analysis for multi-page transactions
• Native Internet Explorer integration allows for the easy analysis of AJAX, Flash, JavaScript
• Test performance from the desktop, the last mile and the Internet cloud
• JavaScript programmability for scripting actions based on DOM events (Document Object Model)
• Record Web application test scripts, playback in ‘burst mode,’ and share scripts across groups

by Marcus Austin (Web Editor)