Blogathon2021
Get an Insight on Netstorm
by Eswari M
Introduction
In current market ,we see lots of tools emerging day by day for performance testing. Certainly, most of the performance testers or engineers would prefer well known tools like Loadrunner, Neoload and jmeter for their testing. I was no different from them until few years back. At later point of time, I started realizing that there are plenty of things available in the market which we are not aware of. Then I started exploring more. On that note, recently I came across a tool called “Netstorm” which is a product of Cavisson Systems. According to me, it is a good tool to try on.
To begin with, Cavisson Netstorm is a cost effective, performance enhancing and easy to use solution for enterprise applications. Nowadays people are switching to cloud based tools. Luckily it has both On promise and cloud versions. Few In built monitoring metrics are available but for deep dive analysis we would definitely opt for external monitoring tools. Now that we have Netstorm which has the features to integrate external monitoring tools like Newrelic ,Dynatrace etc.
How NetStorm is different from Competitors
If at all we are switching to something new then the new one should have something special. Likewise Netstorm also has some unique features which makes it different from other competitors. I am listing few here
- Simplified Parameterization – When compared with other tools it has various parameter setting options
- Custom Run logics – Conditional loops are available in the run logics. Instead of writing code in script, we can control in run logics
- Real browser user testing is something to similar to client side testing .It is a way of simulating the Internet access and browsers executing the transaction via “real” browser
- Real Device Testing provides a versatile mobile application testing platform using real iOS and Android devices on cloud
- Replay Access Log Captures the network data of a production run and replays it for simulating the real time network scenario. Also helps to reproduce production problem in the test environment
- Pattern Matching Correlate and identify root cause for any particular issues by matching the similar graphs on the basis of provided threshold value
NetStorm Supported Technologies
A tool to be competitive in the market, it should support multiple technologies. Nestorm is not an exception !
CI-CD Capabilities
- Seamless Integration with tools such as Jenkins and Spinnaker is a plus
- Setting up SLA in an automated report is a key requirement nowadays for a client to understand it better. Netstorm does provide those facilities.
- How do a client know whether the automated report is successful or failed? well, we should set up an Overall Pass or Fail based criteria which is an additional feature in Netstorm
- To analyze on the server health, it offers continuous monitoring
- One cannot come to a conclusion with a single test run. To check the consistency, Client would prefer to take a decision only after comparing few release test runs . Here we have an option to achieve the same with the help of Trend Report Analysis
Test Suite Automation - Features
Next comes the automation features on how to automate a test suite. Once we are ready with the scenario, we need to configure SLA check profiles . Later on, we have to create a test case and map the scenario to it. Tools like Jenkins can be integrated with the test suite for continuous testing on every build.
In addition to the above , we can receive the automated report to our mail. To receive report to your mail, you should specify the required email ids in the test case. A client would not be knowing what test it is and the purpose of it. For that we have something called Email body set up in which we can provide customized Email body. That’s it ! we are done with Email setup.
As soon as you get the report to your mail, you can easily make a decision whether it is a “go” or “No go” based on the check profile setup that we are doing in the scenario. For better understanding ,have a look at the below snapshot. It is a sample automated report with check profile rules. For example, Here less than 20% deviation is represented in Green, 20-50% in Amber and greater than 50% deviation in Red. Most importantly, Client will look for error details which is not a tedious job in Netstorm. With the help of check profiles ,we can achieve that.
Trend Report
As I mentioned earlier, To take a firm decision ,client would definitely look for a trend chart. I have given an example trend chart here to have a better understanding on how the results of a particular metric is compared across various test releases
Summary
Netstorm provides lots of features for performance testers or Engineers to explore. It is a good option for Performance testing along with continuous integration and monitoring.
I would recommend this tool for those who want to explore something new on the emerging tools. To All the readers, Keep learning and testing !
About Author
I (Eswari M) have 8+ years of experience in performance testing. At present, working as a Senior Associate in Cognizant Technology Solutions. I have worked in domains like Insurance, Banking, Entertainment and media. Currently exploring new technologies and tools in performance testing area.