DATABASE TESTING

DATABASE LOAD TESTING

A database application with high response time and poor performance can lead to huge
problems. Database Load Testing helps in identifying the performance problems before you
deploy your database applications for end users. It helps you design and simulate usage
traffic which can be used to test your Database application infrastructure for performance,
reliability and scalability. Load Testing of Database applications involves testing the
performance and scalability of your Database application with varying user load. Database
Load testing involves simulating real-life user load for the target Database application. It
helps you determine how your Database application behaves when multiple users hits it
simultaneously.
Following document will help you understand how you can successfully implement Database
Load Testing for your Database applications using AppPerfect.
- - - - - - - -
PERFORMANCE & LOAD TESTING OF DATABASE
WITH APPPERFECT
AppPerfect offers Database Load Testing solution in the form of AppPerfect Load Test.
AppPerfect Load Test Supports load testing for database Applications using JDBC protocol.
Creating Test Scripts for Database Load Testing :

Creating new project is an easy one step process. Just start AppPerfect Load Test product and
select File -> New.. menu option to create a New Load Testing project. For details on New
Project creation refer to Creating a New Project chapter. For details on configuring project
properties refer to Setting Project Properties chapter.

Next Step is to configure Database connection with AppPerfect. Select Tools -> Options
menu option and select the "Browsers, JDKs & DBs" Node. You can configure Database
related properties like Database name, Connection URL, JDBC driver, User Name, password
etc. under Database Connections. Click the button to Add New DB Connection and provide
the connection settings for the Database you need to load test.
o Next Step is to configure the Load Test project to use the database
connection we just configured in earlier step. Select Project -> Properties
menu option and select the Database Settings tab. Select the checkbox to
Load Test Database and select the Database from the drop down. You can
also configure Connection Pool settings here.

Load test script consists of a number of "Action Groups". A Action Group

is a logical unit for combining actions inside a test. By default the groups
present are for HTTP Load Testing. We will need to add new group for
 Database Load Testing. To create a new Database Action Group just select
Project Node in the Editor tree, and right click and select the option.Add
Group... from the popup menu. Provide descriptive name for the group
clearly stating what tasks this group is going to implement. Select the type
of Action Group as JDBC defining the type of application you are trying
to load test.

Adding Tasks to Database Group:

Once you are done creating Database Group, you can add JDBC tasks to this group in form of
database queries. These database queries will be executed when you execute the Load Test.
To add JDBC task, select the Database Group in the Editor tree. Right click and select the
option to "Add Task.." from the popup menu. This will launch the Add Task dialog.

o In Add Task dialog provide descriptive name for the task clearly stating
what this task is going to do. You can either provide the query string or can
import the queries from external file. Click on Validate Query button to
 confirm that provided query is correct.

o Add all the required JDBC tasks by repeating the earlier steps. Once you
are done adding all JDBC tasks you can browse though them in the Editor
views and can add required validations.

Extensive Validation and Custom Scripting support :

AppPerfect's Database Load Testing tool provide extensive support for validations. Once you
are done adding JDBC tasks, you can edit your Test cases to perform required Validations.
You can add validation on the result set returned as a result of query execution.
Select the JDBC task in the Editor tree and on right hand side you will find options to add the
validations for JDBC task. You can validate the number of rows present in the result set,
Validate column names in the result set and can validate values returned in the result set.

o Custom Validation Support : For any Database Load Testing tool, one of
the important criteria is support for customization. Apart from validations
explained above, In case you need to perform any custom validation on
result set you can do so using scripting. AppPerfect stores recorded test as
java script and one can add custom code to the test script to perform any
custom database validation. We support custom scripting APIs, using
which you can execute the JDBC query and fetch appropriate fields from
the result set and validate it against the required value. Script Editor can be
invoked using Project -> Script Editor..menu option. Please refer
to Customizing Test Script chapter for more details.
Extensive support for Parameterization :
AppPerfect's Database Load Testing solution supports extensive support for test
parameterization, wherein you can configure virtual users to run same script over and over
again with different data set each time. AppPerfect offers extensive parameter-management.
Parameter selection and testing with various parameter values is completely automated.
Parameters are stored as name-value pairs, making it intuitive for application developers and
testers. Then, depending on the number of iterations for your project, multiple parameter
values can be tested, with options to select parameters sequentially or randomly. For more
details on Test Parameterization refer to Parameters chapter.

1. Select the Parameters Node in the Editor tree and on right hand side you will find
button to add a New Test Parameter for your test. This will launch the
Parameterization wizard which will help you creating and associating data source in
your test. You can choose data source to be Fixed pool of values, Database, records in
CSV file or can derive it from calculated values.
 o Once you are done creating the Test Parameter you can associate same
with JDBC task. JDBC Queries can be parameterized by specifying
parameter name between two '@' characters. For example, for query 'Select
productName from products where productId=?' and we want to
parameterize productId, add the parameter to query as 'Select productName
from products where productId=@PRODUCT_ID@'. Define a test
parameter with the name PRODUCT_ID by selecting Parameters node in
the Test Editor view as explained in earlier step.

Test Execution with detailed Result Analysis :

Once the test is completely designed you can execute it to Load or stress test your application
with different load strategies as per your requirement. AppPerfect generates extensive reports
for each virtual user and task. To replay the test select the Project -> Run.. menu option.
AppPerfect will start specified virtual users simultaneously based on the selected Load
Strategy. and each virtual user will execute the JDBC tasks in automated manner. At the end
of test execution you can view the detailed results for each of the virtual user and export them
to HTML, PDF etc. formats. In case of failure, you can pass on these exported reports to your
development team for further analysis. For more details on Test Execution Results refer
to Understanding Test Results chapter.
Conclusion :
Database Load Testing helps you design and simulate usage traffic which can be used to test
your database application infrastructure for performance, reliability and scalability. Once a
test case is recorded it can be played back multiple times with different data sets. Its possible
to validate output with different data inputs using the same test case by parameterizing the
user input. Moreover tests once recorded can be reused and extended to cover more features
and test cases as your application evolves,
AppPerfect's Database Load Testing solution is platform independent. Database Load Tests
recorded on one platform can be executed over different operating systems and hardware
configuration. AppPerfect Load Test is found to be most affordable, cost effective, efficient,
reliable and accurate Database Load Testing solution by its customers. In case you have not
yet tried AppPerfect Load Test, Download Now and give it a try today.
What is Database Testing?
>>
Databases are the collection of files which are interconnected. Databases at
different servers may not be of same type, i.e. databases may be
heterogeneous.
Basically, database testing is a layered process. Database systems usually
consist of four layers: the user interface (UI) layer, the business layer, the
data access layer and the database itself.
Testing at these different layers is important for a consistent database
system. Often, web software accesses the database from different
backbends, i.e. they access heterogeneous databases.
Database testing is one of the major testing which requires tester to
expertise in checking tables, writing queries and procedures. Testing can be
performed in web application or desktop and database can be used in the
application like SQL or Oracle. There are many projects like banking, finance,
health insurance which requires extensive database testing.
Database testing basically include the following:

1. Data validity testing.

2. Data Integrity testing
3. Performance related to data base.
4. Testing of Procedure, triggers and functions.

-For doing data validity testing one should be good in SQL queries.
-For data integrity testing one should know about referential integrity and
different constraint.
-For performance related things one should have idea about the table
structure and design.
-For testing Procedure triggers and functions one should be able to
understand the same.
What to Test in a Database?
Check all the functionality which is happening on every action performed in
the application. Actions can include deletion, addition or save options. Check
whether the added record is added in the DB with the exact value. Check the
deleted record gets removed from the database. These are major roles which
need to be monitored seriously.
Nowadays database is getting more complex due to the business logic which
plays an important role for the applications. Tester should make sure that
values have been added correctly after the implementation of the business
rules.
Database testing is really a complex task and it should always be performed
if tester is much experienced in this field.