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SQL Server Tips by Burleson |
Performance Testing
Solutions
Even database professionals who understand the need for real world
testing of their databases and know what areas need to be stressed
are often at a loss for the practical creation of the scenarios they
need for pulling off a true performance test. This is not surprising
when one considers all the manual work that has to go into such an
effort for it to yield the answers that will give the Go/No Go
signal to a database project team. It is often much easier to
perform a small test with a select group of willing users and then
hope that all goes well on the first day of production or when a
massive upgrade begins.
This does not have to be the case. On the market, performance
testing solutions exist that are designed to bring peace of mind to
a database staff by allowing them to know which areas of a database
will break prior to it going into production or experiencing a large
upgrade. By simulating production or accelerated user and data
volume, these products can make the database unbreakable by
revealing the weaknesses of the database before users find them. The
end result is ironclad availability and performance for the
production systems. Examples include simple and inexpensive products
like the SQL/Database Hammer from the SQL Server 2000 resource kit,
and more robust, but pricier, products like Mercury’s LoadRunner and
Embarcadero Technologies’ Extreme Test.
It is certainly possible to build robust testing solutions in-house;
although, the manual effort that goes into creating and maintaining
them can be prohibitive. Whether a company is choosing to purchase
software to manage testing or deciding to custom build such a
solution, someone must make sure that the system adheres to the
previously detailed guidelines in order to be successful.
The above book excerpt is from:
High-Performance SQL Server DBA
Tuning & Optimization Secrets
ISBN:
0-9761573-6-5
Robin Schumacher
http://www.rampant-books.com/book_2005_2_sql_server_dba.htm |
