PerformaSure

PerformSure is a tool especially suited for the transactional testing of multi-tiered J2EE applications. The tool is intended to complement load testing methodologies, by capturing and graphically representing the metrics of individual transactions as requests are passed from server to server. The result is a visual, automatically generated, color coded tree that displays both the individual servers that were involved in a transaction, as well as the code path followed within each server. Response times for each transaction are measured and correlated against user-response times.

PerformaSure captures transaction information using the vendor's own "tag and follow" technology, which reconstructs the path of all HTTP(s), RMI and JMS end-user transactions at the component or method-level. Multiple PerformSure "agents" are deployed to the machines along the transaction path; and these individual agents monitor the transactions that occur on that machine and pass the resulting metrics to the PerformSure Nexus. The Nexus (requiring a 1.3.x or 1.4 Sun JDK) then correlates and assembles the data, displaying the graphical transaction tree and additional information such as the performance of components over a user specified time period and system performance metrics such as JVM heap usage and EJB cache. According to the vendor, J2EE applications can be tracked and analyzed without requiring changes to the application's code. The Nexus can be accessed via separate JDK enabled workstations.

Other features of PerformaSure include:

- SQL Browser, allowing for the examination of an application's SQL transactions, including time spent opening connections, closing connections, preparing the statement, executing the query and parsing the resulting data

- Data export to PDF, XML. or CSV formats

- "Detail Dial," allowing for the configuration of the level of detail collected at the component level

The latest PerformaSure release supports additional server platforms (IBM WebSphere 5.1, Oracle Application Server 10g, JBoss 3.2, Tomcat 4.1, Red Hat AS 3.0, Windows 2003 Server); the aforementioned SQL browser; and server-by-server response time breakdowns by transaction, allowing analysts to pinpoint the specific server responsible for poor performance at the transaction level.

PerformaSure is available now, with pricing starting at $24,000 for a pre-production base license. Contact Quest Software for further information.