Testing The Testing Strategy

How does a test harness work? Why are these results different than those? The best way to figure things out is to try them out...

Geoffgr's blogs are moving to a new site

All, I am moving my blog posts to a new site and will do all future blogging there. I am leaving...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/04/2017

Which comes first, the Process or the Tool?

Prologue I was just going through my email and came across a question on one of our discussion...

Author: geoffgr Date: 01/28/2016

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 6–Data Warehousing)

In the previous post, I showed how I use a couple of stored procedures to recalculate data based on...

Author: geoffgr Date: 01/21/2016

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 5– The Slicing of Data)

In my last post of this series, I provided some views that set us up to start getting more...

Author: geoffgr Date: 01/05/2016

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 4–Building Better Views)

In the previous posts of this series, I focused on showing you the built in features of the Load...

Author: geoffgr Date: 12/08/2015

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 3–Excel Reporting)

In Part 3, we look at the sprocs and calls used to build reports in Excel. The Excel Reporting...

Author: geoffgr Date: 11/13/2015

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 1–Intro to the Schema)

Sean Lumley wrote a good blog post years ago about the actual schema for the Visual Studio Load Test...

Author: geoffgr Date: 10/13/2015

Dissecting the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database (Part 2–Stored Procs and Default Reporting)

In Part 1, we visited the high level schema of the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database, showing...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/28/2015

How Does the User Pacing model differ from the Number of Tests Started model

In my post on User Load Profiles, I talked about choosing one of two different load models, based on...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/16/2015

All About Load Test Results and the Results DB (Part 5–Requests vs. Pages vs. Transactions

I was recently asked about the details of transaction timers and realized that I have not made a...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/10/2015

Should I Setup My Rig Outside of My Environment’s DMZ?

My old team would get this question all of the time when we were scoping potential customer...

Author: geoffgr Date: 01/12/2015

[FIXED] Importing and Exporting Perfmon Counters [download]

(NOTE: A bug was reported about errors (missing stored procedures) when trying to add the SQL file...

Author: geoffgr Date: 10/15/2014

Code Snippets, Templates and Perfmon Countersets [download]

I am sharing a set of tools I use during many of my engagements and projects. These tools have been...

Author: geoffgr Date: 10/08/2014

OFF TOPIC: Introducing the Premier Developer Blog Site

I am adding this post to showcase the work of my teammates here at Microsoft. The below information...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/30/2014

All About Load Test Planning (Part 5-Load Profile Additional Considerations)

In the previous post, I showed you how to come up with the profiles to use in a test as well as the...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/25/2014

All About Load Test Planning (Part 4-Building the Load Profile)

Let’s start off with a review of this series. In the first post, we set our goals and objectives and...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/10/2014

All About Load Test Planning (Part 3-Proper Use Cases and Scenarios)

PART 3 in a series of posts on Load Test Planning As of this point, we should have well defined...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/05/2014

All About Load Test Planning (Part 2-Load Patterns and Data Considerations)

PART 2 in a series of posts on Load Test Planning In my previous post, I talked about the importance...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/04/2014

All About Load Test Planning (Part 1–Introduction)

PART 1 in a series of posts on Load Test Planning Introduction As part of my work inside Microsoft,...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/22/2014

Off Topic – Using Outlook to Manage Tasks

I struggle a lot with trying to manage my daily chores and tasks, especially since I suffer from...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/14/2014

[UPDATED] Adding Timers to Coded UI tests running in Load Tests

I have uploaded a sample App and Coded UI test project for the app with the below code in it. This...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/05/2014

(UPDATED) How can I create thousands of clients to execute an End To End load test?

<After initially posting this article, I got some feedback from a customer who said that his...

Author: geoffgr Date: 07/09/2014

"Extrapolation, Educated Guesses and Dart Boards, Oh My"

Here is another common question in the testing world: “What is the best way to take the results from...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/26/2014

To “Think” or “Not to Think”

This is one of my favorite topics to debate with people, and it also seems to be one that stirs up...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/24/2014

All About Load Test Results and the Results DB (Part 4 – What Are the Numbers Really Telling Me?)

This question comes up all of the time. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a single correct answer....

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/10/2014

All About Load Test Results and the Results DB (Part 3 – What Results Should I Use When Reporting Back To Management?)

This question is extremely important and is necessary to answer BEFORE analyzing the results of a...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/10/2014

Off Topic - Microsoft Surface Pro II review

I have to digress from my normal load test posts for a minute to talk about my new computer. I have...

Author: geoffgr Date: 01/06/2014

All About Caching and How Visual Studio Simulates Browser Caches

Simulation of Browser Caching during load tests In a VS load test that contains Web tests, the load...

Author: geoffgr Date: 12/11/2013

All About Load Test Results and the Results DB (Part 2 - Why Do The Results Conflict With Each Other)

Why are the values in the table view different than the values in the graph view? When you view the...

Author: geoffgr Date: 10/09/2013

All About Load Test Results and the Results DB (Part 1 - How Is The Data Calculated and Stored)

Test results in Visual Studio can be confusing, so I am going to try to do a very quick breakdown to...

Author: geoffgr Date: 10/03/2013

How to Export Perfmon Counter Values from the Visual Studio Load Test Results Database

How Are Perfmon Results Stored When Visual Studio collects perfmon data during a load test, it...

Author: geoffgr Date: 09/09/2013

How many vUsers can my machine run?

I just love this question. It has such a simple answer.... Right? (uh, yeah. Sure). You can start...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/28/2013

Explanation of V.S. Load Test warm-up, load patterns, and cool-down, and how this affects the reported results

These graphs show what test iterations are stored and reported in the results of a Visual Studio...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/24/2013

Explanation of “Off-Box Inclusive Testing” and how it impacts results and troubleshooting

Explanation of “Off-Box Inclusive testing” and how it impacts troubleshooting An “Off-Box” request...

Author: geoffgr Date: 08/15/2013

Random Data Generator

This tool is used to create realistic random data for use in performing load testing. It includes a...

Author: geoffgr Date: 06/24/2013