Stress Testing is a crucial part of software testing that aims to identify the behavior of a system when subjected to extreme loads, such as high traffic or heavy concurrent user activity. The purpose of stress testing is to evaluate the system's stability, performance, and reliability under demanding conditions.
During stress testing, the application or system is pushed beyond its normal operating limits to determine how it handles the stress and to identify potential bottlenecks and weaknesses. It helps identify how the system degrades, recovers, or fails under excessive load, allowing developers and testers to make necessary optimizations and improvements.
By subjecting the system to excessive user traffic, stress testing helps validate its responsiveness, scalability, and resilience. It helps uncover potential issues such as memory leaks, poor response times, inadequate resource allocation, or insufficient load balancing.
The test scenarios for stress testing often simulate scenarios like sudden spikes in user traffic, heavy data processing, or prolonged periods of high user activity. It involves assessing how the system maintains its functionality, responsiveness, and stability during such extreme conditions.