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What is the difference between RUM (Real User Monitoring) vs. Synthetic monitoring?

RUM, or Real User Monitoring, is a type of monitoring that involves tracking the performance of a website or application as experienced by actual users. This type of monitoring can provide valuable insights into how a website or application is performing in the wild, and can help identify issues that may not be apparent when using other types of monitoring.

Synthetic monitoring, on the other hand, involves using simulated traffic to test the performance of a website or application. This type of monitoring can be useful for providing a baseline measure of performance, and can be used to test specific user journeys or transactions on a website or application.

The main difference between RUM and synthetic monitoring is that RUM involves tracking the performance of a website or application as experienced by real users, while synthetic monitoring involves using simulated traffic to test performance. Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses, and can be used together to provide a more complete picture of a website or application’s performance.

What is RUM (Real User Monitoring) and how it helps in performance testing?

Automation Testing, Performance Testing

Real User Monitoring (RUM) is a method of monitoring the performance of a website or web application as experienced by actual users. This type of monitoring involves tracking various metrics, such as page load times, server response times, and JavaScript execution times, from the perspective of the user’s web browser.

This type of monitoring uses data collected from user interactions with the application to provide insight into how the application is performing in the real world.

RUM typically involves the use of JavaScript code that is added to the application’s web pages. This code is used to collect data on the performance of the application, including information about page load times, user interactions, and any errors that may occur. This data is then sent to a central server for analysis and can be used to identify potential performance issues and improve the overall user experience.

In the context of Application Performance Management (APM), RUM can be used to supplement traditional server-side monitoring techniques. By providing a more complete picture of how an application is performing from the user’s perspective, RUM can help organizations identify and resolve performance issues more quickly and effectively.

RUM is useful for performance testing because it provides valuable insights into how a website or web application is actually performing in the wild. By tracking metrics like page load times and server response times, RUM can help identify performance bottlenecks and other issues that may not be apparent when testing in a controlled environment. This can help organizations optimize the performance of their websites and web applications, leading to a better user experience.

Top Handy tools for Performance Testing

Performance Testing

The top eleven tools for performance testing are as follows:

Google Page Speed Insights – a tool that measures the performance of a website on both mobile and desktop devices.
Webpagetest – This tool checks to see if there are any issues with the site’s loading speed.
GTMetrix – is a tool that allows you to evaluate the performance of a website..
Pingdom – is a website monitoring service that also doubles as a free automated website testing utility.
Gomez – observing from a variety of perspectives. There are more than 100 locations to choose from.
Alertra – viewing from several locations.
Load Impact – testing from several locations and performance reports.
FeedTheBot – performs optimization and performance tests on a website.
Dotcom Monitor – perform site performance tests from 20 different locations with a single click using Dotcom Monitor.
RedBot is a small utility that checks the HTTP headers for errors.
Neustar Ultratools – is a collection of utilities for testing the performance of hosting, DNS, and other services.

Testing any website with slow internet connection

Better Testing, Performance Testing, Testing Tips

Chrome can be used to simulate a slow connection.
Install Chrome if it is not already installed on your system. After that, open a new tab and press CTRL + SHIFT + I to bring up the developer tools window, or click on the hamburger icon, then More tools, then Developer tools.

Now click on Network section – a drop-down menu of pre-configured speeds appears, which you can use to simulate a slow connection.

Chrome Network throttling
To add your own custom values, click the Add button under Custom. To create a new profile, click the Add Custom Profile button.

This is an excellent tool that is integrated into Chrome that you can use to determine the load time of your website on slower connections. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Most Important Metrics for Performance Testing

Performance Testing

Consider six of the most critical metrics to monitor and the value they provide:

Response Metrics

Average response time is the time between a client’s initial request and the final byte of a server’s response, which includes the delivery of HTML, images, CSS, JavaScript, and any other resources. It is the most precise standard method of determining the actual user experience.
Peak response time is a roundtrip time measurement for a request/response cycle, but it focuses on the longest cycle rather than an average. Rapid response times assist in identifying potentially problematic anomalies.
Error Rate quantifies the proportion of problematic requests to total requests. While it is not uncommon for some errors to occur during periods of high load, error rates should be kept to a minimum to optimize the user experience.

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