Assess Your Current Endpoints Performance Testing Solution

November 1, 2024

Why Start with a Checklist for Endpoint Testing Solutions?

So, you want to test your endpoints but don’t know where to start? With so many options on the market for endpoint testing, it can often be difficult to navigate all the buzzwords and get down to the meat and potatoes of what a solution offers. Here is a brief guide to help make an educated decision on what to look for in a solution.

Question 1: Is it automated?

One of the most important aspects of a solution should be: Is it automated? If you constantly must log into a portal or remember to schedule a task after a couple of weeks, will you really be able to keep up with it among all your other priorities? 

Login Enterprise has you covered. Using a continuous test, you can schedule your tests to run daily, including weekends, and for specific hours on a day-by-day basis (for example, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, your company works 8-6, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you work 10-4). You can also adjust the hours your test runs for when your users are present in the office. 

If you just want to run tests all the time, that is supported, too, through the ability to run several concurrent tests and run tests as a user logging in from multiple different locations to verify the infrastructure. This gives you the ability to access near real-time data about how a common resource may be performing from each of your different sites where a launcher is deployed. Login Enterprise: Is it automated? CHECK! 

Question 2: Is it lightweight?

Next up is implementation. If you build many servers and deploy an agent to all the devices you want to monitor, the maintenance will grow over time and eventually become a burden. Login Enterprise is agentless. The minimum deployment for Login Enterprise is a virtual appliance. After that, you can use an existing server (or build a new one) to host the Launcher, the origination point for your test-user sessions, provided it can access the resources you plan to test. 

The last component is the login processor, an application that allows your test to run without requiring the installation of yet another software agent. Luckily, there are options for deploying this as well. There are many ways to deploy the login processor, but the key is that it can be executed upon user login. Once the login processor has started, it will pull down the test configuration from the appliance and begin testing your resource. Login Enterprise: Is it lightweight? CHECK! 

Question 3: Can it easily capture tasks?

We all hate those complicated tasks requiring many mouse movements and button clicks. If your endpoint testing solution requires a lot of effort to capture even simple tasks, the barrier to using it effectively is astronomical. Luckily, Login Enterprise has a Script Recorder. Script Recorder enables users to record actions and build a script without having much programming knowledge. Additionally, the Script Editor can run through an application script and allow you to record more steps. This takes the level of effort to capture tasks from scaling Mt. Everest to a stroll in the neighborhood park. Login Enterprise also has a fallback mechanism called Application X-Ray. 

Much like the X-ray machine at the doctor’s office allows the doctor to look underneath your skin at your skeleton, Application X-ray exposes the different controls in an application that allow the creation of scripts to perform your required tasks.  Login Enterprise: Easily capture tasks: CHECK! 

Question 4: Can it interact with your applications? 

Very similar to the ability to capture tasks, but no less important is the ability to interact with the different applications you have in your environment. Gone are the days of being able to trust that just because an application opened means your users will be able to use it successfully. Login Enterprise cannot only interact with many applications but can also give you data about how long an application took to perform an action. Take the healthcare electronic medical record system EPIC, for example. 

Users may complain about slow logins or loading times from specific pages or sites. If your testing solution can only open and stop the application, you are missing critical data that a Systems Administrator must now perform. Login Enterprise can open the application and interact with it much the same way your users would. This means that the application script can be configured to log in and time the amount of time it takes from clicking login to when the first loaded page is available. 

You can also time switching between pages, such as going from a visit note to scheduling the patient’s next visit. In this example, you get times related to how long each step took to execute. Login Enterprise can take this further and allow you to be alerted based on the values in the test configuration. Running a continuous test can give you the critical data you need to start researching and repairing a potential issue before it starts to impact the ability of your users to perform their jobs effectively. Login Enterprise: Can it interact with your applications? CHECK! 

Question 5: Does it allow you to compare metrics meaningfully?

Having a lot of metrics and information is great, but it’s only applicable if you have data to compare it against. Data for the sake of data is not very helpful. However, if you can compare data before and after a change or an update pushed, that data has become useful. 

Login Enterprise allows you to compare point-in-time performance snapshots and see how they stack up in your environment. This allows you to see if that GPO the Security team pushed on everyone is making your users’ logins slower or if Fry in Shipping and Receiving has had one too many cups of coffee today. 

Login Enterprise allows you to compare up to 5 load tests at once and generate an excellent report you can send to your manager to show why you need that next rack of servers and new SAN. Login Enterprise: Can you compare metrics in a meaningful way? CHECK! 

Question 6: Can you compare personas?

Running tests for different kinds of users is also important. What if you could use the same testing scripts constantly running against your endpoints to check Phil’s PC when he complains that it is too slow and now needs a new one? 

What if you could quantify that? With Login Enterprise and the Desktop Connector, you can. You can run a test on his machine that interacts with multiple applications and produces a score about how his machine is performing. This allows you to gather data from your synthetic users and users who may have an additional load from having other applications open or larger datasets to work with. Login Enterprise: Can you compare personas? CHECK! 

Invest in a Comprehensive Testing Solution with Login Enterprise

 In conclusion, selecting the right endpoint testing solution is crucial for ensuring the performance and reliability of your applications. With Login Enterprise, you can effortlessly automate your testing processes, making them less burdensome and more effective. The lightweight, agentless deployment model ensures minimal maintenance, while features like Script Recorder and Application X-Ray simplify task capture and execution. The ability to interact with applications as real users do provides invaluable insights into performance metrics, allowing for proactive issue resolution. Furthermore, comparing performance data over time equips you with the information necessary to make informed decisions about your IT infrastructure. Whether testing different user scenarios or monitoring the impact of system changes, Login Enterprise offers a comprehensive solution that checks all the boxes for your endpoint testing needs.

A Quick Recap of How to Assess an Endpoints Performance Testing Solution 

1. Is it automated? (for example, weekends, daily, ring deployments) 
2. Is it lightweight? (i.e. infrastructure requirements)
3. Can it easily capture tasks? 
4. Can it interact with your applications? (i.e., timers)  
5. Can you compare performance point-in-time snapshots? (i.e., system metrics, CPU/disk) 
6. Can you perform testing using multiple user personas? (real vs. synthetic)

Investing in a tool that encompasses these essential features can streamline your operations and enhance user experience across your organization. Try Login Enterprise for Free.