We stumble along, hoping we'll hit on a magic combination to speed our Web applications. Well, the curse of the Response-Time Mummy may be over. We tested a trio of Web application performance-management tools and discovered that help is available. These tools give developers and network administrators a more thorough understanding of how applications are performing and why response times are lagging, thereby letting them find and correct problems quickly. Using a single performance-management tool, administrators and developers share a common view of application and network performance and are able to determine which piece of the system is causing trouble.
Software designed to explore Web-based application performance exists in numerous forms.
Many of these solutions are service-based implementations intended to alert designated staff about availability issues or performance degradation. While such services may be useful in calling attention to problems, they don't usually help staff determine where or why a problem arose. Drilling down into a slow or unresponsive site requires a tool designed specifically for that purpose. All three products we tested allow examination of a Web transaction and each of its underlying components. Not surprisingly, however, each product provides varying levels of detail.