Login load testing saves time and money

To ensure a smooth login process during peak usage times, (e.g. the start of the fall semester), Secure Identity Services (SIS) has implemented load testing capabilities to test the university’s authentication services ability to handle high loads before these peak times. In the past, high demand events led to minor service disruptions during critical periods for students, faculty, and staff.

Load testing involves simulating real-world user traffic scenarios and monitoring the system's behavior, such as resource utilization, response times, and error rates. The simulation is executed using a non-production system configured to the same resources as production, giving  developers an accurate idea of how the production system will tolerate peak usage times.
This test is conducted manually, a few weeks before the first day of classes, allowing time to address any issues found during testing.

Before the start of the 2023 fall semester, the load tests helped simulate the high demand the first day of classes brings and verified that everything was running smoothly. The tests passed, even with the target of 20% over the previous year’s known transaction load. Additional testing was done to force auto-deployment of resources when load became too great. The SIS DevOps engineers confirmed the auto-deployment of Amazon Web Services (AWS) containers based on the load. These tests gave SIS a good target for the amount of AWS resources needed to handle the load during peak times. This reduced AWS costs as less AWS resources were used.

SIS will continue to test before spring and fall semesters, ensuring authentication services are ready to handle the load as more Hokies join the Virginia Tech community.