Calculation of Load and Load Pattern

Calculating the load and load pattern is probably the trickiest issue in conducting website performance tests.

First, remember that there is a difference between users, transactions, page views and hits:

· One user can conduct several transactions (e.g., visit a Homepage, search for a product, view a product’s details, buy a product, etc.)

· One transaction can create several page views (e.g., add products to the shopping cart, go to the checkout, enter credit card, etc.)

· One page view can create multiple hits (e.g., framesets, images, applets, etc. for a single webpage)