Simulate load and analyze for a .net web service and SQL server

Question

Here is my scenario, I developed an android application that periodically makes calls to a web service, which in turn performs queries against a database. In the field there will be hundreds of these devices running constantly polling roughly every 60 seconds. There are some concerns about efficiency due to the volume and frequency of use and I have been told to find any potential performance issues and come up with strategies to combat them. (All I've seen is issues with heavily fragmented indexes)

So my questions to you are:

• What are some ways of simulating load on a web service?
• With SQL - I am familiar with examining execution plans, is there anything beyond that I should be concerned with?
• How do I measure the 'efficiency' of a .net web service? What kinds of things should I be on the lookout for? Is there a tool I can use to see hot spots and potential bottlenecks?

I appreciate any resources and insight you can provide, thanks!

Answer 1

If your web service is running over HTTP (which is likely), than most web load testing software has the capability to do what you need. A few of them can even record traffic from a local Android device, which you can then customize to generated the load you need.

I'll suggest our own product, Load Tester LITE, which may be able to do everything you need for free. The recording ability depends on the specific version of Android you have available - our support guys will be happy to help you work through it.

Answer 2

If you have access to an MSDN Ultimate license you can use the load test projects that are built into Visual Studio. Using their load tests you can run whatever load test you engineer and it records performance data so you can see the impact during the test.

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/compare

In the Feature Comparison > Testing Tools section they have a video covering load testing.