%% date:: [[2024-02-12]] parent:: %% # [[Stress Test]] %% Last Updated: - [[2021-02-13]] %% A stress test is a [[Load Test Types|load test type]] usually done after at least a [[Peak Load Test]], and maybe even a [[Soak Test]], has successfully passed according to the requirements. It involves subjecting the application to more load than you really expect it to ever need. The goal of a stress test is to determine the bounds of an application’s capacity, with the ideal result being that it can support far more load than it needs to right now. ![[stress-test-last-test-teapot4181.png]] *Illustration of a soak test by [@teapot4181 on Twitter](https://twitter.com/teapot4181). Thanks to @emmerax on Discord for sharing this image with me!* One good way of doing a stress test is doing a [[Stepped Load Profile]], where users ramp up to the expected peak load level, stay there for maybe 30 minutes, ramp up to another 100 or so users, sustain that for another 30 minutes, and so on until the application fails. Application failure can be judged to occur at the point that it no longer meets the nonfunctional requirements. The number of users that it comfortably maintained while meeting the requirements describes the outer bounds of its capacity. ## Related - [[Load Testing]] - [[kOH 67 - Load testing types and k6 executors]] - [[Performance Testing]] - [[Executors in k6|k6 executors]] - [[Test scenarios vs. test types]] - [[Test Scenarios]] - [[Tips for running large load tests]]