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November 15, 1999

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New Software Tools Help Monitor And Test Web Apps
Products let E-businesses ensure peak performance from web sites

By Beth Bacheldor

Related links:
  • E-Business Resource Center

    • And from our sister publications:
  • Network Computing Orchestrating Today's E-Commerce

  • Computer Reseller News Businesses Look For E-Commerce Help
    • Businesses venturing into E-commerce are discovering they need to do more than just put up a Web site on the Internet--they also need to test and monitor constantly to ensure peak performance. A pair of software companies, Precise Software Solutions Ltd. and RSW Software Inc., have new and enhanced products designed to help companies monitor and test Web applications.

    "Companies really need to be aware of the limitations of the applications and how to manage growth," says Billie Shea, an analyst with the Newport Group, a consulting firm. "These tools can let them know what their applications can handle. They allow them to be more proactive about performance."

    Precise last week rolled out software called Swift-e that's designed to help companies monitor Web-site performance. Swift-e looks at the application, database, and server, then correlates the data so companies can better understand where problems exist.

    ECredit.com Inc., an online provider of credit and financing services, is using Swift-e, which monitors the resource-consumption statistics of each transaction served by Oracle, to monitor each transaction on its Web site. These tools are important because they help IT departments unearth problems, says Barry Van Ry, director of technology at eCredit.com.

    Swift-e is available now and is priced at $35,000 to $75,000, depending on the number of servers.

    RSW Software this week will introduce an updated version of its Web application testing software that lets companies evaluate Web apps as they build them, then monitor the applications once they're put into production.

    RSW's enhanced testing software, e-Test Suite 4.0, features technology that increases the number of users the software can simulate in a test on one Windows NT workstation. The software will generate up to 1,000 virtual users per single processor and create tens of thousands of virtual users by distributing agents across multiple machines.

    The increased scalability reduces the costs associated with automated testing, says analyst Shea. "What that translates into is a lower cost of entry."

    The e-Test Suite will ship next week. It consists of three components: e-Tester, priced at $5,000; e-Monitor, priced at $7,000; and e-Load, priced at $20,000. If purchased together, the suite is priced at $27,195.


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