📈 Load Patterns · Days 7–12
Day 10: Soak / Endurance
Objective
Run a moderate load for 1–2 hours to surface leaks and exhaustion.
Scenario
Run 15 users for 2 hours. Check memory, threads, response time, and error trends at regular intervals.
Metrics to Watch
When It Clicks
Leaks and resource exhaustion only appear over time.
Solution
Set Thread Group to 15 users, ramp-up = 60s, scheduler duration = 7200s (2 hrs). Capture a server-side memory snapshot at t=0, t=30min, t=60min, t=120min. In JMeter use the Backend Listener with InfluxDB + Grafana for live trending, or simply export Aggregate Report CSVs at each checkpoint. A healthy system holds flat memory; a leaking one climbs steadily. GC frequency increase with no corresponding memory drop is the classic JVM leak signature.
Reflection
What slowly degrading metric did you notice that a short test would have missed?
Deliverable
A long-duration soak test script.
⚠️ Never run load tests against infrastructure you do not own or have explicit written permission to test. Always use a dedicated test environment. Unauthorized load injection can cause outages, trigger legal liability, and violate terms of service.