Load Testing Tools for IVR Systems

In this post, we’ll discuss tools for IVR load testing. Our background in this field will help you choose the right tool.

JMeter and LoadRunner remain some of the most popular load testing tools worldwide. These are truly excellent tools, and most performance engineers use them.

When choosing load testing tools, the main question is whether the tool supports all the required protocols. When it comes to HTTP, the selection of tools is enormous, including excellent cloud solutions that make it possible to create a load simultaneously from different points on the planet. For less common protocols, the number of suitable tools shrinks considerably. In these cases, the indisputable leader is LoadRunner, a product and the de facto standard in the enterprise segment.

However, there are protocols that even LoadRunner does not support. For example, voice traffic must be emulated to load testing call centers’ IVR and IT systems. Neither LoadRunner nor JMeter has standard support for the appropriate protocols (SIP, etc. – Learn more about JMeter vs LoadRunner). Accordingly, when it comes to load testing IVR systems, performance engineers have to search for other solutions that are generally outside their areas of expertise.

Data Synergy, our Australian partner, has created an elegant solution to this problem. Data Synergy VOICE is a solution that can use the familiar tools LoadRunner and JMeter to create scripts that emulate the behavior of voice communications customers. Data Synergy VOICE is a LoadRunner plug-in and a connectable JMeter class. The list below shows the capabilities of Data Synergy VOICE in the LoadRunner VUGen environment.

When emulating phone calls, the following features are available:

• phone calls
• call pick-up
• call hold
• call transfer (including voice mail)
• call park
• call forwarding
• conference call
• tone dialing

Related Services:

• Load testing
• Volume testing
• Reliability and stability testing
• Synthetic testing

PFLB also Provides Implementation Support Services for Load Testing Tools:

• Data Synergy
• LoadRunner
• JMeter cloud load testing