One way you can determine the size
of the test you require is by determining
the maximum number of simultaneous
users you wish to support.
Another way to determine this is
to have is execute a test that will
maximize the server hardware on
your back end (i.e. "break
your system"). A general rule
of thumb is to simulate 500 simultaneous users
with think time for every server on
your back end. A typical server
might be a PIII 1Ghz w/ 512M RAM.
Lastly, you could decide to execute a test that will fill
your network connection. How many
users are required depends greatly
on the design of your site, how
large the files are and how fast
your servers are. A 500 user test
running against a well-designed
site with a fast connection can
generate anywhere from 200 to 500k/sec
of bandwidth (1.6MBps to 4MBps).
