Table of Contents
What Does Performance Testing Mean?
Performance testing ensures applications deliver reliable user experiences at any scale. Unlike load testing, which focuses on simulating expected user demand, performance testing covers a wider range of scenarios including:
- Latency testing – measuring delays in response time
- Stress testing – pushing systems beyond capacity
- Spike testing – testing sudden increases in traffic
- Volume testing – handling large data sets
- Endurance (soak) testing – sustained load over long periods
It evaluates system performance across application code, databases, network layers, server configuration, and third-party dependencies.
Why It Matters
Without performance testing, systems risk failing in production, leading to:
- Poor user experience due to slow response times
- Bottlenecks in code, queries, or infrastructure
- Scaling inefficiencies that drive up costs
- Undetected regressions when new features are deployed
For Kubernetes and CI/CD pipelines, performance testing ensures teams can release quickly without sacrificing stability or scalability.
Real-World Example
- A SaaS provider runs k6 performance tests in Testkube on every CI/CD cycle to confirm API latency remains stable after new feature deployments.
- A mobile banking app tests transaction times, login speed, and balance retrieval across varying network conditions to guarantee customer reliability.
How Performance Testing Works with Testkube
Testkube supports performance testing workflows by:
- Running k6, JMeter, and Artillery tests natively inside Kubernetes clusters
- Automating performance checks as part of CI/CD pipelines
- Storing results and artifacts for trend analysis and compliance
- Providing observability dashboards for latency, throughput, and error monitoring
