BluzzerRunner: Elevating Performance for Global Audiences

Meet Our Client¶

BlazeRunner is a premier partner and authorized reseller of the BlazeMeter and Runscope platforms. The company specializes in software development with a focus on performance testing. They define themselves as “a team of good people empowered to drive strong relationships and celebrate success.”

As a vital player in the app economy, BlazeRunner drives innovation in Continuous Testing, offering scalable, secure, and open-source-based solutions integrated with CI/CD toolchains. Their commitment to agility and quality is pivotal in maintaining a competitive edge in software delivery.

BlazeRunner partnered with us to enhance and validate a streaming service’s performance from a leading telecommunications provider in Asia.

Understanding Challenges¶

Our client faced the crucial task of ensuring their streaming service could handle intense traffic without compromising on quality. This meant rigorously evaluating the CDN’s performance under heavy user loads and diverse content delivery scenarios.

Our objective was to confirm the network's readiness for high-traffic events, maintaining consistent quality across various streaming protocols and resolutions.

Solutions and Activities¶

We embarked on an extensive load testing strategy, developing JMeter scripts tailored for both HLS and DASH protocols with varied streaming qualities. We designed this approach in order to simulate diverse user scenarios and bandwidth consumption patterns, closely mirroring real-world demands.

In collaboration with the CDN provider, we determined the necessity of utilizing 500 engines from multiple locations to effectively simulate the targeted scale of 85,000 concurrent virtual users. This setup was crucial for achieving the desired scenario, aligning with the high-volume streaming requirements of the project.

We harnessed Taurus and BlazeMeter for precise test configurations and effective load distribution. Our goal was to generate a load streaming near 100 Gbps of video. We employed Taurus, an open-source test automation tool, to define test configurations and used JMeter to distribute the load as per the planned pattern.

We also enhanced our testing process with an HLS plugin (video streaming plugin), developed by our team, which added finesse to our testing process, enabling granular control over streaming parameters. This plugin replicates the behavior of typical video streaming client applications, enabling users to download a playlist file and then load it in separate video portions.

It supports both HLS and DASH protocols and allows for the selection of subtitles, audio tracks, and video variants. This way, it simplifies the stress-testing of video streaming protocols and provides user-friendly statistics and reports.

Results and Achievements¶

In partnership with BlazeRunner, we achieved remarkable results, significantly enhancing their streaming service's capacity:

• Successfully validated the CDN's ability to support 85,000 concurrent users, meeting the client's high-volume streaming requirements.
• Attained a peak throughput of 8,295 requests per second, indicating robust network performance.
• Enabled consistent, high-quality streaming across various locations in Asia, catering to a large and diverse audience.
• Utilized state-of-the-art testing tools for precise simulation and analysis, leading to improved service reliability.

The project's outcomes reinforced the streaming service's infrastructure, boosting its performance and reliability. This advancement has effectively strengthened its presence in South Korea's competitive digital streaming sector, showcasing our shared commitment to delivering quality and innovation in a highly competitive landscape.