So we have systems/applications moving to cloud. As per my research all the basic principles still apply while testing performance. My Question is;
Does it matter where my performance tool is located while testing a cloud application?
For example: If I use LoadRunner for testing application on cloud then should my LoadRunner tool also be installed on cloud? or if I use it the on-site LoadRunner for performance test then then chances of traffic bottle-necks increase?
Yes: You pay for bytes into and out of the cloud. Place your load generators inside of the same cloud provider if you do not wish to pay for the bytes in/out.
Other side of the argument: Your users do not live in the cloud data center, so you will want to understand the impairment associated with the network between your users and the data center. Add a single load generator at each location for your users.
You do not need your full Test tool infrastructure installed in the cloud, only the load generation components.
By the way, your monitoring of the application infrastructure related to items such as CPU, DISK, MEMORY and NEtwork will be totally screwy because of the nature of floating resource pools and an inconsistent system clock. The inconsistent system clock will also impact cloud based load generators, skewing average, 90th percentile and standard deviation measurements higher than on physical hardware. Your test to test variances under the same load will also be higher due to uncontrolled initial and in-test conditions on the hosts where your virtual machines/load generators are running