Free event: Seven Common API Load Testing
April 8, 2020 Comments Off on Free event: Seven Common API Load Testing
I’ll be part of a lineup of virtual speakers at the upcoming SmartBear Connect 2020 event. I will be speaking about some of the most common API load testing mistakes that I’ve seen over the past 15 years. Here’s what I’ll be covering:
Just about everyone understands why it’s so important to run functional tests for APIs and microservices. However, a surprisingly large percentage of organizations shortchange the equally important task of placing these resources under realistic loads to determine what kind of performance they can expect in production.
In this informative session, Robert Schneider from WiseClouds will describe seven of the most frequent mistakes when running these vital tests. These include:
1. Not performance testing a full business process
2. Using hard-coded data to drive tests
3. Neglecting to calibrate the virtual users
4. Concentrating load generation from a single location
5. Not factoring in external API calls
6. Trying to simulate GUI security interactions via API
7. Failing to explore multiple load generation scenarios
You can learn more here. I hope to see you at this free virtual event soon!
SmartBear Connect 2020 will be online!
March 21, 2020 Comments Off on SmartBear Connect 2020 will be online!
I had the opportunity to meet a number of blog readers during the most recent SmartBear Connect. Many others who were unable to attend the event in person have reached out to me to request access to the advanced ReadyAPI and SoapUI training I provided that day.
If you’re interested in these topics, you should know that SmartBear has just announced that SmartBear Connect 2020 will be delivered virtually (in no small part thanks to the current COVID-19 lockdown). It’ll be taking place on April 27-28, 2020.
I’ll be making a presentation (details to follow soon) during that event. You can learn more here.
Free open passes for upcoming API World in San Jose
September 16, 2019 Comments Off on Free open passes for upcoming API World in San Jose
I’ll be speaking at API World (October 8-10, San Jose Convention Center) and it would be great if you could join me at the event. Click here to register for your free open pass (available for the first 25 visitors so don’t delay), which gives you access to:
- Main Stage Keynotes
- OPEN Talks
- API World Expo
See you there!
Speaking about best practices for testing Microservices at API World in October
September 10, 2019 Comments Off on Speaking about best practices for testing Microservices at API World in October
If you’re going to be in the Bay Area in October, I invite you to join me at API World in San Jose. I’ll be giving a talk about applying hard-earned best practices from SOA and Web services to the exciting new world of microservices.
Here’s the abstract of what I’ll be presenting:
Microservices represent the next logical step in the evolution of distributed computing, rather than a complete break with the past. When implementing this type of fresh approach, it can be tempting to come up with an entirely new set of procedures for carrying out important tasks. While this is certainly helpful when these responsibilities haven‚ been encountered before, it‚ wise to avoid reinventing the wheel whenever possible.Fortunately, carrying out the vital job of ensuring that your microservices are highly reliable and performant can profit from well-established best practices and patterns for testing mission-critical distributed software assets. These have been utilized for more than 10 years, and have helped make the API era possible. All of these proven techniques can be invaluable to microservices designers, developers, and testers.In this thought-provoking event, we cover a number of practical, easily-applied guidelines that will serve you well as you develop and expand your microservices portfolio. These will include:
- Using automation to assist in attaining 100% code testing coverage
- Going beyond traditional unit testing to incorporate anticipated composition and orchestration into your quality assurance process
- Employing statistically significant quantities of meaningful data to fuel your tests
- Subjecting your microservices to realistic load volumes and geographically distributed consumers-
- Organizing and evolving your microservices testing inventory via effective governance.
You can learn more here.
Are you using distributed load testing for your APIs?
April 30, 2019 Comments Off on Are you using distributed load testing for your APIs?
I’m seeing more and more organizations using distributed load generation in an attempt to simulate real-world usage patterns for their APIs. I’ll soon be polling my readers to see what they’re doing, so stay tuned if you’d like to participate.
Free REST API Security guide
March 31, 2019 Comments Off on Free REST API Security guide
If you’ve worked with both major varieties of API (Web services & REST) for any length of time, you’ll know that the approach to security varies widely between them. In the Web services world, there are numerous standards bodies and security guidelines, such as:
These are just a few examples of what’s out there.
Thanks to all of this ancillary work, a common (mis)perception has sprung up that Web services are more secure than REST APIs. While there’s a kernel of truth to this assumption, REST APIs now benefit from their own set of security standards and best practices. To give you a better idea of what these are, check out this helpful eBook on Dzone, written by Guy Levin, CTO of RestCase.
Celebrate Data Privacy Day by protecting yourself from email tracking
January 28, 2019 Comments Off on Celebrate Data Privacy Day by protecting yourself from email tracking
This year, instead of firing up the barbecue, putting on elaborate costumes, or singing carols, why not commemorate Data Privacy Day (January 29) by making it harder for external parties to track your email. If you’re interested, check out a very informative article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on how to do that.
Sales engineer career path #3: Product development
December 31, 2018 Comments Off on Sales engineer career path #3: Product development
It’s time for the next installment in the ongoing series about career paths for sales engineers seeking new opportunities. This time around, I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of moving into product development. Before I begin, it’s important to understand that this is one of the more challenging transitions, largely because the skills necessary to be an effective SE can be so different than those that characterize the most productive developers. With that said, here goes:
Pros
- Sense of ownership. SEs flit between opportunities; product developers stay involved throughout the lifecycle of the technology they’re building.
- Better base salary. In general (but not always), product developers earn a higher base salary than SEs.
- Less travel. If you’re tired of those 6 am flights to remote client sites, product development might be a welcome relief.
- Less variability. There are fewer subjective factors – such as client whims and sales representatives who can’t sell – that can block your achievements when you move into product development.
Cons
- Technically demanding. If your skills aren’t up to par, you’ll really need to put in the educational effort to meet the requirements of your new job.
- Less upside. While product developers may have a larger base salary, thanks to commission SEs can really hit the jackpot if they have a particularly good year.
- Risk of outsourcing. Don’t kid yourself: if your employer can save one dollar a year on your salary by moving your job offshore, they’ll do it. In contrast, it’s nearly impossible to outsource SEs.
- Less interaction with customers. Plenty of SEs really savor the opportunity to meet with prospects and clients; product developers rarely get the chance. Some SEs find being ‘chained to a desk’ to be too confining.
Making the transition
It’s a big leap to move from the sales organization to the product development team. Here are some steps that can make this migration less painful:
- Find one or more champions in product development
- Discretely meet with them to learn more about what it takes to succeed in their group
- When ready, approach your manager and express your desire to make the change
- Once you get the go-ahead, work with HR to find a position in product development
- Work on a mutually agreeable timeline to switch roles
If you’re interested in being notified of future editions, subscribe to the blog or follow me on Twitter: @RD_Schneider. You can read other sales engineering-related posts here.
Five great starting points to transition into a Sales Engineering career
November 30, 2018 Comments Off on Five great starting points to transition into a Sales Engineering career
For years, I’ve been describing the numerous advantages – and minimal drawbacks – of a career as a sales engineer:
- I’ve written about traits that one should possess to increase the likelihood of success
- I’ve discussed follow-on career paths
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I’ve even told you about bad behaviors that will curtail (or abruptly end) your sales engineering career
What I haven’t yet talked about are some of the jobs that lend themselves to transitioning into a sales engineering role, so that’s what this series is going to be all about. Here, in no particular order, are five of the most logical starting points to becoming a sales engineer:
- Technical support. You’re charged with answering customer questions and/or resolving product issues
- Marketing. You design, own, and/or promote the product or service
- Customer success. You ensure that clients have a positive experience when deploying the product or service
- Product implementation. You’re responsible for moving the product or service from concept into production for the customer
- Development. You build and/or maintain the product or service
I’ll be writing about each of these roles in more detail. If you’re interested in being notified of future editions, subscribe to the blog or follow me on Twitter: @RD_Schneider. You can read other sales engineering-related posts here.
Informative article about Microservices vs. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
October 31, 2018 Comments Off on Informative article about Microservices vs. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
I really enjoyed participating in the recent 2018 SmartBear Connect conference. After some of my talks on designing good API tests, several people came up to me to get my opinion on the differences and similarities between Microservices (a very hot topic in the past couple of years) and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) (which dominated software architectural discussions about 10 years ago).
Rather than rehash what I explained at the event, I thought it would be better to point my readers at a very concise, helpful article published by Ima Miri on Dzone. Check it out if you’d like to get a better handle on how these two approaches are related.
rdschneider 
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