Measuring mobile performance (@LDNWebPerf Version)

Stephen Thair, Seriti Consulting, @TheOpsMgr
London Web Performance Meetup Group, @LDNWebPerf
Measuring mobile performance
14/09/2011
© Seriti Consulting
1

Before we start…
3
Things to keep in mind
14/09/2011
2

Desktop
≠
Mobile
14/09/2011
3

A Java app calling a java app calling a C++ app using JNI to call a java app….
14/09/2011
4
http://assets.en.oreilly.com/1/event/60/Analyzing%20the%20Performance%20of%20Mobile%20Web_%20Challenges%20and%20Techniques%20Presentation.pdf

Wifi
≠
Mobile
14/09/2011
5

WiFivs HSDPA Performance
14/09/2011
6

Mobile
≠
Mobile
14/09/2011
7

Different Phones = Different Performance
14/09/2011
8
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4144/lg-optimus-2x-nvidia-tegra-2-review-the-first-dual-core-smartphone/8

Different operating systems
14/09/2011
9

Different Browsers…
14/09/2011
10
http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/articles/mobile-web-browsers-list.php

Different network types…
14/09/2011
11
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/telephony/TelephonyManager.html

Mobile Performance is location-dependent
14/09/2011
12
http://mytests.3pmobile.com/context/?WyIyUFVDZHlWV2ErZHFISmxCSWFXRENnPT0iLCJEYnFYVVp3SEN4MD0iXQ%3D%3D

Page Load times (along the thames)
14/09/2011
13
Off the chart (2m36s)

HSDPA… on a #!%&$@*ing train
14/09/2011
14
Max RTT = 20266ms
http://blog.davidsingleton.org/mobiletcp

How important is performance on mobile, anyway?
14/09/2011
15

You only have 1.5 seconds on mobile!!!
14/09/2011
16

How many ways are there to measure web performance?
And how useful are they on Mobile?
14/09/2011
17

6
14/09/2011
18

6Browser plug-ins
14/09/2011
19
As used in HTTPWatch, DynatraceAjax Edition etc
But only some mobile browsers support plug-ins… Android & iPhone = No, WinMo & Blackberry = Yes.

5Proxy Timing
14/09/2011
20
E.g. Fiddler Proxy (http://www.fiddler2.com/Fiddler2/version.asp)
There is no proxy settings in Android unless you root your phone (http://android-proxy.blogspot.com/)
Only useful for WiFi…
Beware the “observer effect”

4Web Server Module
14/09/2011
21
As used by many APM solutions e.g. Dynatrace, New Relic
Install mod_ or ISAPI filter
Measure the RTT between web server and DB/Application tier
Great for measuring your back-end performance
Not much good for front end…

3JavaScript Timing
14/09/2011
22
As used in Boomerang, Episodes, GA, WebTuna etc
OK for web pages, better with new WebTiming and NavigationTiming APIs not that mobile browsers support them…
Relies on JavaScript and Cookies… which is problematic…

2 Network level Timing
14/09/2011
23
As used by PCAPPerf and by Atomic Labs Pion, Tealeaf, Coradiant
PCAPPERF limited to over WiFi (otherwise you can’t capture the packets)*
Pion, Tealeaf etc require network tap…

1 Custom browser
14/09/2011
24
As used by 3PMobile.com (on the phone) and synthetic agents (by active monitoring providers e.g. Site Confidence)
At present this is the only way to get real OTA performance data.

14/09/2011
25
So what to use?

14/09/2011
26
Depends on your needs

14/09/2011
27
Development
vs
“Real World”

14/09/2011
28
Network perspective vsBrowser Perspective?

PCAPPerf Testing
14/09/2011
29
WiFi Connection to PC
PC acting as Wifi hotspot and capturing packets with Wireshark
Upload pcap file to pcapperf.appspot.com
And
View the waterfall
Upload
http://code.google.com/p/pcaphar/wiki/CaptureMobileTraffics

Mobitest – blaze.io/mobile
14/09/2011
30
“PCAPPerfas SaaS” + some on-device event capture + screenshots
WiFi only
Tethered machines in Ottawa, DC, Amsterdam

Mobitest results screen
14/09/2011
31
Download time
Page Size
Waterfall
Screenshot
Link to HAR

Mobitest / PCAPPerf waterfall
14/09/2011
32

3PMobile.com “Browser2”
14/09/2011
33
Android Native Browser code instrumented for performance measurement
Test Anywhere you have signal…
Full Mobile context – device & location & network. WiFi & 3G.
Browser-level perspective
Screenshots
Automated Testing
HTML, CSS, Script source code

3PMobile.com “Browser2” Waterfall
14/09/2011
34
Waterfall of www.ft.com (redirected to http://m.ft.com)

Screenshots
14/09/2011
35

Device Context
14/09/2011
36

14/09/2011
37
Location Context

14/09/2011
38
Network Context

Download the HTML, Script, CSS source
14/09/2011
39

Sign up for free Beta @ www.3pmobile.com
14/09/2011
40

14/09/2011
41
So what else is there?

TCP Dump on Rooted phone
14/09/2011
42
http://www.vbsteven.be/blog/android-debugging-inspectin-network-traffic-with-tcpdump/

JavaScript Bookmarklets
14/09/2011
43
Steve Souder’s Mobile Performance Bookmarlet
http://stevesouders.com/mobileperf/mobileperfbkm.php
None of these measure performance per se, but they can give you more information about the page (but beware of a strong “observer effect”)

Keynote MITE (Emulation)
14/09/2011
44
The free Keynote MITE emulator
Webkit-based emulation based on device profiles

Debugging tools
14/09/2011
45
Most SDK’s include debugging tools and profilers that can help you understand what’s going on
But you are tethered to your PC (normally)

Watchmouse“IAM” library
14/09/2011
46
In-App Monitoring (IAM) is a set of libraries to help instrument your web apps. Currently iPhone only.
Replace your app WebView calls with IAMWebView
It will gather the performance data and beacon it out for you
https://bitbucket.org/watchmouse/iam/

BBC / Epitro Signal Strength Survey
14/09/2011
47
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14644507

14/09/2011
48
And that’s all I’ve got…

14/09/2011
49
Questions?
Stephen Thair, Seriti Consulting, @TheOpsMgr
Stephen.thair@seriticonsulting.com
www.seriticonsulting.com/blog
London Web Performance Meetup Group, @LDNWebPerf
Monthly Meetups in Central London (near Bank)
http://www.meetup.com/London-Web-Performance-Group/

http://www.seriticonsulting.com	931
https://mail.google.com	2
http://twitter.com	1
http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	1
http://a0.twimg.com	1
http://paper.li	1
http://seriti.squarespace.com	1

Measuring mobile performance (@LDNWebPerf Version)

by Stephen Thair

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

7 Embeds 938

Statistics