I've created a Perl-driven web app that delivers a high-stakes examination
to remote computer labs. We recently ran a session and experienced some
problems that I am seeking advice on.

Perl v5.6.1, ... Binary build 629
DBI::DBD.pm,v 10.8 2000/06/11 00:06:02
DBD::ODBC.pm,v 1.12 1998/08/14 19:29:50
Windows 2000
IIS 5
SQL Server 7.0

Although things went well in testing, in practice our server memory usage
went nuts past a threshold of perhaps 100 simultaneous users. We're not sure
why, but the clues seem to point to the DBI. I realize that specific advice
is impossible without seeing code, but at the moment I'm asking two general
questions:

1. Are there scalability issues with DBI/DBD/ODBC that I should be aware of?
(The last time we ran the exam I was still using Win32::ODBC and didn't see
this particular problem, although the current code is definitely more
database-intensive.)

2. The big lesson is that we have to stress-test our app. I need to create a
host of virtual candidates taking the exam so I can try out different
components and different scenarios. Does anyone have recommendations for a
suitable tool for doing this, Perl-based or otherwise? I can't say that
price is not a factor, but the costs and stress associated with a server
meltdown are pretty considerable.

TIA

---------------FROM-------------------
David R. Miller
Manager, Computer-Based Testing
Medical Council of Canada
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(613) 521-6012
(613) 521-9722 (fax)
-----------------------------------------

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