Common HTTP Error status codes
During load testing, you might come across various HTTP error response codes. Recognizing and understanding these codes is crucial to diagnosing problems and improving system performance. Here's a list of some common error codes:
Client errors (400–499)
400 Bad Request – The request was invalid, and the server couldn't understand it. Usually happens if the client-side input fails validation.
401 Unauthorized – This error indicates that the client must authenticate itself to get the requested response. It usually occurs when the user isn’t authenticated.
403 Forbidden – The client does not have access rights to the content; that is, it's unauthorized. The user is authenticated, but lacks the necessary rights or permissions.
404 Not Found – The server can not find the requested resource. This often signifies a broken or dead link.
405 Method Not Allowed – The request method is not supported for the given URI.
408 Request Timeout - The server would like to shut down the unused connection, as the client took too long to send the request.
429 Too Many Requests - The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. It's a measure to prevent a sort of "DOS attack" by limiting request rate.
Server errors (500–599)
500 Internal server error – A generic error message when an unexpected condition was encountered, and no more specific message is suitable.
501 Not Implemented – The server either does not recognize the request method or it lacks the ability to fulfill the request.
502 Bad Gateway – The server was acting as a gateway or proxy and received an invalid response from an upstream server.
503 Service Unavailable – The server is not ready to handle the request. It could be because it is overloaded with requests, undergoing maintenance, or some other temporary state.
504 Gateway Timeout – The server, while acting as a gateway or proxy, did not receive a timely response from an upstream server or some auxiliary server it accessed.
507 Insufficient Storage – The server is unable to store the representation needed to complete the request.
In conclusion, understanding these error codes is pivotal for efficient troubleshooting during load testing. It aids in identifying bottlenecks, misconfigurations, and other potential issues in the system.