What is page redirection? How does page redirection works in load testing tools?

Redirections: Redirection refers to the process by which a page is sent to the browser with the sole purpose of forwarding the user to another page or server. This technique is usually used to handle load-balancing or dynamic page generation, or simply to transfer users from an old server to a new one.

• Browsers usually do not follow redirections more than five times, since a high number of redirections could indicate a infinite loop.

A redirection from one page to another can occur in various way:

• Location field: The header of the HTTP response may contain a “location” or a “refresh” field that orders the browser to redirect the user to a different page
• Refresh Header: A web page may invoke a JavaScript the leads the user to another page
• Refresh Tag: A web page may contain an HTML tag that indicates a redirection

Load testing tools must be able to emulate redirection as it is frequently used technique in web applications.