Tools and Strategies to Prevent Thread Stuck Issues in Test Executions

Stuck threads represent a problem for any software testing services company. Also known by developers as frozen threads or hung threads, they happen occasionally for several reasons and cause a thread to remain blocked indefinitely. The issue is that if they are not sorted, they will lead to an application possibly becoming unresponsive. This can halt the development of the software you are working on.
So, how can you deal with stuck threads? Here are a few tools and strategies that will help prevent thread stuck issues in Test Executions.

What Usually Causes Stuck Threads?

Threads can get stuck for many reasons, and finding the culprit can help you come up with a solution. Threads are considered stuck when they take several hundreds of seconds to return. The most common reasons for hung threads include:

• Infinite loops
• Resource contention
• Deadlocks
• Waiting too long for unavailable resources

How to Solve Stuck Threads?

If you are trying to prevent thread stuck issues in Test Executions, here are some methods to do this effortlessly:

• Check thread Dumps to Identify the Cause – Thread dumps can be employed to see what is causing the stuck thread problem. Java thread dumps are possibly the most commonly used ones for this practice. At the same time, you can rely on monitoring tools or logs to find out why a thread might have become frozen. Java is one of the options, but you can also use programs like Thread Analyzer.
  
• Make Sure to Stay Away from Deadlocks – Deadlocks are common issues that lead to hung threads. To make sure that you prevent them, you should keep an eye on the locks and see if they are acquired in a consistent order.
  
• Configure the Thread Pool – You can also tune the thread pool configuration when the app utilizes a thread pool. This prevents resource contention, one of the main reasons for frozen threads. The procedure is simple. You should select a minimum and maximum thread number. Then, choose the timeout values, queue size, and more to have more control over your threads and their progress.
  
• Use Graceful Shutdown – Something that often works when it comes to preventing stuck threads or solving them is activating a graceful shutdown service. This helps solve stuck threads when the app shuts down. It cleans up the thread-held resources pretty nicely.
  
• Restart the Application – Sometimes, the good old restart is enough to solve a stuck thread. If clearing threads is necessary, restarting will do the job. But don’t do this from the get-go unless you want to lose your data – use it as a last resort only.

The Bottom Line

Stuck threads are annoying, but even automated testing services can deal with them. To avoid such issues, try implementing a graceful shutdown or configuring the thread pool accordingly. Avoid deadlocks and adequately analyze the thread dumps to find the real reason behind the problem. If nothing else works, you can restart the application.