Which method measures a system's performance by running it under controlled conditions?

Benchmarking is a method that measures a system's performance by running it under controlled conditions, typically against predefined standards or comparisons to other systems. This process involves executing specific tasks or workloads that reflect common usage scenarios, allowing for the evaluation of metrics such as response time, throughput, and resource utilization. The results are then analyzed to determine how well the system performs relative to the benchmarks set or compared to another system.

In contrast, profiling focuses on analyzing a program's execution to understand where time and resources are being spent, but it does not necessarily involve controlled performance measures against a standard. Stress testing is designed to evaluate how a system behaves under extreme workloads, pushing it beyond its limits to identify breaking points, whereas load testing examines system behavior under expected normal and peak loads, not necessarily in comparison to benchmarks. Each of these methods serves distinct purposes, but benchmarking specifically emphasizes the comparison of performance metrics under controlled conditions.