How can performance testing help identify potential bottlenecks in a system?

 What is a performance bottleneck?

A bottleneck refers to a specific point wherein a single component limits the capacity of an application or computer system. The component whether it is in the hardware infrastructure or the software stack can restrict the process flow. 

The system's overall capability is limited, which, in turn, leads to problems such as high levels of end-user frustration, long load times and increased downtime.

Following are the key tactics through which performance testing can help in identifying potential bottlenecks:

1. Utilizing the CPU: Performance bottlenecks can happen because of the usage of the CPU. This generally happens when the processor is not able to perform the requests asked of it. The system can be overloaded by too many processing requests, which, in turn, can cause slowdowns. 

CPUs handle information requests, run database inquiries, execute programs and process data effectively. When the data that can be processed is less than the data that needs to be processed then there is a possibility for a bottleneck to rise.

2. Utilizing the memory: The number of processes can be ascertained by the RAM resources of the server system your CPU will be able to perform. When the RAM is insufficient then the application's performance can be hindered. A memory utilization bottleneck can be repaired by upgrading the RAM's memory and speed.

3. Utilizing the network: if the amount of data transfer is limited due to insufficient network bandwidth then a network bottleneck can surface. The bottleneck limits the network's data flow thereby leaving end-users frustrated. If the network or a server communication device is overloaded when there is a hardware mismatch then a network bottleneck may arise.

4. Disk usage: Long term storage, which includes SSDs and HDDs can eventually raise an issue for hard-to-troubleshoot bottleneck. A disk usage bottleneck can create a problem with the physical disk size or how quickly the data is written or read from the disk. When multiple disk functionalities are included in the server-side code, then the bottleneck issue can be solved by upgrading to SSD disk storage.