Load Runner Architecture_One Stop

LoadRunner Architecture http://onestopsoftwaretesting.com

1 of 22 9/23/2008 8:53 AM

Architecture Overview

LoadRunner works by creating virtual users who takethe place of real users operating client software,such as Internet Explorer sending requests using theHTTP protocol to IIS or Apache web servers.

Requests from many virtual user clients aregenerated by "Load Generators" in order to create aload on various servers under test

These load generator agents are started and stoppedby Mercury's "Controller" program.

The Controller controls load test runs based on"Scenarios" invoking compiled "Scripts" andassociated "Run-time Settings".

Scripts are crafted using Mercury's "Virtual user scriptGenerator" (named "V U Gen"), It generatesC-language script code to be executed by virtualusers by capturing network traffic between Internetapplication clients and servers.

With Java clients, VuGen captures calls by hooking within the client JVM.

During runs, the status of each machine is monitored by the Controller.

At the end of each run, the Controller combines its monitoring logs with logs obtained from load generators, and makesthem available to the "Analysis" program, which can then create run result reports and graphs for Microsoft Word,Crystal Reports, or an HTML webpage browser.

Each HTML report page generated by Analysis includes a link to results in a text file which Microsoft Excel can open toperform additional analysis.

Errors during each run are stored in a database which can be read using Microsoft Access

Virtual Users (Vusers)

Unlike a WinRunner workstation whichemulates a single user's use of a client,LoadRunner can emulate thousands of VirtualUsers.

Load generators are controlled by VuGen scriptswhich issue non-GUI API calls using the sameprotocols as the client under test. But WinRunnerGUI Vusers emulate keystrokes, mouse clicks,and other User Interface actions on the clientbeing tested Only one GUI user can run from amachine unless LoadRunner Terminal ServicesManager manages remote machines withTerminal Server Agent enabled and logged into aTerminal Services Client session.

During run-time, threaded vusers share acommon memory pool. So threading supportsmore Vusers per load generator.

The Status of Vusers on all load generators startfrom "Running", then go to "Ready" after goingthrough the init section of the script. Vusers are"Finished" in passed or failed end status. Vusers are automatically "Stopped" when the Load Generator is overloaded.

No additional license is needed to monitor standard web (HTTP) servers (Apache, IIS, and Netscape).

To use Web Services Monitors for SOAP and XML, a separate license is needed, and vUsers require the WebServices add-in installed with Feature Pack (FP1)

Product Versions

Version 9.10 installer, available Feb. 2008, is 2.31 GB after expansion. However,the folder created after an English language install is 931MB.

Version 8.1 Feature Pack 4 patch installer LR81FP4P136.exe at 7,786,800 bytes,was signed on January 2, 2007 as file 8.1.4.0 (Build: 1735) is Recorder Version:1290

Note: Links to documents that used to behere were removed after Mercury Interactive,

Inc. lawyers demanded their removal. Page numbers in online pdf files are different(have more pages) than page numbers in thepaper document of the same title.

Although version 9.10 is now installed under


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1290.

Version 8.1 Feature Pack 4 installer LR81FP4.exe, at 194,644,720 bytes, wassigned on December 15, 2006 as file version 8.1.4.0 (Build: 2249) is RecorderVersion: 1289. This requires an upgrade to MS.NET 2.0 clients.

Version 8.1 Feature Pack 3 installer LR81FP3.exe, at 116,601,240 bytes, wassigned on June 18, 2006 as file version 8.1.3.0 (Build 2085). It installs (as an itemon your Start > Program Files) Microsoft WSE (Web Services Enhancements) 2.0SP3 to deploy security policies for sytems running .NET Framework 1.1.

Version 8.1 became available October 2005. In VuGen it adds a "Workflow View","Workflow Wizard", and a memory leak which is fixed with a patch downloadablesince Dec. 2005. It renames the VuGen "Execution Log" the "Replay Log".

Version 8.0 became available August 2004. It adds "Additional Attributes" toRuntime Settings. It also adds (for additional fee) diagnostics and tuningcapabilities, allowing Transaction Breakdown to breakdown transaction times acrossdifferent servers servicing various transaction layers (web server, Oracle 11i &Peoplesoft 8 app server, database) layers. It separates SQL time in execute, parse,and fetch times.

Version 7.8 Feature Pack 1 added support for Windows XP.

Version 7.8 became available September 2003.

Version 6.5 available June 2000 offered new "TurboLoad" technology -- acompletely new replay engine that runs thousands of vusers using a singleoperating system thread.

Version 6.0 used a separate thread per user, which required almost 10 times morei/o and CPU cycles than 6.5.

"HP", "Mercury" remains under ProgramFiles\Common Files, its \TDAPI\Client foldercontains files TDCIntui.dll and tdclient.dll.

These, the hidden folder C:\Config.Msi, theMacroVision folder (within Documents andSettings\All Users.WINDWS\ApplicationData), and many other files remain afteruninstall.

Over three thousand entries also remainwithin the Windows Registry after uninstall.

Application Components' Requirements

Loadrunner makes use of four executables with different system requirements

ApplicationProduct

ProcessImage Name V9.0

V8.0ImgKB

FileSize

Launcher LRLauncherApp.exe 15,840 16,288 n/a

Virtual User Generator VuGen.exe 23,980 12,436 2,334,769

Controller with On-Line Monitors wlrun.exe 61,312 13,076 5,681,215

Load Generator Agent magentproc.exe 3,336 3,236

magentservice.exe 3,496 65,536

mdrv.exe -

Analysis Analysisui.exe 64,460 13,132 6,058,496

Tuning Console protune.exe - 3,403,833

Console programsperl5.8.0.exe Interpreter 20,535

regtlb.exe registers the batch automation type library 30,720

sed.exe GNU sed (gsed) version 2.05 55,296

wdiff.exe Compares text files 197,632

Alex Arbitman's LR 7.8 Footprints.xls reports that to run Web requires __ per process and __ per thread.

Using Windows Remote Desktop Connection

Remote Desktop Connection (part of the Terminal Services that comes withWinodows XP) is not as reliable with LoadRunner as Remote Administrator.

To keep Windows Remote Desktop Connection sessions from timing out duringa test, the Terminal Services on each machine should be configured as follows:

Click Start, point to Programs (or Control Panel), Administrative Tools andchoose Terminal Services Configuration.

1.

Open the Connections folder in tree by clicking it once.2.Right-click RDP-Tcp and select Properties.3.Click the Sessions tab.4.Make sure "Override user settings" is checked.5.Set Idle session limit to the maximum of 2 days instead of the default 2hours.

6.

Click Apply.7.Click OK to confirm message "Configuration changes have been made to thesystem registry; however the user session now active on the RDP Tcp

8.

Quality Web Systems:Performance, Security,

and Usability(Addison-Wesley

Professional; Aug. 2001)

by Elfriede Dustin,Jeff Rashka,Douglas McDiarmid

The Web TestingHandbook (S T Q E Pub,

Jan. 2001) by StevenSplaine, Stefan P.Jaskiel, AlbertoSavoia is a goodoverview introduction, butdoes not make you anexpert


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HP's LoadRunner Support ispart of OpenView Support. Among common problemsinstalling LoadRunner: Windows2003 & XP SP2 have a DEP(Data Execution Prevention)feature which prevents VuGenrecording. Go to Control Panel,System -> Advanced tab,Performance section "Settings"button Data ExecutionPrevention tab and add theclient program or choose "Turnon DEP for essentialwindows programs andservices only." A reboot isrequired.

system registry; however, the user session now active on the RDP-Tcpconnection will not be changed."

Make sure that when you do this you're not violating one of your corporation'ssecurity policies.

Terminal Server only allows two simultaneous connections. To disconnect from asession, do not click "X" on the remote desktop window but click Start and Log Off.

expert.

LR Installation and Configuration

Download [after required registration] the trial from the HP Download Center.

I recommend that you put downloaded LoadRunner installation files and patches toa separate media such as a CD or USB drive. Then mark those files as read-only.

Disable your anti-virus software (Symantec, McAfee, etc.) before invoking oninstallers.

If you are running with an Intel chip, disable Intel Hyper-Threading technology byshutting down and entering BIOS. Microsoft's information on this.

Virus Detection engines may find that program regtlb.exe (whichregisters/unregisters type libraries) to contain a "virus" they call"Backdoor.Win32.PoeBot.15872". Automatic repair by the virus remover will breakthose files

To avoid LR 9.x VuGen recording problems on Windows XP SP2 and Windows2003, open Start > Control Panel > System, Advanced tab, click Performance settings. In the Performance Options DataExecution Prevention tab, select "DEP for essential services only", then reboot the machine.

The LR box comes with two CD's and this installation manual. Separate installation manuals are available for the Controller and Analysis modules.

The Windows CD autostarts to this initial screen for v7.8 and this initial screen for v8.0

You can install just a single component (such as VuGen) by (ironically) selecting "Full install" and then the"Custom" option to check the specific components to install. However,

due to a strange bug with v8.0, before you do that, first install the Load Generator, then return to install"custom" components.

The UNIX CD installs only the Load Generator (not the Controller or VuGen) on UNIX machines because the Controllerand VuGen only run on Windows machines.

Zero fill machine names to t001, ... t010, etc. The LR Controller sorts machines named t1, t2, ... t10 as t1, t10, t2.

Location of Program FilesThe LoadRunner installation program adds files in Program Files, Windows folder, and the Windows Registry that areNOT removed during un-installation.

If you get a "License violation" message, you need to get from HP support a one-day license key to install with.

Program Files (x86) is the default folder if you install LoadRunner on a 64 bit machine.

Different versions of LoadRunner are installed to different locations:

LoadRunner 9.1 executable files are installed to file path "C:\Program Files\HP\LoadRunner\bin"

LoadRunner 8.1 and 9.0 executable files are installed to file path "C:\Program Files\Mercury\LoadRunner\bin"

LoadRunner 8.0 "stutters" when it installs to its default file path "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Mercury LoadRunner\bin"

Note: Even though 8.0 uses a different folder, folders created by previous versions still need to be removed beforeits installation.

LoadRunner 7.8 executable files are installed to file path "C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\LoadRunner\bin"

When working with Java, instead of overridding these default installation folder to a path without spaces (such asC:\LR78) as recommended by KB article 11878, just use the equivalent DOS 8.3 file names:

For LoadRunner 8.1: C:\PROGRA~\MERCUR~1\LoadRunner\lib For LoadRunner 8.0: C:\PROGRA~\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\lib

To quickly get at this LoadRunner installation folder, create an environment variable named "LR91" so you can usea quick command such as

cd %lr81%

To get at this folder quickly, I created a batch file named "L.bat" in the cmd's default C:\ root folder containing this:

cd \Program Files\Mercury\LoadRunner\bin

pause

LoadRunner Architecture http://onestopsoftwaretesting.co

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pause

I created a shortcut to this file on my desktop and dragged it over Windows so that I can click into that folderfrom anywhere. The pause command ensures that the command window does not disappear automatically.Alternately, from within a command window I can just type "L" and press Enter.

Files in Windows Folders

This path specified is stored under [ProductEnv] as M_ROOT in file wlrun.ini. This file was in the C:\WINNT (orC:\Windows) folder until v9.10, when it moved within the LR Config folder.

The C:\WINNT (or C:\Windows) folder also holds the Maintenance Number (MPN) specified during installation, storedas a parameter named "LoadRunner_SerialNumber" (such as 1234-1234567890) in the mercury.ini file.

Start MenuSince LR 9.0, installers added links to the most used programs in

> Programs > LoadRunner

Before that, LR installers added links to the most used programs in

> Programs > Mercury Interactive > LoadRunner

However, some programs are installed which are not conveniently listed there, such as WDiff.exe v1.49 to compare differences between two ASCII text files. It has an accompanying help file

Beginning with v7, LoadRunner prevents software piracy (much like Microsoft began doing with Windows XP) byrequiring that a license key be provided within 10 days of installation. Mercury generates its license key based on a hostID generated on each computer. CPT12784.doc

With v7.x, to generate Generate a HostID key (such as "XCCWJU-APBE-BYDS") click down

Programs > Mercury LoadRunner > LoadRunner > License tab

The key can be obtained before installation from program licidgenerator.exe and (after registration) its lm70.dll fromthe installation CD folder \lrunner\lm70.nt\bin or \lrunner\setup\lm70.nt\bin.

Sample Apps / ProtocolsRunning the samples install program populates folder

C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\Mercury LoadRunner\

Copy the link location below into the "Program to record:" field:

Protocol Server Client Program Parameter Notes

Web WebTours\StartServer.bat http://localhost:1080/mercuryWebTours

COM/DCOM (Operating System) samples\bin\frsui.exe

Winsock sockfrs.exe samples\bin\flights.exe WinsockWinSockWeb

ODBC (MS Access) samples\bin\flights.exe ODBC_Access

CORBA samples\CorbaSamples\server.cmd& samples\CorbaSamples\server.bat

samples\CorbaSamples\client.cmd & samples\Corbasamples\clientrecord.cmd

StuartMoncrieff'sarticle onCORBA

RMI samples\RMISamples\server.cmd &samples\RMISamples\server.bat

samples\RMISamples\client.cmd & samples\RMISamples\clientrecord.cmd

According to CPT11877.doc, JDK 1.5 users need to contact Mercury Support for a patch to each specificLoadRunner version (7.6, 7.8 FP1 or 8.0). Otherwise, you'll get these messages:

Error: Failed to find javac.exe Java Compiler in Path and JDK installation folder in registry. [MsgId: MERR-22981] Error: Failed to compile the Actions.java file. Please add the \bin to the path and try again. [MsgId: MERR-22996] Warning: Extension java_int.dll reports error -1 on call to function ExtPerProcessInitialize [MsgId: MWAR-10485] Error: Thread Context: Call to service of the driver failed, reason - thread context wasn't initialized on this thread. [MsgId:MERR-10176]

The Java sample apps use the "flight32lr" User Data Source with Microsoft Access driver(*.mdb) in the USER DNS tablein Data Sources(ODBC) of the VuGen's local machine.

Additionally, the sample Java servers must be operational prior to starting the client. This is done with the"samples\RMISamples\server.cmd":

set lrpath=C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jre1.5.0_02\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes setlrclasspath=C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes;C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes\srv;C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jre1.5.0_02\lib\rt.jarset flightRmi=%~dp0;%~dp0RmiSamples.zip set classpath=%lrclasspath%;%flightRmi%;C:\PROGRA~1\Java\lib\rt.jar;.;%classpath% set path=%lrpath%;.;%path%

cd %~dp0 start java -Djava.security.policy="%~dp0RmiFlights.policy" RmiFlights.Server

Note the location of loadrunner class files I added to the default sample. They are pre-pended to the existingclasspath.

N t th t th i th fil th

27.


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Note that there are no spaces in the file path.

The Zip file is equivalent to a JAR file in Unix systems.

Do not delete the black command window because the Java server runs within it.

CORBA and RMI Java clients are invoked with a command for Windows to start the java.exe program. This"samples\RMISamples\client.cmd" file contains:

set lrpath=C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jdk1.5.0_02\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes setlrclasspath=C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes;C:\PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\classes\srv;C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jdk1.5.0_02\lib\rt.jarset flightRmi=%~dp0;%~dp0RmiSamples.zip set classpath=%lrclasspath%;%flightRmi%;C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jdk1.5.0_02\lib\rt.jar;.;%classpath% set path=%lrpath%;.;%path%

cd %~dp0

start java RmiFlights.main

Note that the RmiFlights.main class file name is passed into java for it to load.

When recording Java with VuGen, a different command — such as the sample clientRecord.cmd — needs to beinvoked because VuGen needs to be invoked within the JVM sandbox:

set flightRmi=%~dp0;%~dp0RmiSamples.zip set classpath=%flightRmi%;%classpath% cd %~dp0

start InvokeVugen.exe

The location of the JDK needs to be specified in the Windows PATH environment variable PATH to avoid thismessage:

Error: Failed to find javac.exe Java Compiler in Path and JDK installation folder in registry. [MsgId: MERR-22981]

VuGen "Java Vusers" can only operate as Single Vuser mode (not multi-vuser).

Instead of web "Start recording", Java VuGen scripts invoke Java functions within the Actions section. "vuser_init" and "vuser_end" actions are not relevant within Java VuScripts.

Internally, the cjhook.ini file specifies which Java classes can hook in its [EXC_SYSTEM_CL] section. Java classesspecified in the [SYSTEM_CL] section are not hooked.

The user.hooks file in LR \bin folder is a general format and cannot be used as-in. It needs to be copied.

Uninstall To uninstall LoadRunner, you must be logged in with the same Windows userID as was used during original

installation! If you use a different userid, the uninstall will delete only the dat folder which contains the "miuninst" file.

Unlike Microsoft Office applications, Mercury has not programmed invididual components to be selectively uninstalled onits own.

LoadRunner Internal Architecture

This Visio 2002 file is based on LR8.0


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application servers under test are placed under stress by1.driver processes mdrv.exe (the Multi-threaded Driver Process) and r3vuser.exe which emulate application clientssuch as Internet Explorer web brower. It performs 3 main actions:

Kli> cpp (C language pre-processor)cci (C pre-compiling) which creaes a file with ci file, and1.execute using the driver for the protocol technology being tested.2.

Runs can be invoked to run "silently" by invoking Mdrv.exe from a Windows batch script.

Mdrv can automatically stop loading Vusers because they communicate with Vusers and monitor CPU usage onWindows Load Generator machines.

A separate JVM is instantiated by each Java-based Vuser on Windows-based machines. Java Vusers are notsupported on Unix platforms.

2.

virtual Vusers are invoked as groups (logical collection of virtual users running the same script on a specific loadgenerator machine)

3.

by agents (3,900K magentproc.exe) running as a service or as a process4.on load generator client machines.5.

Each machine hosting agents maintains an Execution Log in a .qtp file.6.When logging is enabled, the agent also creates within the results folder a sequential log file for each Vuser (segregatedby Vuser group).

7.

During execution, this file is displayed in the view > Show Output window on the LoadRunner Controller machine.8.

Upon a pre-set delay, the Scheduler running on a Controller machine instructs agents (via Windows port 54345 ordynamic Unix port) to initiate test session scenarios. The Controller (wlrun.exe) sends a copy of scenario files alongwith the request.

9.

Agents are launched by the Remote Agent Dispatcher process (formerly called Remote Command Launcher (RCL)) oneach load generator machine.

10.

Each agent refer to scenario (.lrs) definition files to determine which Vuser groups and scripts to run on hostmachines.

This means the Controller can be started from a DOS batch (.bat) file (preferrably with a short name on a rootdrive):

REM Start Controller: SET M_ROOT=C:\Program Files\Mercury Interactive\LoadRunner\bin cd %M_ROOT% wlrun.exe -TestPath D:\Dev\Dev1.lrs -port 8080 -Run -DontClose pause Press Ctrl-Z to keep this window or

Including the -Run parameter is the same as manually pressing the "Start Scenario" automatically uponinvocation. This is not a good idea because you may have to decide about collating the file from a previous run orwant to change the output folder.This assumes that the system's environment PATH variable was updated to include where LoadRunner isinstalled.

11.

The Controller is invoked using parameter values within files in the Windows OS folder (WINNT for Windows 2000 andWINDOWS for Windows XP). The Windows folder is used because LoadRunner is designed to have only one instance ofController running at a time on a machine.

To quickly switch among several applications, save a copy of LoadRunner's ini files after working on it withinthe Controller, then use Notepad to craft a batch file to copy application-specific versions of ini files beforeexecuting wlrun. An example of file copy actions for application XXX:

copy %LRDir%/config/wlrun7-XXX.ini %LRDir%/wlrun7.ini copy %LRDir%/config/wlrun7-XXX.dft %LRDir%/wlrun7.dft

Prior to v9.0:

copy %WinDir%/wlrun7-XXX.ini %WinDir%/wlrun7.ini copy %WinDir%/wlrun7-XXX.dft %WinDir%/wlrun7.dft

Some defaults you might want to change:

In the wlrun7.ini file file [output] section, MaxNumberOfOutputMessages= from 10000 to 100000 for long runs.This limits the number of output messages stored in the database.MaxOutputUIRowsToShow limits the amount of messages/errors (lines) displayed in the Controller's Outputwindow.In the QTWeb.lrp file within the LoadRunner Program Files dat\protocols folder section [Vugen], add entryMaxThreadPerProcess=5 to limit the number of threads managed by each load generator mdrv.exe process.

Values for DefaultScenarioDir, DefaultScriptDir, DefaultResultDir, and [Recent File List] stored in the wlrun5.iniand wlrun7.dft files updated whenever values are changed within the Controller.

12.

The blocks of actions taken by each Vuser are13.defined in Vu scripts created using Loadrunner's VuGen.exe. When this program is invoked, it stores in theWindows folder a comparamui.INI file to save under "[LastTablesUsed]" a history of files and[ParamDialogDates] specified using menu option Insert > New Parameter > Dates.

VuGen stores and retrieves a vugen.ini file in the Windows folder. When using Java, enable additional debugoptions:

[DynaDlg]

14.


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JavaLevel=3

When using 8.0 scripts within VuGen 8.1, add to Vugen.ini:

[Editor] OLDEDITOR = 1

VuGen opens in LR folder template/qtweb default.cfg and script files.

Vu scripts can be coded to use variable values obtained from parameter files external to the script.

I have a lot more on VuGen here

During a run, execution results are stored to a results folder. I prefer to set Results Settings to "Automatically create a results directory for each scenario execution." which

means that LR will increment the name of the Results Name when I start a scenario runs. For example, a value of"Res11" will be automatically incremented to "Res12" or sometimes "Res11-1".

Errors are written to the output.mdb MS Access database. See the ASP page I have written to access this database

15.

Within each results folder, a "Log" folder is automatically created to contain a log file for each group. After a run, to

view a log file from within the Controller, click then right-click on a group to select "Show Vuser Log".

16.

As a scenario is run, monitors maintain counters locally on each host.17.

After a run, the "collate" process takes .eve and .lrr result files and creates in the results folder a temporary .mdb(MS-Access ) database.To prevent errors when processing large result files, use MSDE (Microsoft SQL Desktop Engine). Don't install it from theAdd-in folder on the LoadRunner 7.8 CD, which is obsolete SQL7. Download MSDE 2000 Release A which includes MSDE2000 Service Pack 3a and MDAC 2.7 SP1a for use by Analysis on any Windows machine. Extract the file and share thatfolder. Open a command window to run a command such as:

setup SAPWD="StrongPassword" INSTANCENAME="LR" SECURITYMODE=SQL DISABLENETWORKPROTOCOLS=0 /L*v path to log file

Using Windows Explorer, share the Data folder. Then in Analysis Options > Database tab, use 8.3 names without spaces (indentified with DOS command DIR /X):

Input the SAPWD password specified above.1.Logical Storage location: \\loadclient02\Data (the folder you shared)2.Physical Storage Location: C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1\MSSQL\Data (not C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQLServer\MSSQL\Data)

3.

Click "Test parameters". (This takes a few seconds)4.

18.

The Analysis Module (8,320K analysisu.exe)19.generates analysis graphs and reports using data from the .mdb database.20.The LoadRunner Results file results_name.lrr from each scenario run -- also called an Analysis document file -- is readby the Analysis program to display Percentile graphs.

21.

By default, the LRReport folder is created in the test analyst's local machine My Documents folder to store Analysis Sessionfiles.

22.

They can optionally be formated in HTML.23.Their format are controlled by a .tem template file.24.

Optionally, Mercury's Remote Performance Monitoring (RPM) MS-IIS/ASP web server for LoadRunner 7.8 can beinstalled on a Windows 2000 server ( but not on a Windows 2003 server) so that

25.

load test results to be viewed using a web browser.Not pictured is the LoadRunner Tuning Module (a separate $50,000 product). Mercury's "Get Ready" white paper

26.

Load Generator Agent Process vs. Service

During installation, at the User Login Settings screen:

selecting "Allow virtual users to run on this machine without user login"means the LoadRunner agent will be run as a SYSTEM service named"LoadRunner Agent Service". From within Window's Perfmon, this image isnamed magentservice.exe.

For better security, specify a separate service account userid andpassword so that permissions for it can be limited.

After installation, to tell if it's running , bring up the Windows Services list:

On Windows 2000, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools-> Services. On Windows NT4, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Services

You also need to enter the Services list to change the password or to unsetthe service as "Automatic".

selecting "Manual log in to the Load Generator " means the LoadRunner agentwill be run as a process named magenproc.exe. This approach means youneed to invoke the Load Generator from LoadRunner's \launch_service\bin folderevery time you boot-up that machine:

magentproc.exeYou can tell it's running by the "satellite dish" icon in the Windows task bar atthe lower right corner of your screen.


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To get the Agent to start up automatically after reboot, create a shortcut toit in the Programs\Startup folder.

As a process, the Windows operating system constrains the agent service fromrunning GUI (WinRunner, QuickTest Professional, etc.) or GUI-like scripts (Citrix,SAPGUI, etc.). Therefore, GUI and SAP Vusers cannot run if the Remote AgentDispatcher is installed on the Load Generator machine as a service rather than as aprocess.

After installation, to switch from running LoadRunner as a service to running as aprocess:

cd \PROGRA~1\MERCUR~1\MERCUR~1\LAUNCH~1\bin

magentservice.exe -remove

To install LoadRunner as a service:

magentservice.exe -install

These commands do not result in response messages. But they do put them_agent_attribs.cfg file in the load generator's C:\ root folder.

If you do not have Administrator rights and try to change the UserID: Admin andPassword: Admin, you will see message ERROR: "29972:- Failed to reset launcher statuscall back function reason:no monikor was passed.

On a UNIX machine, the agent is configured by editing the br_Inch_server.cfgfile in the dat folder under the LoadRunner root folder.

Confirm & Ensure Agent ReadinessAt the Controller's Load Generators dialog, you should see "Ready" (for the agentyou highlighted) after you click the "Connect" button.

Repeat these commands if you get message "Failed to connect to the agent. LoadGenerator not responding after timout Command line that was executed:"

If this still doesn't result in "Ready" Status, go to Windows Services on the loadgenerator client machine and kill, then remove the "LoadRunner Agent Service"before repeating the above commands.

Set FireWallServiceActive to 1 for true or 0 for false. Run bin/agent_config

Using network drive mappingsIf several load generators need to access the same physical files, rather thanhaving to remember to copy the files each time they change, each load generatorcan reference a common folder using a mapped drive. But since drive mappings areassociated with a specific user:

Logon the load generator as the user the load generator will use1.Open Windows Explorer and under Tools select Map a Network Drive andcreate a drive.

It saves time and hassle to have consistent drive letters across loadgenerators, so some organizations reserver certain drive letters for specificlocations.

2.

Open the LoadRunner service within Services (accessed from Control Panel,Administrative Tasks),

3.

Click the "Login" tab.4.Specify the username and password the load generator service will use. (Adot appears in front of the username if the userid is for the local domain).

5.

Stop and start the service again.6.

Controlling Load Generators and Monitoring Through a Firewall

The purpose of a firewall is to increase security by blocking communications andallowing communications only certain ports, such as 80 and 443 for HTTP andHTTPS traffic.

By default, the LoadRunner Controller uses TCP port 50500 to send data to TCPport 54345 on the Windows Load Generator.

The Load Generator sends information back via a dynamic port. through the MIListener.

To avoid having to beg Network Administrators for more ports to be opened, oneach load generator machine inside the firewall, from Start > Programs > ...LoadRunner > Advanced Settings > Agent Configuration(launch_service\bin\AgentConfig.exe) install the (Monitoring Over Firewallmachine) MoFW/RoWF agent. Check the option "Enable Firewall Agent".

It collects performance counters and sends them to a controller over a firewall.

LoadRunner 7.8 automates what LoadRunner 7.6 and earlier versionsrequired you to go into "Agent Settings" to change the mdrv.dat file withinthe dat folder where LoadRunner is installed The [FireWall] section should


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the dat folder where LoadRunner is installed. The [FireWall] section shouldbe changed to contain "FireWallServiceActive=1". This should cause the tinystoplight to turn green in the agent icon on the toolbar.

br_lnch_server.cfg

MoFW communicates with the MI Listener through port 443, so you can't have anyweb servers (like Apache WebTours, IIS, or Oracle HTTP servers) running on boththe machines.

Verify whether port 443 actually allows communication by running command andsubstituting the ip address in:

telnet 194.194.194.194 443

This should open a telnet window.

UNIX Load Generator uses a dynamic port that cannot be fixed.

When defining a "remote" load generator from within the Controller, click "Details"for the "Load Generator Information" dialog, where you can click the "Firewall" taband check "Enable Firewall".

Monitors on Windows & UNIX/Linux

Monitoring UNIX Machines Before starting a run on Linux, check to make sure that rstatd monitors are

active. If rstatd services are dropped when a server becomes too busy or isrestarted, LoadRunner 7.8 does not attempt to re-acquire information from rstatd.The work-around is to exit and reinitialize the Controller again.

MI Listener for HTTPS/SSL TrafficWhen agents send HTTPS traffic (through port 443) from behind a firewall, it usesthe "Monitoring over Firewall Component" and the Controller communicates uses asymbolic name for the agent through Mercury Interactive's MI Listener Machine(through port 50500) outside the firewall. Monitoring of Windows machines througha firewall use TCP port 139.

To test outside the firewall mercuryinteractive.com/products/protune_ds/ MercuryProTune Delivery Service

The monitoring of Webservices

Web Services LoadTesting Guide by MercuryInteractive

VuGen Recording & Scripting

LoadRunner script code obtained from recording in the ANSI C language syntax,represented by icons in icon view until you click Script View.

Before recording against applications running within Microsoft's .NET Framework \runtime on Window XP platform using LoadRunner7.8:

Back up trpfnc32.dll in the LoadRunner\bin directory.1.On the LoadRunner 7.8 CD, navigate to the \Patches\Trap_for_.net_patchfolder.

2.

Copy trpfnc32.dll to the LoadRunner\bin directory.3.

File Locations I recommend that you store all files to a drive letter you created (by mapping to

a folder). This makes it easier to override LoadRunner's defaults initially and alsoeasier to remain consistent when you change machines and drives over time,especially when several testers use LoadRunner.

By default, .htm and resource files captured during a script's development arestored in a data folder created for each script under folder X:\Program Files \ MercuryInteractive \ LoadRunner \ scripts .

Each script's run-time settings are stored in that script's .cfg file within each Vuserscript's directory for use by both VuGen.exe and the LR Controller.

VuGen stores and retrieves Windows Registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \Mercury Interactive \LoadRunner key RecentScripts everyscript.

VuGen also stores and retrieves Windows Registry key Test Results \ Recent FileList the location of every .qtp file generated.

The maximum number of scripts displayed in the Available Scripts list is stored inRegistry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Mercury Interactive \ RecentScripts \max_num_of_scripts

Each Vuser can apply a different weighting to iterate some action files morefrequently than others.

Data File Locations

By default, data files (containing URLs, userids, etc.) created within a script

Creating LoadRunner Vuser Scripts online guide

My LoadRunner Vu Scripting notes

Within the .usr file: Type=General-Java for "Java Vuser" and Type=Rmi-Java for "RMI-Java"


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y , ( g , , ) preside in that script's folder. I like leaving it there rather than moving it to thecommon root shared by all scripts because VuGen automatically copies those fileswhen you save or import a script. Plus, changing the data structure of a commonfile disables previous versions of the script.

I like random access to data files because it's a easy way to test multiple valuesfrom within VuGen — I just run the script again. However, since VuGen always usesthe first value when Sequential access is specified, to exercise multiple values Ihave to either change the data file or run the script again within the Controller.

BrowsersBrowser Type Browser Version Platform

Microsoft InternetExplorer

7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.01, 5.0, 4.0 HP-UX, Unix, SunOS, Win32, Windows, WinNT,WinXP

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6, 1.5.0.4, 1.5, 1.0.7, 1.0.6,1.0

Netscape Navigator 6.2, 6.0, 4.76, 4.6, 4.5, 4.0

Run Results FilesBy default, VuGen creates a new user named after the current user name. Forexample, a user named "Tester" will have run results under the C:\Documentsand Settings\ folder for a user named Tester.LOADTEST. VuGen automaticallysets the Windows environment variable TEMP to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp sothat results are written to that user's sub folder \Local Settings\Temp. The fullpath for user Tester would be

C:\Documents and Settings\Tester.LOADTEST\Local Settings\Temp

Results from each LR run is stored in its own folder under the "Results" folder.

When the Controller's Result Settings are changed, an .lrr (LoadRunnerResults) file is created in the directory specified in File > Save. Within thisfile's [Data Collection] section, FullData=1 enables viewing of whatever data wassaved. If this value is FullData=0 LR will not look for run results.When the scenario is started, it is updated with a start time in UNIX dateformat , such as:

[Scenario]Start_time=1018300521

In the Controller machine's Results folder specified for a run, theremote_results.txt (ASCII) text file lists the file path to the events (.eve)file automatically generated for each host name (ip address). Example:

[Hosts]10.0.95.109=d:\temp\brr_BGf.453\netdir\d\ecom\ecom1_s3\res3\10.0.95.109_20.eve

KB article 11367 notes that the _t_rep.eve events file contains binary Vuserand rendezvous info. There is a localhost_1.eve host event file for eachagent host. Their first line contains:

28 11 1018300521 2 4627103 22735576 5481115"

The 11 in the example above is the event code to start the scenario.The 1018300521 is the start time.

KB article 22538 notes that if this is not the same as the start time in the .lrrfile, a "Fatal error" will occur when opening an Analysis file.

The vuser.cfg configuration file contain run-time settings (think time,iterations, log, web) set within VuGen.The vuser.usp log file contain the script's run logic, including how actionssections runThe off_1.def definition file for graphs that describe online and othermonitors.The collate.txt file lists the paths to result and Analysis collation files.The output.mdb output MS-Access database file created by AnalysisThe offline.dat data file of sample monitor information.The log folder contains -- when logging is enabled -- res_dir\output.txtmessage files generated during replay under a folder for each group whichcontains a folder for each Vuser in that group.The sum_data folder contain graph summary .dat files.

If the lr_end_transaction command does not use exactly the same name as itscorresponding lr_start_transaction name, all subsequent actions will be under thattransaction.

If an Web SSL script works in the Controller but not vuGen, try changing thecontroller's Runtime Settings Preferences to "WININET replay instead of Sockets".

To enable VuGen to record nca_java_action and other functions against Javaobjects, the application server needs to be configured to provide the necessarydata. To do this, edit the startup HTML file that is called when the applet viewerbegins. Modify the line:

VuGen Test Resultsviewing

Mercury KB article 11367on "Manual collation ofresult set data" explains thisin detail.


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<PARAM name="serverArgs ............ fndnam=APPS"> and add the Oracle key "record=names": <PARAM name="serverArgs ............ fndnam=APPS record=names">

Controller Scenarios

Scenarios are specified within the Controller

Scenarios encapsulate the Vuser Groups and scripts to be executed on loadgenerators at run-time.

Manual scenarios can distribute the total number of Vusers among scripts basedon the analyst-specified percentage (evenly among load generators).

Goal Oriented scenarios are automatically created based on a specifiedtransaction response time or number of hits/transactions-per-second (TPS). Testanalysts specify the % of Target among scripts.

Run Scenario TypesThis table summarizes the typical settings for each type of run scenario

Menu Setting A. Speed B. Contention C.Overload D. Longevity

Controller # of Iterations 1 only Several Infinite

Run Options Frequency of output: Sample once every

1 second 10 seconds 1 minute 5 minutes

Run-timeSettings

Vusers 1 only max.licensed

# below "knee"

Logging Fordebugging

No

Think Time None RandomizedActual

Continue on error? No Yes

Network Speed Simulation Maximum No

Browser (cache) emulation No Yes

Content Checks Yes No

Schedule Ramp-up: Load all Vuserssimultaneously

Yes

Initialize Before Run? No Yes No

- Interval (seconds) 4 >4 30 ormore

Tools > Options >Monitors

Server Resource Monitors: DataSampling Rate

3 seconds (Default) 5 minutes

When scheduled to Run until completion, the Quantity for a Scenario is the number of vusers running one at atime.

When scheduled to Run for a period of time, the Quantity for a Scenario is the number of vusers runningsimultaneously. The time specified begins after the Ramp Up period, when all vusers have entered Run state. This specified time plusthe time it took to get all vusers into Run state becomes the total Elapsed Time of a time-limited run.

To run a specific number of vusers simultaneously, set the Parameter file in the script (in VuGen) to Abort afterreaching the end of file.

Scenario SettingsScenario Run Time Settings make use of Run logic scripts plus:

Pacing of how soon to start a new iteration (__ seconds after the previous iteration ends or at certain intervals). Logging - AdvancedTrace

Think TimeMiscellaneous Continue on error? Fail open transactions on lr_error_message

Under Network Speed Simulation of bandwidth, selection of anything other than "Maximum available" requires aseparate WAN Emulator license purchase to mimic WAN/Internet by slowing, dropping, and changing packetsbetween client and server. With the license, you can choose custom, or these rated speeds:

14.4 Kbps (Analog modem)28.8 Kbps (Analog modem)56 Kbps (Analog modem)64 Kbps (ISDN)128 Kbps (Dual ISDN)512 Kbps (DSL)

Browser Emulation: Simulate browser cache?Internet Protocol of Proxy or use of ContentCheck application

Th C t ll th tti i th l fil ifi d i th R lt S tti di l


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The Controller saves these settings in the .lrr file specified in the Results Settings dialog.

Advanced TraceIf Run-Time Settings has the "Advanced Trace" checkbox selected before the script is run, these lines will appear in theoutput log:

UTC (GMT) start date/time : 2005-08-02 02:31:30 [MsgId: MMSG-26000]LOCAL start date/time : 2005-08-01 21:31:30 [MsgId: MMSG-26000]Local daylight-Savings-Time: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26000]Some of the Run-Time Settings: [MsgId: MMSG-27142] Run Mode: HTML [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Download non-HTML resources: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Verification checks: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Simulate a new user each iteration: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Non-critical item errors as warnings: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] WinInet replay instead of Sockets: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] HTTP version: 1.1 [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Keep-Alive HTTP connections: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Max self Meta refresh updates: 2 [MsgId: MMSG-26844] No proxy is used (direct connection to the Internet) [MsgId: MMSG-27171] DNS caching: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Simulate browser cache: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Cache URLs requiring content (e.g., HTMLs): Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Additional URLs requiring content: None [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Check for newer versions every visit to the page: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Page download timeout (sec): 120 [MsgId: MMSG-26844] Resource Page Timeout is a Warning: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] ContentCheck enabled: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] ContentCheck script-level file: "C:\...\LrwiAedScript.xml" [MsgId: MMSG-26842] Enable Web Page Breakdown: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Enable connection data points: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Process socket after reschedule: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Snapshot on error: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Define each step as a transaction: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Read beyond Content-Length: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Parse HTML Content-Type: TEXT [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Graph hits per second and HTTP status codes: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Graph response bytes per second: Yes [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Graph pages per second: No [MsgId: MMSG-26845] Web recorder version ID: 5 [MsgId: MMSG-26844]

"[MsgId: MMSG-26842]" in LR 8.0 was "[MsgId: MMSG-26844]" in LR 7.8 "[MsgId: MMSG-26844]" in LR 8.0 was "[MsgId: MMSG-26846]" in LR 7.8 "[MsgId: MMSG-26845]" in LR 8.0 was "[MsgId: MMSG-26847]" in LR 7.8

Log FilesOne of the most common headaches with load testing is running of hard disk spaceduring a long run.

If a transaction fails, search the load generator machine for log files containingtext such as

xxx" ended with "Fail"

where xxx is the last few characters of the transaction name.

LR vuGen stores logs (for a "null" user) in the "output.txt" file.

LR Controller stores logs for each vuser within a folder hierarchy

starting from the folder specified when defining Generators. Then under that folder the Generator creates folders with names such as"brr_rf2.63". Under each of those folders is a netdir folder, which contains the folderspecified for Results within the Controller.

When log files grow beyond a megabyte,Notepad cannot open the file. So you needa text editor program that does not try toload the entire file into memory before

displaying it, such as Freeware Edit PadLite from gsoft or HexEdit

Efficient Search from Sowsoft worksfaster than Microsoft's search, andretrieves your specifications it stores in theWindows Registry.

Controller SchedulesOne minor irritation with the Schedule UI is that different words are used for selections are summarized. Rampdown is not shown at all on the summary page.

Groups exists with a scenario. So "Scenario Scheduling" involves changing settings for all groups.

Mode: Scenario Duration: Load Behavior:

Scenario Scheduling __ Schedule byScenario:

Within Duration tab:__ Run Until Completion

__ Run for ________ HH:MM:SS__ Run indefinitely (forever)

Within Ramp Up tab:__ Load all Vusers simultaneously (default) __ Start __ Vusers every ___ HH:MM:SS Within Ramp Down tab (if Run for limitedduration): __ Stop all Vusers simultaneously __ Stop __ Vusers every ___ HH:MM:SS

Group Scheduling __ Schedule by Group (for each script):

Unknown duration Defined per scenario group

__ Initialize all Vusers before Run?

One way to determine appropriate ramp up time to specify is to set vusers to start simultaneously, then look at theresulting rate Running Vusers drop off after processing (such as 10 users within a 15 second span).

Controller Online Graphs


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Controller Online Graphs LR allows up to 16 graphs to display in the Run tab. I like to use all 16 of them with metrics in this arrangement:

Transactions Secondary System Resources

Runtime: Running Vusers + # Connections

Error Statistics UNIX Load Avg WinThreads

Transaction: Response Time(sec)

- UNIX CPU Util Win CPUUtil

Total Trans/Sec per Second Hits + Pages Downloaded + Connections+ SSL

UNIX Paging -

Throughput (bytes) Network Delay UNIX DiskTraffic

-

Merging Graphs In both the Run chart and Analysis graphs, I prefer to merge into a single graph "Response Time" and "Running

Vusers" and/or "Number of Connections".

These are usually the most important relationships under study.

Per Second GraphsI also merge "Per Second" metrics together on one graph:

"Hits per Second" — the number of hits on the Web server (y-axis) as a function of the elapsed time in thescenario (x-axis). This graph can display the whole scenario, or the last 60, 180, 600 or 3600 seconds. You cancompare this graph to the Transaction Response Time graph to see how the number of hits affects transactionperformance."HTTP Responses per Second" — the number of HTTP status codes, which indicate the status of HTTP requests, forexample, "the request was successful," "the page was not found" returned from the Web server during eachsecond of the scenario run (x-axis), grouped by status code."Pages Downloaded per Second" from the server during each second of the scenario run. This graph helps youevaluate the amount of load Vusers generate, in terms of the number of pages downloaded. Like throughput,downloaded pages per second is a representation of the amount of data that the Vusers received from the serverat any given second."Pages Downloaded per Second" from the server during each second of the scenario run. This graph helps youevaluate the amount of load Vusers generate, in terms of the number of pages downloaded. Like throughput,downloaded pages per second is a representation of the amount of data that the Vusers received from the serverat any given second.Total Transaction per Second (Passed)Total Transaction per Second (Failed)Connections + SSL

LR does not remember most scenario graph settings (4 graphs is the hard coded default). So instead of buildinggraphs from scratch, I start from opening and then changing my custom but standard scenario file.

Delete graph definitions you don't need to ever see. LR collects data for graphs even if it is not displayed.

KB 26817: By default, the Controller online monitor shows a maximum of 20 measurements for each graph. To increaseit, go to the LoadRunner\dat\online_graphs directory to modify the value of MaxDispMeasurments= in the filecontrolling each type of graph:

Description File Name

All generalsettings.ini

System Resource Graphs online_resource_graphs.rmd

Runtime Graphs online_runtime_graphs.def

Transaction Graphs online_transaction_graphs.def

Web Resource Graphs online_web_graphs.def

Streaming Media online_web_graphs_mms.def

Default counters for the System Resource, Microsoft IIS, Microsoft ASP, or SQL Server monitors are defined in theres_mon.dft file within the LoadRunner/dat folder. Its values can be pasted from the [MonItemPlus] section withinscenario .lrs files.

UNIX Resources and some other graphs are continuously updated even after the test is done. So immediatelyafter the scenario runs, right-click on the graph to freeze the values displayed to lock in values associated with othergraphs.

Installation tip: If the Web Resource Graph is blank, try re-registering .dll files by running MS-DOS Batch Filesresister_controller.bat and set_mon.bat in the LoadRunner\bin folder.

Actions are executed sequentially in the order shown in Run-time Settings. However, transactions that start andstop between two observations will appear to be running simultaneously even if they were actually executedsequentially. An observation interval of 4 seconds is the most often that you can set for Controller on-line graph (toprevent too much CPU-intensive graphic refresh time from consuming the Controller machine). But Analysis reports willshow more granularity than on-line graphs — down to 1 second.


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Protocol Graphs & Script Prefixes

The Controller is invoked based on values in the wlrun5.ini file within the WINNT (Windows OS) folder. Services are listedhere in order of appearance in the Controller's Available Graphs pane. VuGen records general function names withprefix lr_ in C or lr. in Java for CORBA/RMI Vusers. Other prefixes:

CalledService[Graph]

Protocol/Product Templatefolder Header Notes

Custom / General C [WebJS] lrc lrun.h,global.h

Visual Basic General-Vba -

VBscript type scripts General-Vb -

Javascript Vuser General-Js global.js

Java General-Java -

E-Business WebResource(eBusiness)

[HTTP]/HTML, SSL, Web Services

http, web,General-Js

as_web.h

FTP FTP mic_ftp.h

(Operating)[System Resource]

Microsoft (Memory, Network, System, NTDS, Objects,Paging, Disk, Queue, Processor, Thread), WindowsDHCP/IAS, UNIX, SNMP, Antara Flame Thrower, SiteScope

- -

[Network] Winsock Proxy, Network Delay Time winsockWinSockWeb

lrs.h

[Firewalls] CheckPoint Firewall-1 (no Cisco?) - -

[Web ServerResource]

Apache, iPlanet/Netscape, iPlanet (SNMP), MS-IIS - -

[Web ApplicationServer]

Ariba, ATG Dynamo, MS ASP, ASP.NET, Broadvision(4.5-5.4 & 5.5-6.x), ColdFusion, BEA WebLogic, FujitsuINTERSTATE, iPlanet (NAS), Oracle9iAS HTTP Server,SilverStream, WebLogic, IBM Websphere (4.x-5.x & EPM)

- -

Client/Server[Database ServerResource]

IBM [DB2_CLI], MSSQLServer 2000/ 7.5, ODBC, Sybase CTlib, Sybase Dblib Siebel DB2 CLI, Siebel MSSQL, Siebel Oracle

Siebel_web lrd.h lrdtypes.h

Oracle NCA Oracle_NCA orafuncs.h

[Streaming Media] Media Player Client / Windows Media Server - mic_media.h

Real Client, Real Server real lreal.h

[ERP/CRM ServerResource]

SAPGUI, SAP Portal, SAP CCMS PeopleSoft (Tuxedo)

Sapgui,SAP_Web

as_sap.gui.h

Siebel Web Server, Siebel Server Manager

- lrdsiebel.h

Baan baan -

DistributedComponents [JavaPerformance]

J2EE, CORBA-Java

- -

[ApplicationComponent]

Microsoft COM/DCOM, COM+ com -

.NET CLR dotNet -

Enterprise JavaBeans

EJB, RMI-Java - -

[ApplicationDeployment]

Citrix ICA MetaFrame XP Citrix ctrxfuncs.h

[Middleware] IBM WebSphere MQ (WMQ) messaging (usingCommerceQuest, Inc. MQTester & MQMonitor avail. sinceSep. 2003)

- -

MSMQ , Tuxedo, Jacada - -

Mailing POP3 POP3 mic_pop3.h

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - mic_smtp.h

IMAP (Internet Messaging) IMAP mic_imap.h

MAPI ( MS Exchange) MAPI mic_mapo.h

Networking MS-DNS, Antara.net Load, SNMP DNS -


15 of 22 9/23/2008 8:53 AM

Service Summary Counter Components

ASPRequests

Volume: Total count of requests spanningthe elapsed time (T) over anentire run

Not Found

Rejected

Errors

(Accepted &Completed)

Pipeline Queue Length:Current (instantaneous count of)Requests

Queued(waiting)

Executing

Residence Time secondstransactions spend at the server

Wait time

Service time

Utilization percentage the serverprovides services

Waiting

Busy

Throughput Rate of completions persecondRequests/secTransactions/sec

Errors/sec

(valid/sec.)

g , ,

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) LDAP mic_mldap.h

ApplicationServices

Tuxedo - lrt.h

MS-Content Management Systems - -

Wireless i-Mode I_Mode -

VoiceXML voiceXML -

WAP wap -

Legacy TerminalService

327x (IBM mainframe) UNIX RTE (Remote TerminalEmulation)

rte lrrte.h

ApplicationTraffic Management

F5 BIG-IP - -

Transactional Web Request Counters

It can be confusing to look down a list of counters. SoI developed this table to visualize the differenceamong counters for a single service. Counters for theASP service is typical of all other counters itsaspects: Volume, Pipeline Queue Length, andThroughput Rate of completion.

Component counters on the right column shouldtotal to the value of the summary counter on the left.A total counter is broken down into detail counters.

Metrics in parentheses, such as (Accepted), are notcollected by the system because they are assumedand can be derived by subtracting from the total allother related counters.

ASP metrics does not include Residence time (thesum of Wait time and Service time) and Utilization.

The $800 SPECweb99 (v1.0 announced 1999) andSPECweb99_SSL (March 2002) pre-defined workloadgenerators benchmark the number of WWW serverconnections per second specific hardwareconfigurations can sustain require a sustainedthroughput of 400 and 320 Kbps in order for itsmeasurements to be considered conforming.

An Analysis of Web Server Performance" http://www.research.ibm.com/people/i/iyengar/ton04.pdf by IBM MasterInventor Arun Iyengar

The free Mindcraft WebStone 2.5 benchmark improves on the 1995 version originally from Silicon Graphics by alsosimulating the activity of 100's of web clients on a computer making GET calls to CGI and server API as well as staticHTML pages. Its run rules currently does not support POST, SSL, Authentication, HTTP 1.1, HTTP 1.0 keep-alives,Cookies, dynamic workloads with database access.

Sample Test Results of runs using Web Server Stress Tool from network monitoring company Paessler

Web Performance

The TPC (Transaction Performance Council's) TPC-W Web eCommerce benchmark (first announced July 2000 & withv1.8 published Feb 2002) measures the number of Web Interactions processed Per Second (WIPS) from a "WebInteraction Mix" of Shopping (WIPS), browsing (WIPSb) and ordering (WIPSo) transactions simulating a retail bookstorewith 14 web pages, including shopping cart functionality. The top audited price/performance result on 01/28/02 is aTCO-based range of US$24.50 - $277.08/WIPS using IIS5 & SQL2000 within Windows 20003AS on a Dell server.Audited performance characteristics are detailed by web server, web cache, database server, and image server. Thebenchmark measures scalability by providing a Remote Browser Emulator (RBE) executable that (without client caching)simulates 2880 different users accessing databases at various scales (10,000 or 100,000, etc. unique product itemswithin a schema of 8 tables) on database servers with 2 to 4 gigabytes of memory (with a 30 second non-SSL cachetime-out). So TPC-W requires a network topology that supports several 100 Mbytes/sec of data. User think time isbased upon a distribution with an average of 7 seconds and a maximum of 70 seconds. Article by Wayne D. Smith,Intel Corporation

Web (Apache/IIS) MonitorsApache web servers provide a much small number of monitors than Microsoft IIS

#Busy Servers - Number of servers in the busy state.1.#Idle Servers - Number of servers in the idle state.2.Apache CPU Usage - Percentage of time the CPU is utilized by the Apache server.3.Hits/Sec - The HTTP request rate.4.KBytes Sent/Sec - The rate at which data bytes are sent from the Web server.5.

Loadrunner obtains values for these counters from issuing http://server /server-status?auto

The number and description of Apache counters are specified in LoadRunner's \dat\monitors\apache.cfg file.


16 of 22 9/23/2008 8:53 AM

p p p \ \ \ p g

Counters= specifies the number of counters (5 by default).Counter1= specifies the name of the counter as it appears in the HTML page returned from the server. If this ismispelled, LoadRunner will issue "Monitor name :Apache. Parsing error, cannot find token..."Label1= The counter UI label.Description1= for the counter.KeepPrevValue1=0 shows the value as is, 1 shows the rate.

This file should be replaced with apache_2.0.x.cfg if you are using Apache v2.

Transaction Response Times

End-to-end GUI response time is the total elasped "round-trip" time from when a user initiates action (such asclicking a submit button on a web browser) -- plus time for going through the network and for Middleware (such as IBMWebsphere MQ or Tuxedo 6/7) and server processing -- to when a response from the web server is completely receivedand the user can act on the server's response:

A. GUI Client

API

B. ExternalInternet

WAN

C. Front-facingWeb

servers

D. InternetFirewalls& routers

E. Loadbalancers

F. Middleware (App servers)

G. Database Server

To identify bottlenecks, more granular transaction metrics are needed:

Network and Server response times are measured by running non-GUI Vusers on the client machine.

GUI file download response times are calculated by comparing GUI end-to-end times vs. Non-GUI total times.

GUI client display (paint) times are obtained manually (with a stopwatch).

Middleware to Server response times are obtained only by running Vusers issuing the separately licensedmiddleware API to the app server.

Individual server response time are obtained by running Vusers on a machine directly connected to the appserver (not just on the same subnet together).

Difference in Transaction Time from several runs allow different loads to be compared in a Transaction Analysisgraph.Each transaction measure performance of one or more action steps. [Workbook 3-17]

In Transaction Performance graphs, "Top time" transaction results point to bottlenecks in the system in that they,irrespective of system load -- require significantly more than the average time to complete.

Ramp-up and ramp-down by the Scheduler affect this.

Web Page Breakdown

The Transactions Per Second (passed and failed) and Transaction Response Time obtained from user-defined datapoints from Virtual Users are detailed by Web Page Breakdown Graphs which break down Virtual Users' client-sidetransaction times obtained from Web Server Resource Monitors.


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Web Page Breakdown graphs are available in Analysis only if before the run, in LR8 Controller Diagnostics menuDistribution... dialog, BOTH the "Enable the following diagnostics" and the "Web page Diagnostics" checkbox arechecked. AND they are added in the Analysis program.

This explains the default order of Page Download Time Breakdown graph measurements:

Protocol Metric Measurement Description InfrastructureTechnologies

HTTP/S [Client Time] the average amount of time that passes while a request is delayed on theclient machine due to browser think time or other client-related delays. Thisdoes not include time for Flash to paint graphics (which takes many seconds).

-

[ConnectionTime]

is the time needed to establish an initial connection with the Web serverhosting the specified URL. This gives a good indicator of problems along thenetwork. It also indicates whether the server is responsive to requests.

-

[DNSResolutionTime]

time needed to resolve the DNS name to an IP address. If the hosts filecontains the IP/host name pair under test, this should be very quick.Otherwise, the DNS server specified for the TCP/IP Properties is used. DNSLookup measurement is a good indicator of problems in DNS resolution, orproblems with the DNS server.

-

[Error Time] the average amount of time that passes from the moment an HTTP request issent until the moment an error message (HTTP errors only) is returned

-

[First BufferTime]

time that passes between when the initial HTTP GET/PUT request until thefirst buffer (8K large) is successfully received back from the Web server. Thismeasurement is a good indicator of Web server delay as well as networklatency. (Time to First Buffer)

-

FTP [FTPAuthenticationtime]

time taken by the FTP server to authenticate the client before it startsprocessing the client's commands. This measurement is applicable only tocommunications using FTP (not HTTP/S) protocol. So HTTP transactions wouldalways show zero (0) for this metric.

HTTP/S [Receive Time] time that passes between when the first byte to when the last byte arrivesfrom the server -- when downloading is considered complete. The Receivemeasurement is a good indicator of network quality look at the time/size ratioto calculate receive rate). This is the metric reported by LoadRunner function

longLastByteMSecs=web_get_int_property( HTTP_INFO_DOWNLOAD_TIME );

HTTPS [SSLHandshakingTime]

time taken to establish a Secure Socket Layer connection (includes the clienthello, server hello, client public key transfer, server certificate transfer, andother stages).

If this value is high during high load, the web server may benefit fromadditional technologies such as an encryption daughter board on the webserver or a load balancer device that also performs SSL encryption.

Time to First Buffer Breakdown (Over Time) GraphThe Time to First Buffer Breakdown (Over Time) graph separates server- or network-related time (in seconds).

Each column represents a different hit (resource). The Average and Maximum

LRAnalysis70.iniThe Analysis module reads and saves its setting in the LRAnalysis70.ini file with in the Windows directory (C:\Winnt orC:\Windows on Windows XP). To enable LoadRunner 7.8 Webpage Breakdown graphs to display URLs with a lengthgreater than 25 characters, add a SURLSize entry in the [WPB] section to specify 255 (the maximum):


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g , y [ ] p y ( )

[WPB]SURLSize=255

Also, in the LoadRunner\bin\dat directory, use MS Access 2000 to open loader2.mdb or use MS Access 97 to openloader.mdb. Highlight the Breakdown_map table, select design view, and change the "Event Name" column size to255.

Web Server Resource Monitors (Virtual Users):The First Buffer Breakdown graph also displays Server and Network time of each Web page component's relativeserver and network time (in seconds) for the period of time until the first buffer is successfully received back from theWeb server. If the download time for a component is high, this graph can be used to determine whether the problem isserver- or network- related.

The Throughput graph shows the amount of throughput on the Web server (y axis) during each second of the scenariorun (x axis).

The Hits Per Second graph shows the number of hits on the Web server (y axis) as a function of the elapsed time inthe scenario (x axis).

Measurement Calculations

The less time per transaction, the greater a system's throughput, as expressed bythe formula derived from Little's Law:

Server Thruput = # of real simultaneous users / ( Average Response Time +Think Time )

So when no think time is used, the number of virtual users can be calculated bythis formula suggested by Menasce & Almeida:

# of real simultaneous users * [ Response Time / ( Response Time + ThinkTime ) ]

For example, to simulate 1,000 real users using 2 second response time and 20second think times:

1,000 x [ 2 / ( 2 + 20 ) ] = 91

Errors If you define a transaction within another transaction, an error will be counted

twice in the Controller Scenario Status Failed Transactions statistic, one undereach transaction summary.

System Loadis measured by a rate -- the total number of tasks performed during a certainperiod (an hour, day, week, month, quarter, year, etc.). Example: 300 transactionsper second.

There can be several levels of load:

Peak number per hour or per second is typically used for system sizing.Normal load levels are used to plan on-going support requirements.Low load levels are used to plan the percentage of resources which can betaken off-line for repairs and upgrades.

Task Distribution Profilespresent a two-dimensional view of the number of tasks performed over continuoussegments on a timeline.

A prioritization of metrics (Crucial, Primary, Minor) on Mercury's PTN List ofMonitoring Environments

A Risk Profile may also include an estimation of risk of malfunction and likelihood ofimpact to the business.

Ivan Maclaine (fromQualtech Australia)

offers a conciseIntroduction to

LoadRunner whichincludes a definition of

Black & White-Boxtesting, a description

of LR productcomponents, and asummary of load

testing methodology.

Mercury summarizesits approach with

technical white paperLoad Testing to PredictWeb Performance in

html and 471KBAdobe pdf formats.

A separate license isrequired for Mercury's

Network Monitor.

Measures of Variation

The average measures the central tendency in a group of numbers. For example,the average of 10, 20, and 30 is 20 . This is calculated by adding all three numberstogether (10 + 20 + 30 = 60) and dividing this sum by the number of items addedtogether (in this example, three).

Standard DeviationStandard deviation is a statistical measure of the extent of variation in a set ofdata. The standard deviation tells you the extent of the spread of individual itemsaround the average.

The number in the 90% column is shown after a run is completed in the Analysisprogram, not in the Controller) because it is calculated by sorting all items byvalue obtained during the run, then identifying the value associated the item atthe top 10% of all items.

The CV (Coefficient of Variation) makes the standard deviation number

"The "User Experience,Not Metrics" 9 part whitepaper on PerformanceEngineering [Summary] byScott Barber of Noblestar isbased on Rational'sPerformance Studio, but theconcepts are relevant toLoadRunner as well.

"Beyond PerformanceTesting" addresses theiterative process whathappens after initial testresults are collected, the


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The CV (Coefficient of Variation) makes the standard deviation numbereasier to comprehend by representing it as a multiple of the average.

Statistical SignificanceMeasures of variation are necessary to determine whether two averages aredifferent enough to not have occured by mere chance. Results need to bestandardized to a standard distribution in order to determine the extent of randomchance. This is a mathematical technique called ANOVA (ANalysis of Variance), anextension of the t-Test to an arbitrary number of factors and levels. The shape ofthe standard distribution could be bell-shaped normal distribution or an exponentialgamma distribution.

If one average is larger than the 90% number of another average, there is a goodchance are that there is a significant difference between the two averages.

But a statistically significant effect is not necessarily practically significant.

part it takes a human brainto accomplish.

Using the Analysis Module

By default, the Analysis Summary is filtered to include think times. So aftereach run, click the global filter tunnel icon, scroll down to the "Think Time" Filtercondition and uncheck the box.

Merged Graphs defined in the Controller are not carried over to Analysis. Soyou have to recreate them.

To combine/merge graphs such as "Running Vusers" and "Transaction Responsetime":

Select "Overlay Graphs" or... In the Analysis tool, mouse over the "Running Vusers" graph and right-click(for the vertical X-axis).

1.

Select "Merge Graphs".2.For the 'graph to merge with', select "Average Transaction Response Time"(for the horizontal Y-axis).

3.

Check the radio button for "Correlate".4.

Popular reasons for duplicating a [Whole Run] graph are listed below.

[initial] - the ramp-up period, good for identifying limits.[cap] - Limits outlyers so less relatively less volatile measures are moreapparent.[flat] - after the ramp-up period.

I like to erase the default name "Copy of ..." and at the end of the graph nameadd a marker such as the words in brackets above. This is so that similar graphsremain vertically aligned.

Are there others?

The Analysis Module can cross-result native Windows NT/200X Perfmon statistics within graphs of LoadRunner output.

HTTP Status Codes (W3C.org's detailed explanation)

Colors are selected by Analysis pretty much at random — so (annoyingly) thesame color can be used for two different lines on the same graph. [you would thinkit should be smarter than that]

Since you have to manually assign colors anyway, consider using a standardset of basic colors for major metrics:

Major Metric color

Running Vusers beige upper left corner

Average Transaction Time green

Data Throughput purple

Transactions Per Second blue

Excel files generated with the HTML report are scaled. So either change all scaleto 1 before creating the HTML report, or multiply the numbers in the spreadsheet.

Importing External Data for AnalysisTo import data from other monitoring applications into LoadRunner Analysis forstatistical calculation, graphing, and auto-correlation with stats LoadRunnerController collects:

Open an Analysis result file.1.Select Tools -> External Monitors -> Import Data.2.Select the format, date, time, then click "Next". (Supported file formats are.csv, .xls, or .log) Defined your own data format of an import file.

3.

NT Performance Monitor (*.csv)Win 2K Performance Monitor (* csv)

The output.mdb outputMS-Access database filecreated by Analysis


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Win 2K Performance Monitor ( .csv)Standard Comma Separated file (*.csv)Standard Microsft Excel file (*.xls)Master-Detail Standard Comma Separated file (*.csv)Master-Detail Microsoft Excel files (*.xls)<Custom File Format>

Selecting this would create a "New Format Name".Click "Add file".4.Click "OK" to add the monitor.5.

Click Tools > "Export Custom Graphs Settings..." to store the format in a*.axm file so that the format can be reused after the current session. Theycontain the name of the monitor and information about the X-axis and Y-axis.

6.

IP Spoofing

When testing using Web and WinSocket protocols, by default Vusers on each hostmachine use the host's (agent's) IP address. Since a particular server keeps servinga specific IP address, load tests would reflect network router caching and otheroptimizations rather than the real-life situation where different users arrive to theserver with different IP addresses. This is especially needed when the hardwareconfiguration under test balances load across a "farm" of several (web or database)servers. "IP spoofing" enables each host machine to "spoof" the server intothinking it is using many different IP addresses.

First, internal IP addresses (such as 192.168.1.1) may need to be allocated by theorganization's Network Administrator unless you're working in a closed network.

The IP Wizard program(ipwizard.exe in LR bin) is usedto define multiple IP addresseson each load generator host.However, the hosts must usestatic IP addresses rather thanDHCP to dynamically assignaddresses.

Note: IP addresses include two components, a netid and hostid. The submaskdetermines where the netid portion of the address stops and where the hostidbegins.

When a host machine is re-started, routing tables are updated with the newaddresses.

The IP Wizard program creates a batch file (nt_routing.bat for Windows andunix_routing.bat for UNIX machines) and .ips file which updates IP tables.

To enable multiple IP Addressing At the LoadRunner Controller, pull down menuitem Scenario, check "Enable IP Spoofer" (In earlier versions, "Enable Multiple IPAddresses"). This enables "Multiple IP address mode" in the Options dialog Generaltab, which appears after "Expert mode" is checked on the Tools drop-down menu.IP allocation should be consistent with the way users are running. If users arerunning as a process then the IP allocation should be done as a process, and ifusers are running as a thread then IP allocation should be done as a thread

After turning IP spoofing on or off, for the setting to take effect, the LoadGenerator needs to be disconnected and reconnected again.

Certification in LoadRunner

As of July 15, 2008: HP abandoned use of the "HP Certified Professional"designation.

To become an ASE (Accredited Systems Engineer) of HP's Performance Centerv9.0, take two exams each costing $750. In Aug. 08, it is conducted once a month(on a Friday) only at HP education vendor SkyIT in New York City, NY 10001 (2Blocks S. of PENN Station) 330 7th Avenue, 12th Floor. Phone: 866.641.6017,(919) 544-2354 Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Register HP0-M83 (Scripting using HP Virtual User Generator Software) Theperformance-based activities of this exam require you to:

Script custom parameterization and auto-correlation codeFix a broken scriptEnhance a scriptCreate a fully functional Vuser script

Register HP0-M84 (Performance Testing using HP LoadRunner SoftwareSoftware) The performance-based activities of this exam require you to:

Design a manual scenarioExecute a scenarioAnalyze load test results

You are given 3 hourse to answer 70% of 60 multi-choice questions.

CPC Exam: any advice?

Interview Questions


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As of September 1, 2008, HP no longer recognizes Mercury's CPC (Certified ProductConsultant) certification, which cost $2,500 and took 8 hours at a Mercury office.(about 5+ hrs of programming and 3+ hrs of questions, at your own discretion). Soif you devote a steady 8 solid hours of study each week, you'll need (36/8) 5weeks.

User Hangouts

Before allowing you into their product support pages or receive your calls at408.822-5400 (press 1 for support, then 3 for LoadRunner) Mercury requires thatyou provide your “Maintenance Number” (MPN) from your product box. Thisnumber is stored in the "LoadRunner_SerialNumber" entry in the mercury.ini filecreated during installation within C:\WINNT. This is, in effect, is the extremeopposite of the open-source paradigm.

On the Mercury site, don't use a password you want to keep secret (such as theone you use to enter bank bill paying sites) because Mercury.com stores yourpassword in plain text (unencrypted) within a internet browser cookie — named"password" no less!

Loadrunner Yahoo Group has amassed over 10,000 messages since 1999. Topcontributors include founder Mark McWhinney (Portata.com), Tim Nichols, James Pully, Kevin Quinn, Steve Cheney, MichaelFoley, Vishnu Reddi

The LoadRunner forum on QAForums.com -- moderated by Ilia and Jeff Nyman(of GlobalTester.com). -- uses a feature-rich system to host an active communityon several software quality topics. Top contributors include Scott Barber

Google group comp.software.testing has "loadrunner" threads among othertopics. I have written to Google about splitting it up.

The TCQAA Mercury Forum has had few entries, but worth an occassional look.

Performance Tester.com by Canadian Roland Stens offers a Forum, KnowledgeBase, etc. using Wiki, RSS, etc.

Testing reflections blogs by Suresh Nageswaran and others.

Mercury Interactive used to have an Academic Access Program supports schoolssuch as Santa Clara, CA to deliver this course.

LoadRunner competes with several other loadtesting products and services

LoadRunner jobs aggregated byindeed.com

RPM (Remote Performance Monitor)

RPM is a set of "classic" (not .NET) Microsoft ASP pages that enables a Webbrowser to monitor test results from a LoadRunner Controller running on a remotemachine.

An additional license is not needed for LR 7.8, but is needed for LR 7.6.

Mercury Knowledge Base article 22664 notes that RPM requires IIS Server 4.0 or5.0 on Windows 2000, but NOT IIS 6.0 installed with Windows 2003 servers.

If the Controller was installed on a Windows XP machine and the RPM server isinstalled on a Window 2000 Server, or Windows NT machine with IIS 4.0, the XPController machine's Local Security Policy "Network Security: Sharing and Securitymodel for local accounts" should be changed from "Guest Only" to "Classic". DuringRPM installation:

Specify a root-level folder (such as "RPM") on a data drive rather than allowRPM to be installed in the default "RPM Server" folder on the same level asLoadRunner under Program Files > Mercury Interactive.

1.

Specify the UserID and Password of the Controller machine. If you take thedefault MI_Viewer, another new user will be created on the RPM machine.The default password for user MI_Viewer is MIOrchid#1

2.

Go to Start -> Programs -> RPM Server -> Remote Performance MonitorUser Configuration, in the "Test Configuration" section of the dialog, type inthe machine name of the Controller machine and then click the "Test Machine"button.If you do not have Administrator rights and try to change the UserID: Adminand Password: Admin, you will see this message:

Run-time error -2147467259 (80004005)': Method '~' of object '~' failed

3.

After the RPM Server is installed on a machine, the Controller cannot be installedon top of it. The RPM must be uninstalled before the Controller can be installed onthat machine.

In Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Services Manager right-click onyour IIS server for New, Web Site. In the Web Site Creation Wizard, specify name"RemoteView", then Browse to associate that name with the "WWW Pages" folder.

To start the newly defined site you need to restart the IIS server then start a


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To start the newly defined site, you need to restart the IIS server, then start ascenario in the Controller so that it displays monitored information. If you try toview the monitor in Internet Explorer when the Controller is not running a scenario,you will be brought back to the Login page.

Verify the site using a browser URL http://loadclient1/RemoteView Default User: Admin Password: Admin If the response is "HTTP 401.1 - Unauthorized: Logon Failed" or "You are notauthorized to view this page", use Windows Explorer and right-click on the"WWWPages" folder, Sharing tab,

It features a not very helpful "one size fits all" error message:

The page cannot be displayed properly , because an error occurred Error description: Either the Controller is not running or there is not an active scenario on thespecified server or your RPM Server is not configured properly.

Each remote viewer can select and customize the graphs to monitor.

RPM times out if there is no browser activity for 20 minutes. This then requiresanother user login.