LoadRunner Performance Testing

PERFORMANCE TESTING TOOL
LOAD RUNNER
ATUL PANT

What'sInside
Introduction
Performance Testing
Need for Automated Performance Testing
Key Types of Performance Testing
Core Activities of Performance Testing
Functional Testing vs. Load Web Testing
Performance Testing - Non Functional Testing Requirements

Non-Functional Testing.
Determine the responsiveness, throughput, reliability, and/or
scalability of a system under a given workload.
Performance testing is the subset of performance engineering,
which is focused on addressing performance issues in the design
and architecture of software product.
*.*.*Goal of Performance Testing*.*.*
o Establishing the benchmark behaviour of the system.
o Meet performance criteria before product release.
“Gathering information about system performance and providing
it to the customer”
Performance Testing

Does the application respond quickly enough for the intended
users?
Will the application handle the expected user load and beyond?
Will the application handle the number of transactions required
by the business?
If it doesn’t perform, then could damage to your company:
o Loss of revenue?
o Loss of customers?
o Loss of productivity?
o Backlog of work?
o Damage to your brand?
Need for Automated Performance Testing

Load Testing
Focus: “Response Time”
Stress Testing
Focus: “Response Time” and “Throughput"
Endurance Testing
Focus: “Memory”
Volume/Capacity
Testing
Focus: “Response Time”
Scalable Testing
Focus: “Response Time” and “Throughput"
Key Types of Performance Testing

Describe core Activities of Performance Testing:
Core Activities of performance testing
Analyze, Report & Retest
Execute Tests
Implement Test Design
Configure Test Environment
Plan and Design Tests
Identify Performance Test Criteria
Identify Test Environment Production Test Environment (Hardware,
Software, Network, etc)
Counter (Response Time, Throughput,
Recourse Utilizations)
Identify Scenarios, Define Test Data, Establish
Metrics
Test Environment, Tools, Resources
Develop Test Scenarios
Run and Monitor Test
Consolidated and Share Test Results

Functionality
Do business processes
function properly after
implementation?
Stability
Will 2,000 concurrent hits
crash the server?
Performance
Is response time acceptable
according to specifications?
Functionality under load
Do business processes
function properly under
heavy load?
Functional Testing vs. Load Web Testing

Total user base: How many users will have access to this
application?
Concurrent User Load: What is the number of total users who
will access the application together at any given point in time?
Business Processes (Performance Scenarios)
Service Level Agreement (Performance - Service Level
Agreement)
Performance Testing - Non Functional Testing Requirements

What'sInside
Get Started
What is LoadRunner?
Why LoadRunner?
LoadRunner Component
How LoadRunner Works
LoadRunner Architecture
Load Runner: “The Big Picture”
Types of Protocols Supported
Installing LoadRunner
LoadRunner Terminology

HP LoadRunner is an automated performance and test
automation product from Hewlett-Packard for application load
testing: examining system behaviour and performance, while
generating actual load.
 HP acquired LoadRunner as part of its acquisition of Mercury
Interactive in November 2006.
It commands more than 70% Market Share in load testing
tools.
You can even use it as a “cloud “ based service.
Main Competitors are OpenSTA, WebLoad , NeoLoad etc.
What is LoadRunner?

Benefits of choosing LoadRunner
o LR Credibility - Industry Standard (70 % Market Share)
o Scalable (Add-ins)
o Integration with QTP
o Integration with QC
o Record & Playback, Custom Code, Errors & Exceptions
Why is LoadRunner?

Tune
System Based
on Analysis
Analyze
System
Under Load
Phase 5
LoadRunner
V U G E N
LoadRunner
C O N T R O L L E R &
A N A L Y S I S
Run
Scenarios
Phase 4
Create
Scenarios
Phase 3
Create Web
Virtual Users
Phase 2Phase 1
Plan Load
Test
Load Runner: “The Big Picture”

LoadRunner supports the most exhaustive types of protocols as
compared to any other product in the market.
 Distributed Components: COM/DCOM, Corba-Java, and Rmi-Java protocols.
 E-business: FTP, LDAP, Palm, SOAP, Web (HTTP/HTML),Web/Winsocket
Dual Protocol.
 Enterprise Java Beans: EJB Testing and Rmi-Java protocols.
 ERP: Baan, Oracle NCA, Peoplesoft-Tuxedo, SAP, Siebel-DB2 CLI, Siebel
MSSQL, and Siebel Oracle protocols.
 Mailing Services: Internet Messaging (IMAP), MS Exchange (MAPI), POP3,
and SMTP.
 Middleware: Jacada and the Tuxedo (6, 7) protocols.
 Streaming Data: Media Player (MMS) and Real protocols.
 Wireless: For i-Mode, VoiceXML, and WAP protocols.
 Legacy: Terminal Emulation (RTE).
Types of Protocols Supported

Scenarios:
 Using Load Runner, you divide your application performance testing
requirements into scenarios.
 A scenario defines the events that occur during each testing sessions.
 For example, a scenario defines and controls the number of users to
emulate, the actions that they perform, and the machines on which
they run their emulations.
Vusers:
 In a scenario, Load Runner replaces human users with virtual users or
Vusers.
 When you run a scenario, Vusers emulate the actions of human users
submitting input to the server.
 A scenario can contain tens, hundreds, or even thousands of Vusers.
LoadRunner Terminology

Vuser Scripts:
 The actions that a Vuser performs during the scenario are described
in a Vuser script.
 When you run a scenario, each Vuser executes a Vuser script. Vuser
scripts include functions that measure and record the performance of
the server during the scenario.
Transactions:
 To measure the performance of the server, you define transactions.
 Transactions measure the time that it takes for the server to
respond to tasks submitted by Vusers.
LoadRunner Terminology

Rendezvous Points:
 You insert rendezvous points into Vuser scripts to emulate heavy
user load on the server.
 Rendezvous points instruct multiple Vusers to perform tasks at
exactly the same time.
 For example, to emulate peak load on the bank server, you insert a
rendezvous point to instruct 100 Vusers to simultaneously deposit
cash into their accounts.
Controller:
 You use the LoadRunner Controller to manage and maintain your
scenarios.
 Using the Controller, you control all the Vusers in a scenario from a
single workstation.
Load Runner Terminology

Hosts:
 When you execute a scenario, the LoadRunner Controller distributes
each Vuser in the scenario to a host.
 The host is the machine that executes the Vuser script, enabling the
Vuser to emulate the actions of a human user.
Performance Analysis:
 Vuser scripts include functions that measure and record system
performance during load-testing sessions.
 During a scenario run, you can monitor the network and server
resources.
 Following a scenario run, you can view performance analysis data in
reports and graphs.
Load Runner Terminology

 Go to LoadRunner Download location.
 Hit trials & demos dropdown and click HP LOADRUNNER 11.0
EVALUATION.
 You will be asked to sign-in to HP Passport Single Sign On service.
 Download the files.
 Extract the files.
 Install HP Load Runner.
 That’s It. HP Load Runner is now installed. Enjoy!
Installing LoadRunner?

CHAPTER 3
VUGEN: CREATING SCRIPTS

What'sInside
VuGen: Creating Scripts
Introduction to VuGen
Record Application with VuGen
Enhancements
Transaction
Parameterization
Content Checks
Correlation
Manual Correlation
Automatic Correlation
Configuring Run Time Settings

 Virtual users or Vusers emulate the steps of real users. The steps
that Vusers perform are recorded in a Vuser Script.
 VuGen is a protocol based testing tool.
 VuGen not only records Vuser scripts, but also runs them for debug.
 VuGen records sessions on Windows platforms only. However, a
recorded Vuser script can run on both Windows and UNIX platform.
Introduction to VuGen
Protocol level
Recording & Playback
Captures: Communications Events
Replays: Communications Events
Event can be modify based on data:
Data return from server
Program logic within script
User data provided in files
AUT
Client
(User
Actions)

Script Section Used when recording Is executed when
vuser_init Login to a Server The Vuser is initialized (loaded)‫‏‬
Actions Client activity The Vuser is in "Running" status
vuser_end Logoff procedure The Vuser finishes or is stopped
What VuGen can Do?
 Set up recording options
 Record the scripts
 Add Comments
 Insert Start and End Transactions
 Perform Correlation
 Add Checks
 Do Parameterization.
 Add Rendezvous Point
 Insert Load Runner Functions if required.
 Perform Run Time Settings
Each Vuser script contains at least three sections:
Introduction to VuGen

Recoding Mode
 Decide on recording mode.
o For browser application, use
HTML Mode.
o For non-browser application,
use URL Base.
Record Application with VuGen
HTML Mode URL Mode
Intuitive & Easy Not as Intuitive to HTML
Script
Scalable More scalable & effect for
creating a load test
Recoding Options

Single Protocol Script
 Creates a single protocol
Vuser script.
 This is the default
option.
Multiple Protocol Script
 Creates a multiple
protocol Vuser script.
 VuGen displays all of the
available protocols and
allows you to specify
which protocols record.

 For most Client / Server protocols, the following Screen opens.
 Recording Tool Bar (Floating Tool Bar)‫‏‬.
 To complete recording, Click the stop recording button on the
recording Tool Bar. It will capture a typical business process and saving
the Vuser script.

Add Transaction
 Used for measuring the response time of user steps.
 Can be done during recording else after recording.
Syntax:
lr_start_transaction("Transaction Name");
lr_end_transaction("Transaction Name", <status>);
Inserting Comments
 To describe an activity or separate two sections.
 Can be added during recording or after recording.
Inserting Rendezvous point
 Introduce concurrency.
Syntax:
lr_rendezvous("Logical Name");
Enhancements - Transaction

What is Parameter?
“A parameter is a placeholder which re-place a recorded value in a Vuser
script. At run time, a value from an external source is replaced with
parameter against recorded value”
Why to Parameter?
If all user will use the same data, then response time will shorter
respect to real system behavior. To over come this parameterize is done.
Parameterization involves the following two tasks:
 Replacing the constant values in the Vuser script with parameters.
 Setting the properties and data source for the parameters.
Enhancements - Parameterization

Types of Parameter
 Date/Time
 File
 Group
 Random Number
 Iteration Number
 Unique Number
 XML
 Vuser ID
 Load generator Name
 User defined function
Parameterization Process
1. Determine which fields to parameterize.
2. Replace recorded value with parameters.
3. Decide which parameter type to use.
4. Choose the data access method and the
number of iterations.
5. Run the Vuser & analyze the results.

Creating Parameters
 Right click on the data to parameterize.
 In a script View: Select a string and select replace with parameter
from the Right click menu.
 Type the Name of the parameter in the appropriate box or select
from the list.
 Select parameter type from the parameter type list. The available
types in the list are Date/Time, file, Group Name, Random
number, Unique number, User defined function, or Vuser ID.

LoadRunner checkpoints - validating response.
Call this as text checkpoint or page validation or response verification,
but these checkpoints you insert for every request helpful in identifying
the failed transactions.
Function to be used as text checkpoint -
Web_reg_find("text=expected string on the page",
LAST);
This function has to be inserted above the http request that you want
to validate.
o Image Checkpoints: This checkpoint will verify the presence of an image on a
page during run-time.
o Text Checkpoint: This checkpoint will verify the presence of a text-string on a
page during run-time.
Enhancements - Content Checks

Correlation is the way handling dynamic values in client server
communication.
The values captured will be send back to server in later steps in the
script.
Correlation is typically used for handling session id's.
Correlation Works
Capture output values from one preceding step.
User captured value as input to processing step.
Correlation Types
Correlation
Automatic Correlation
LR detect & helps to solve
them.
Manually Correlation
LR detect but doesn't provide
direct interface to correlate.

1. Create two scripts of same scenario.
2. Find a dynamic value to capture.
3. Find server's response, containing the dynamic value.
4. Capture the dynamic value in a parameter.
5. Special parameter will be used instead of dynamic value.
6. Replace every occurrence of dynamic value in script with the
parameter.
7. Relay & Verify Changes.
Manual Correlation

In load runner there are three ways of doing Automatic correlation. Those
techniques correlation during recording and correlation after record and
replay.
Automatic Correlation Types
 Auto -Detect Correlation
Detect & correlate dynamic data for supported application
 Rule-Based Correlation
When working with non supported application
 Correlating All
Blindly correlated all dynamic data
Automatic Correlation

Run Logic
Instruct a Vuser to repeat the
run section when you run the
script. Each repetition is known as
iteration.
Number of Iterations
Load Runner repeats all of the
actions, the specified number of
times.
Pacing
The pace tells the Vuser how long
to wait between iterations of
Vuser.
Configuring Run Time Settings

Log
Vusers log information about themselves and their communication between
server.
Two types of Logs
 Standard
 Extended
Think Time
VuGen allows you to use the recorded think time, ignore it, or use a value
related to the recorded time.
Miscellaneous
 Error Handling
 Multithreading
 Automatic Transactions
Configuring Run Time Settings

CHAPTER 4
CONTROLLER: CREATING SCENARIOS

What'sInside
Controller: Creating Scenarios
Introducing to Controller
Creating Scenarios
Manual Scenario
Goal-Oriented Scenario
Manual Scenario v/s Goal-Oriented Scenario
Load Generator
Running and Monitoring Scenario
Service Level Agreement - SLA

What is Scenario?
A scenario defines the events that occur during each testing session.
Thus, for example, a scenario defines and controls the number of users to
emulate, the actions that they perform, and the machines on which they
run their emulations.
Scenarios Includes:
 Generate scenarios & run scenarios.
 Create Vusers
 Add Load generators
 Schedule our tests
“LoadRunner Controller is used for creating Scenarios”
Introducing the Controller

Manual Scenario
Manage your Load Test by specifying the number of Virtual users to
run.
o Manage load test by specifying the number of virtual users to run.
o Percentage mode to distribute the total number of Vuser among scripts
based on a percentage specified.
Goal-Oriented Scenario
Allow Load Runner Controller to create a Scenario based on the
goals you specify.
o The number of concurrent Vusers
o The number of hits per second
o The number of transactions per second
o The number of pages per minute
o The transaction response time that you want your scenario
Creating Scenarios

Step 1: Launching LoadRunner & it’s Controller Module.
a) Start” > “Programs” > “LoadRunner” > “LoadRunner”.
b) Open the LoadRunner Controller by clicking “Run Load Tests” In
the “Load Testing tab”.
Manual Scenario

Step 2: Making a selection of method of creation of scenario.
a) Manual Scenario (Select)
b) Goal-Oriented Scenario
Step 3: Adding a script to the load test: Select a script out of
the list of Scripts already available.
Step 4: Defining the group attributes for the script.
a) Locate the desired script.
b) Change Scenario group name.
c) Provide Vusers quantity for the group.
Manual Scenario

Step 5: Adding a load generator for running the Vusers.
a) Use already available Load Generator.
b) Creating & using a new Load Generator.
Manual Scenario

Step 6: Testing the Load Generator Connection.
a) Select “localhost” and click “Connect”.
b) Check connection with status changes from “Down” to “Ready”.
Step 7: Scheduling of scenario in schedule pane of the Controller
window.
Manual Scenario

Step 8: Setting the schedule actions definitions in Actions Grid.
a) Initialize
b) Start Vusers
c) Duration
d) End Vusers
Step 9: Initializing of Vusers.
a) Initialize all Vusers simultaneously
b) Initialize each Vuser at specified interval
c) Initialize each Vuser just before it runs
Manual Scenario

Step 10: Starting of Vusers at specified Intervals.
Step 11: Specifying a duration through.
“Interactive Schedule Graph” a duration is defined so that the
Vusers keep on doing the scheduled action for a specific period.
Manual Scenario

Step 12: Stopping of Vusers.
Step 13: Configuring the Run-time settings.
a) Run Logic to define the number of times a user repeats a group of actions.
b) Pacing to define the time to wait before repeating an action.
c) Log to define the type of information needed to be captured during the test.
d) Think Time to define the time a user stops to think between steps.
e) Speed Simulation to define network connections like modem, DSL or cable.
f) Browser Emulation to define different browsers.
g) Content Check for automatically detecting user-defined errors.
Manual Scenario

Step 14: Enabling think time.
Step 15: Enabling the logging option.
Manual Scenario

Step 16: Configuring the Windows Resources monitor.
a) Opening of the Run view
b) Selection of monitored server
Manual Scenario

Goal-Oriented Scenario
Creating Scenario
 Defining Scenario Goals
 Assigning Properties to Scripts
 Run Scripts

Manual Scenario v/s Goal-Oriented Scenario
Manual Scenarios Goal-Oriented Scenario
Used to simulate the real time
loads based on the fixed time and
fixed number of virtual users.
Used for simulating the load, based
on the objectives defined by the
customer expected goals.
The duration is fixed. Since the
time clearly defined in real world
schedules.
The duration is always much more
than the duration mentioned in
goal oriented scenarios.
Acceleration and deceleration of the
users will happen based on the
schedule design.
Acceleration and deceleration of the
users will happen automatically,
based on the goal defined.

Overview
Load Generator is a machine that serves as the host for running Vusers.
Adding Load Generator
Click the generators button to open the dialogue box.
Now click the add button to open the Add load generator dialogue box.
Enter the name and load generator platform which you want to add.
A machine must have installed LoadRunner agent to use as a Load
Generator.
Load Generator

Running and Monitoring Scenario
Running a Scenario
The following procedure outlines how to run a scenario:
Open an existing scenario or create a new one.
Configure and schedule the scenario.
Set the results directory.
Run and monitor the scenario.

Running and Monitoring Scenario
Monitoring a Scenario
LoadRunner provides the following online monitors:
o Run-Time
o Transaction
o Web Resource
o System Resource
o Network Delay
o Firewall
o Web Server Resource
o Web Application Server Resource
o Database Server Resource
o Streaming Media
o ERP Server Resource
o Java Performance

Overview
Service level agreements (SLAs) enable you to define goals for your
load test scenario.
During a scenario run, the Controller measures the performance and
collects data.
Analysis compares this data against thresholds defined in the SLAs.
Service Level Agreement - SLA

Types of SLA
SLA status determined at time intervals over a timeline. Analysis
displays SLA statuses at set time intervals—for example, every 10
seconds—over a timeline within the run.
o SLAs for Average Transaction Response Time
o SLAs for Errors Per Second.
SLA status determined over the whole run. Analysis displays a single
SLA status for the whole scenario run.
o Total Hits per run
o Average Hits (hits/second) per run
o Total Throughput (bytes) per run
o Average Throughput (bytes/second) per run
Service Level Agreement - SLA

CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS: ANALYZING RESULTS

What'sInside
Analysis: Analyzing Results
Introduction to Analysis
Analyzer Window at a Glance
Available Graphs
Graph Configuration
Interpreting Graphs and Identifying Bottlenecks

Analysis provides graphs and reports to help you analyze the
performance of your system.
 The aim of the analysis session is to find the failures in your system's
performance and then pinpoint the source of these failures.
 Were the test expectations met? What was the transaction response
time on the user’s end under load? Did the SLA meet or deviate from
its goals? What was the average transaction response time of the
transactions?
 What parts of the system could have contributed to the decline in
performance? What was the response time of the network and servers?
 Can you find a possible cause by correlating the transaction times and
backend monitor matrix?
Overview Analysis

Session Explorer pane: In the upper left pane, Analysis shows the reports
and graphs that are open for viewing. From here you can display new
reports or graphs that do not appear when Analysis opens, or delete
ones that you no longer want to view.
Properties window pane: In the lower left pane, the Properties window
displays the details of the graph or report you selected in the Session
Explorer. Fields that appear in black are editable.
Graph Viewing Area: In the upper right pane, Analysis displays the
graphs. By default, the Summary Report is displayed in this area when
you open a session.
Graph Legend: In the lower right pane, you can view data from the
selected graph.
Analyzer Window at a Glance

User-Defined Data Point Graphs : Provide information about the custom data
points that were gathered by the online monitor.
System Resource Graphs : Provide statistics relating to the system resources
that were monitored during the scenario using the online monitor.
Network Monitor Graphs : Provide information about the network delays.
Firewall Server Monitor Graphs : Provide information about firewall server
resource usage.
Web Server Resource Graphs : Provide information about the resource usage
for the Apache, iPlanet/Netscape, iPlanet(SNMP), and MS IIS Web servers.
Available Graphs

Available Graphs
Transactions:
o Average Transaction Response Time
o Transactions per Second
o TPS (Transactions Per Second)
o Total Transactions per Second
o Transaction Summary
o Transaction Performance Summary
o Transaction Response Time Under Load
Web Resources:
o Hits per Second
o Hits Summary
o Throughput
o Throughput Summary
o HTTP Responses per Second
o Connections
o Connections per Second
o SSLs Per Second
Vusers:
o Running Vusers
System Resources:
o UNIX CPU Util
o UNIX Avg Load
o UNIX Paging rate
Web Server Resources:
o Apache CPU Usage
o Apache Hits/sec
o Apache Kbytes Sent/sec
Web Page Breakdown
o Web Page Breakdown
o Page Component Breakdown
o Download Component Size (KB)

User-Defined Data Point Graphs : Provide information about the custom data
points that were gathered by the online monitor.
System Resource Graphs : Provide statistics relating to the system resources
that were monitored during the scenario using the online monitor.
Network Monitor Graphs : Provide information about the network delays.
Firewall Server Monitor Graphs : Provide information about firewall server
resource usage.
Web Server Resource Graphs : Provide information about the resource usage
for the Apache, iPlanet/Netscape, iPlanet(SNMP), and MS IIS Web servers.
Graph Configuration

Set Global Filter
Set Filter By - Filter Condition, Group by
Merge Graphs
Auto-Correlate Graphs
Cross Results
Report generation
Using Templates
HTML Report
Customizing Templates
Graph Configuration

Graph analysis
Introduction to Bottlenecks
Types of bottlenecks
Memory Bottlenecks
CPU Bottlenecks
Brief on Disk and Network Bottleneck
Database Bottlenecks
Interpreting Graphs and Identifying Bottlenecks

What'sInside
Best Practices
Best Practices for Performance Testing - Do
Best Practices for Performance Testing - Don’t

Clear the application and database logs after each performance test.
Excessively large log files may artificially skew the performance results.
Identify the correct server software and hardware to mirror your
production environment.
Use a single graphical user interface (GUI) client to capture end-user
response time while a load is generated on the system.
Include a buffer time between the incremental increases of users during
a load test.
Use different data parameters for each simulated user to create a
more realistic load simulation.
Monitor all computers involved in the test, including the client that
generates the load. This is important because you should not overly
stress the client.
Prioritize your scenarios according to critical functionality and high-
volume transactions.
Use a zero think time if you need to fire concurrent requests,. This
can help you identify bottleneck issues.
Stress test critical components of the system to assess their
independent thresholds.
Best Practices for Performance Testing - Do

Do not allow the test system resources to cross resource threshold
limits by a significant margin during load testing, because this distorts
the data in your results.
Do not run tests in live production environments that have other
network traffic. Use an isolated test environment that is
representative of the actual production environment.
Do not try to break the system during a load test. The intent of the
load test is not to break the system. The intent is to observe
performance under expected usage conditions. You can stress test to
determine the most likely modes of failure so they can be addressed or
mitigated.
Do not place too much stress on the client test computers.
Best Practices for Performance Testing - Don’t

LoadRunner Performance Testing

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