LoadRunner

• To load your application, LoadRunner

emulates an environment where multiple
users work concurrently.
• While the application is under load,
LoadRunner accurately measures,
monitors, and analyzes a system’s
performance and functionality.

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Architecture Overview

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 Client-Server Paradigm
• Client Server applications deliver higher
functionalities and power, but also
introduce new risks:
– Higher Performance risks due to large
number of users accessing the system
simultaneously.
– Impossible to manually simulate load on
application

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 Manual Load Testing
• It is expensive, requiring large amounts of
both personnel and machinery
• It is complicated, especially coordinating
and synchronizing multiple testers
• It involves a high degree of organization,
especially to record and analyze results
meaningfully
• The repeatability of the manual tests is
limited
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 Load Testing with LoadRunner
• LoadRunner reduces the personnel
requirements by replacing human users with
virtual users or Vusers. These Vusers emulate
the behavior of real users—operating real
applications.
• Because numerous Vusers can run on a single
computer, LoadRunner reduces the hardware
requirements.
• The LoadRunner Controller allows you to easily
and effectively control all the Vusers—from a
single point of control.
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 Load Testing with LoadRunner
• LoadRunner monitors the application
performance online, enabling you to fine-
tune your system during test execution.
• LoadRunner automatically records the
performance of the application during a
test. You can choose from a wide variety
of graphs and reports to view the
performance data.
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 Load Testing with LoadRunner
• LoadRunner checks where performance delays
occur: network or client delays, CPU
performance, I/O delays, database locking, or
other issues at the database server.
• LoadRunner monitors the network and server
resources to help you improve performance.
• Because LoadRunner tests are fully automated,
you can easily repeat them as often as you
need.

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 Load & Stress Testing
• Objectives:
– Check Scalability
– Check Performance ie Transactions/minute,
– Draw Memory Profile
– Check CPU performance
– Check Network performance

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 Load & Stress Testing
• Load & Stress testing are two different but
related forms of testing.
• Stress Testing: Involves testing a system under
extreme cases, which may rarely occur under
normal conditions.
• Such testing can involve scenarios like:
– Running many users concurrently for short times
– Short transactions repeated quickly and
extraordinarily long transactions.

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 Load & Stress Testing
• Load testing places a more realistic load on the
system
• Load testing starts by placing a low demand on
the system and gradually increasing the load.
• This process allows measuring the performance
of the system under loads, as well as
determining the maximum load, under which the
AUT can respond acceptably.

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 Load & Stress Testing
• Load and stress testing are clearly two
inter related processes, generally
performed concurrently.
• They do not conduct functional tests.
• In order to perform performance testing, it
must be assumed that a reasonably stable
and functional system is in use, otherwise
results are meaningless.
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 Load & Stress Testing
• It is essential to know that the bottleneck
of a system is due to the server / Client/
Database/ Network performance issues.
• Performance issues could be related to:
– Lack of sufficient Memory
– Lack of CPU performance
– poor algorithms
– Poor design.

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 LoadRunner-Scenarios
• Using LoadRunner, you divide your application
performance testing requirements into
scenarios.
• A Scenario could be running a UseCase. In ideal
condition there may be 20~50 usecases
/Scenarios in a AUT.
• 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.
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 VUsers
• In the scenario, LoadRunner 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.
• While a workstation accommodates only a
single human user, many Vusers can run
concurrently on a single workstation. In fact, a
scenario can contain tens, hundreds, or even
thousands of Vusers.

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 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.
• The Vuser scripts include functions that
measure and record the performance of
the server during the scenario.

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 Transactions
• To measure the performance of the
server, you define transactions. A
transaction represents an action or a set
of actions that you are interested in
measuring.
• You define transactions within your Vuser
script by enclosing the appropriate
sections of the script with start and end
transaction statements.

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 Rendezvous points
• You insert rendezvous points into Vuser scripts
to emulate heavy user load on the server.
Rendezvous points instruct Vusers to wait during
test execution for multiple Vusers to arrive at a
certain point, in order that they may
simultaneously perform a task.
• For example, to emulate peak load on the bank
server, you can insert a rendezvous point
instructing 100 Vusers to deposit cash into their
accounts at the same time.
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 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.
• 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.
• Ideally, the LoadRunner Controller must be
installed in a separate system outside the test
bed.
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LoadRunner Vuser Technology

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 LoadRunner Vuser Technology
• LoadRunner has various types of Vusers. Each type is designed to
handle different aspects of today’s system architectures.
Vuser Types:
• E-business Vuser : For Web (HTTP,HTML), Corba-Java, General-
Java, LDAP, POP3, COM/DCOM, Jolt, LDAP, POP3 and FTP
protocols.
• Middleware Vuser : For Jolt, and Tuxedo(6.0, 6.3) protocols.
• ERP Vuser : For SAP, Baan, Oracle NCA, Peoplesoft (Tuxedo or
Web) and Siebel protocols.
• Client/Server Vuser : For Informix, MSSQLServer, ODBC, Oracle
(2-tier), Sybase Ctlib, Sybase Dblib, and Windows Sockets
protocols.
• Legacy Vuser : For Terminal Emulation (RTE).
• General Vuser : For C template, Java template, and Windows
Sockets type scripts.
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GUI Vuser

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 GUI Vuser
• A GUI Vuser running on a Windows host
uses WinRunner to execute its Vuser
script. To enable the LoadRunner
Controller to open WinRunner, you must
specify the location of the appropriate
WinRunner configuration file (wrun.ini).

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DB Vuser

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RTE Vuser

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LoadRunner Testing Process

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• Questions?

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