CODEWITHSUNDEEP
performance-testingload-testingloadrunner
Chris K
Chris K

Reputation: 367

Can Loadrunner with Amazon Load Generators test a site that is not publicly accessible?

I'm a web developer and completely new to Loadrunner suite.

Our client has already provided us with some Loadrunner actions, that I need to run them to test a site that is hosted on the company's intranet that I'm currently working.

The computer I'm using can not handle more than 7 vusers, therefore I was requested to use Amazon EC2 for load generators.

Before I request my company to be charged with Amazon services I need to know, would I be able to test our internal page from my computer exactly as I do with the load generator on my localhost, or the page that will be tested needs to be publicly accessible from the internet?

Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 211

Answers (2)

James Pulley
James Pulley

Reputation: 5692

a) You need training. This is not a discipline that someone is socially promoted to and finds success

b) Expect that it will take at least six months to begin delivering value in this field, longer if you are not working with a mentor

c) This is a question of application communication architecture. Architecture is one of the foundation skills for a performance tester/engineer/architect.

d) It is not recommended that you use the controller as a load generator. It is not recommended that you use just one load generator. Both of which will cause your test to fail an audit from a more mature testing firm. Go with a minimum of three, two for primary load, one for a control set of a single virtual user of each type. Design your tests to allow for the examination of Control timing records compared to the global set to understand if you have an application issue or a load generator issue as part of your test design.

e) You will need to coordinate with your network team for two reasons. One, you may need to open outbound ports (covered in documentation) to allow your controller to communicate with your load generators. Two, you absolutely will have to coordinate a tunnel from the outside internet to your internal applications under test. Expect that security will be paramount only our requests and no other requests through the tunnel. There are many mechanisms to address this, from a custom HTTP header to certificates. Speak with your network security professionals for the setup and configuration which you will be able to implement.

The self paced training for loadrunner is available for download. It takes about three days to go through. This is the absolute minimum before you pick up this tool in anger. Ideally, you would go through training with a certified instructor and be paired with a mentor for a period. The length of time for the mentor is directly related to the number of foundation skills which you bring to the table.

Upvotes: 1

Buzzy
Buzzy

Reputation: 2995

Please read carefully what James wrote. You said you are a web developer so the task that was given to you is roughly equivalent to "write a new DB access layer".

You didn't mention which protocol you are using but I will assume TruClient (based on the 7 vUsers per machine). I will also assume you are using the latest version of LoadRunner or at least something from the 12.6X family.

1) You already have a solution for AWS out of the box in the form of StormRunner (https://www.microfocus.com/en-us/products/stormrunner-load-agile-cloud-testing/overview). If you want to test if the solution works for you please request a couple of execution hours from the sales team and try it. If your company has a valid license for LoadRunner I don't think this will be an issue.

2) You have a simple integration into the controller application for EC2 and alike. In the controller go to Tools->Manage cloud accounts. If you run a small test the cost should not be too great I assume.

3) If you are a developer, we have a new offering called TruWeb which is a transport level protocol which should be more developer friendly. It will be able to run much more users per machine so you will be able to use it to test on EC2 micro machine (free tier). The caveat is that you will have to write some JavaScript code and not be able to reuse the actions given to you. You can download TruWeb from here - https://marketplace.microfocus.com/appdelivery/content/truweb and it comes with the LoadRunner installation out of the box since 12.58. If you need further assistance with TruWeb feel free to email us to - [email protected]

I hope this will give you some directions.

Upvotes: 1

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