How to Define a Performance Test Workload

This task describes how to define a performance test workload.

To learn more about performance testing, see Performance Test Workload Overview.

1. Prerequisite

   Create a performance test. For details, see How to Design a Performance Test.

2. Select a workload

   1. On the My Performance Center navigation bar, select Test Management > Test Plan. Select a performance test in the test plan tree and click Edit Test.

   2. In the Performance Test Designer window, click Groups & Workload.
   3. Click the Select Workload Type button adjacent to the Workload type box, and select a type of workload for the test. The type of workload you choose determines the type of schedule by which the test will run, and how the Vusers will be distributed at runtime. For user interface details about the Workload Types dialog box, see Workload Types Dialog Box.
3. Select a Controller

   Click the Select Controller button adjacent to the Controller box, and select a host to act as the Controller for the test. For user interface details about the Select Controller dialog box, see Select Controller Dialog Box.

4. Create Vuser groups and distribute Vusers to the groups

   1. In the Groups pane, select scripts from the Scripts Tree pane on the right to run in the test. If the Scripts Tree pane is not open, click .

      1. In the Scripts Tree pane, click the Scripts tab to add VuGen scripts.

         Tip: You can select complete folders of scripts, or select multiple scripts while holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.

      2. To add Noise Generator scripts, click the Noise tab.

      For user interface details about the Scripts Tree pane, see Scripts Tree Pane.

   2. (Optional) For each selected script, a Vuser group is created in the Groups grid and is given, by default, the same name as the selected script. You can change the group name if desired.

   3. Distribute Vusers among the Vuser groups according to the Vuser distribution method you selected in the workload type. For details, see How to Distribute Vusers Among Vuser Groups.

   Note: Non-English national characters are not supported in group names.

5. Distribute load generators among the Vuser groups

   Select a method by which to distribute the load generators among the Vuser groups, and specify which load generators to distribute to which groups.

   For details, see How to Distribute Load Generators Among Vuser Groups.

6. Define a schedule for the performance test

   Schedule how the Vuser groups are to run in the test. For details, see How to Define a Schedule for the Performance Test.

7. Configure test settings - Optional

   You can configure the following optional settings for your test:

   Optional Test Setting	Description
   Command line arguments	Sending command line arguments enables you to configure test settings without the need to manually define them in the UI. In the Groups pane, click the Edit Command Line button. For details, see Edit Command Line in the Performance Test Designer > Groups & Workload.
   Rendezvous Points	When you add Vuser groups to the test, their associated scripts are scanned for rendezvous points. To view and manage the rendezvous points, click the View Rendezvous button. For user interface details, see Rendezvous Dialog Box.
   Runtime Settings Configuration	You can configure the runtime settings of uploaded Vuser scripts. Runtime settings are applied to Vusers when the script runs. To open the Runtime Settings dialog box, in the Groups pane toolbar, click the Edit Runtime Settings button. For more details, see How to Configure Runtime Settings.
   Runtime Settings Duplication	You can copy runtime settings from one script in the test to other scripts of the same script type. In the Groups pane toolbar, click the Duplicate Runtime Settings button. For details, see Duplicate Runtime Settings in the Performance Test Designer > Groups & Workload.
   Network Virtualization	Network Virtualization enables you to emulate probable network effects over your network, thereby creating a more realistic performance test. To open the Network Virtualization Settings dialog box, in the Groups pane toolbar, select . For user interface details, see Virtual Location Editor Dialog Box.
   Services Virtualization	Instead of loading actual services, Service Virtualization enables you to use simulated services in your test run. To open HP Services Virtualization dialog box, in the Groups pane toolbar, select Advanced > Services Virtualization. For user interface details, see HP Service Virtualization Dialog Box.
   PAL Reports	Enables you open a PAL production report. To open the Select PAL Report dialog box, select Advanced > Open PAL Report. For more details on PAL, see How to Work with PAL.
   Analysis Template	Enables you to select a customized template for the analysis report of your performance test. To open the Analysis Template Options dialog box, select Advanced > Analysis Template Options. For user interface details, see Analysis Template Options Dialog Box.
   Terminal Services	When using manual load generator distribution, you can open terminal services sessions on the load generators, enabling you to run multiple GUI Vusers simultaneously on the same application. For details, see Terminal Services Dialog Box.

8. Define topology, monitoring, and diagnostics options

   For task details, see How to Design a Performance Test.