Overview
Load Tests are designed to simulate multiple active users all running in parallel, to determine the point at which an additional user would impact existing users noticeably. Login Enterprise will launch multiple sessions on Target machines in parallel, ramping up to a specific number of sessions, with those sessions running the defined Application scripts in a repeating loop for the duration of the Test. By default, it includes the EUX data collection (see below in the “Engine Details” section) and tries to calculate a VSImax number for your Test configuration.
Load Tests are not schedulable. They must be manually started, either in the Login Enterprise > Load Testing or by making an API call. However, they require a real Connector and do not support the manual Desktop Connector. Load Tests need to be in control of session initiation to control and measure multiple sessions properly.
Load Tests will then perform the following sequence of actions:
- Ramp up sessions based on your total number of desired logins and the number of minutes you allot to launch them. For instance, 5 users in 8 minutes would launch a new user every 2 minutes (because you always launch one at 0 minutes).
- Once all the sessions have been launched, start counting towards the Test duration configured in the Test. (If a session fails, it is not replaced.)
- Within each session, repeat the Application script test sequence in a continuous loop until the Test duration has been met.
- If configured, periodically run our EUX applications to generate an approximation of what a user will experience. Also, capture any Application script timers and other Session Metrics.
- When the overall Test Duration has been met, signal all the sessions to terminate. They will terminate after the current Application script.
When you look at a Load Test, you will see a chart that shows your login sessions ramping up, and how your recorded metrics behave as your number of sessions increases. What you’re looking for are points in the curve where your metrics start to drop off as your sessions ramp up.
Note that Login Enterprise doesn’t enable alert thresholds or emails for Load Tests, since these types of tests are intended to be run manually, not as a Continuous background Test.
Creating a Load Test
- In the Sidebar menu, navigate to Configuration > Manage Tests, and select Load Tests.
2. In Load Tests, click “+“ on the top-right.
3. In the Info window, specify the following:
a. Name - a descriptive name for this Load Test configuration. This name should identify the purpose or scenario of the Load Test.
b. Description - a brief description that outlines the objectives or specifics of this Load Test configuration. This helps users understand the purpose and context of the configuration.
c. Environment - the target environment where the Load Test will be conducted. This could include details such as server configurations, network setups, or any other relevant infrastructure information.
d. Connector - the appropriate connector that will be used to simulate the load on the target system. The connector defines how virtual users interact with the system under Test.
Each Connector has its own settings. Once you define your connector, specify the necessary information in the Settings section. Here’s an example of Connector settings for the Microsoft RDS:
4. Click Save to apply the changes.
- For more information about connectors and connection configurations, see Connectors and Connection Configurations.
- For more information on the accounts, see Accounts.
- For the Launchers overview and best practices, see the Launchers: Overview and best practices.
- To learn about the Login Enterprise Windows Launcher setup, configuration, maintenance, and more, see the Login Enterprise Windows Launcher.
When you delete the Load Test environment, only the environment itself is removed, leaving Load Test runs intact. However, if you delete a Load Test run, you will remove all associated data, including measurements, screenshots, logs, and events.
Configuring Load Test settings
For the Load Test, you can configure the following settings:
a. Login - the number of users you want to be logging in in an x time (minutes).
- The logon window is user-defined. Failed sessions won’t be retried and won’t affect the speed at which sessions log on. That is, the configured logon rate of sessions will remain the same for the logon window regardless of logon failures.
- The logoff window is 15 minutes maximum. But the Login Enterprise will log off 10 sessions per minute minimum. So, for example, if you have a test with 140 sessions, the logoff window will take 14 minutes. Anything above 150 sessions will still take 15 minutes.
b. Test duration - how long the Test will take in minutes (after the last session starts).
- After the Test duration ends all engines will stop executing the script and log off.
c. EUX score / VSImax - if you have EUX enabled, the Login Enterprise will calculate a VSImax: the maximum number of sessions your resource can comfortably support. It’s assumed that a Load Test is configured to start sessions on some bounded resource group, for instance, a VDI pool that points exclusively to one dedicated Test server. You could then calculate the VSImax for that single server, and use that to determine how many servers you need for a fixed number of user desktops.
Arguably, VSImax is the whole point of Load Tests, so if you’re not using the Login VSI EUX code, you’d still be looking to see what the maximum number of concurrent sessions your system can support is before your metrics start to drop off. So even if we’re not able to calculate VSImax for you, the Login Enterprise graphs may show you the point where your analysis shows performance degradation.
The Login Enterprise calculated VSImax is defined to be the point where the EUX Score drops below 5.5, and that point is marked on the EUX metrics graph. (This calculation may change in future releases, but it’s always intended to convey the point where responsiveness gets subjectively bad).
- To learn more about the EUX Score, see the Login Enterprise EUX score and VSImax.
- For troubleshooting of the EUX Score and VSImax, see the EUX score / VSImax troubleshooting.
Now that you’ve configured Load Test settings, you can add applications to your Load Test.
Adding Applications to a Load Test
For the Load Test, you can add the preferred applications for the Virtual User to test. You can also add Application groups and an option “to wait”. To do this:
In Actions, click the green “+“ to add a new action, and select what you’re going to add in the pop-up window.
You can reorder applications along with the "Wait" action under the List of actions. To do this, click on the application drag-and-drop area and organize them in the order you want your Login Enterprise to run the applications.
You can also adjust the configuration to "leave applications running" or "run once" for an application. Leave Application running does not close the application. Run Once will only run the script once.
- To learn about applications and how to create and add them, see Applications and Workload Customizations.
- For more information on application configurations, see Application Configuration.
- For the Application groups, see Application groups.
Now that you have all your Test configurations in place, you can start a Load Test.
Starting a Load Test
1. In the Sidebar menu, navigate to Configuration > Manage Tests, and select Load Tests.
2. In the Load Test, click "play" next to the Test you’d like to start.
When you start the Load Test, Login Enterprise will attempt to reserve the necessary accounts and selected launchers. These resources will be exclusively allocated for use by Load Testing during its execution. If Continuous Test tries to use these accounts or launchers at the same time, it won't be allowed. This could mean there aren't enough resources for Continuous Testing.
3. To start the Test, click Confirm.
Once the Load Test starts, you are redirected to the Test dashboard where you can see the Load Test and its progression. To view the early results of your Load Test, in the Test dashboard click on the Load Test that you started.
Load Test results and comparison
For information on the Load Test results and comparison, see the Load Testing: Results and comparison.
If you have questions or need additional information on specific Load Test configurations, feel free to get in touch with our support at support@loginvsi.com.