Creating a Rate Schedule

By creating a Rate Schedule, you can model the different behaviors of how the application is accessed and measure the rate accuracy.

About this task

The Rate Schedule can be run only on agent locations.

When you run a Rate Schedule, it tries to achieve the desired rate with the specified number of clients. However, if the actual rate falls below the specified threshold level, the product will automatically add more number of clients within the purview of the maximum number of clients to reach the desired rate. You can modify the threshold level based on the need of the tests at Window > Preferences > Test > Test Execution > Actual rate threshold (percentage).

Procedure

  1. Click File > New > Rate Schedule or from the Test Navigator view, right-click the project and click New > Rate Schedule.
  2. Select a project for the Rate Schedule, specify the name of the Rate Schedule, and click Next.
  3. Specify the number of stages and the number of rate runner groups for the Rate Schedule.
    The number of stages and rate runner groups is determined by the amount of load you want to generate and the model of the workload.
  4. Click Finish.
    The Rate Schedule is created.
  5. To make changes to the stages in the Rate Schedule, for the Load category in the Rate Schedule Details section, click Add, Edit, or Remove buttons.
  6. To add tests to the Rate Runner Group, select it and click AddTest and select a test.
  7. To add a new Rate Runner Group, select the Rate Schedule and click Add > Rate Runner Group. For more information, see Adding Rate Runner Groups.
  8. To specify the agents to generate the load, select the Agents category in the Rate Schedule Details section and add agent locations. For more information, see Adding Agent Locations.
  9. Optional: Set the loops for the tests (or other schedule elements) to use: Right-click the Rate Runner Group to contain the loop, and click Add > Loop. Loops are used to run many iterations of a test, to run tests at a set rate, and to run tests in stages.
  10. Add selectors and their weights: Right-click the schedule element to contain the selector, and click Add > Random Selector. Selectors are used to run a series of tests in random order, therefore emulating the varied actions of real users, instead of running each test within a Rate Runner Group sequentially. The weight that you assign each selector determines the statistical probability that its child element is selected during an iteration. For more information, see Running tests in random order.
  11. Add other schedule elements to refine the schedule structure: Right-click a schedule element, and click Insert (adds the new element before the selection) or Add (adds the new element after the selection).

    Some of the elements to add to the Rate Schedule:

    Element Purpose More information
    Delay Used to emulate actions accurately; for example, a transaction might be delayed before placing an order. Delaying actions
    Comment Used for your notes and comments regarding the schedule element.
    Transaction Used to group certain actions in a transaction. Adding transactions
  12. Save the Rate Schedule.