Creating a VU Schedule

By creating a VU Schedule, you can accurately emulate the actions of individual users.

Procedure

  1. In the Test Navigator view, right-click the project, and then click New > VU Schedule.
  2. Type the name of the VU Schedule, and then click Finish.
    A new VU Schedule that contains one user group is displayed.
  3. Add user groups and set the locations (agent computers) on which each user group will run. Although you can run user groups from your workbench computer, doing so affects the accuracy of your tests.
    1. To add user groups: Right-click the VU Schedule, and then click Add > User Group.
      For more information, see Adding a user group to VU Schedule.
    2. To set the locations for the user groups: Click a user group, click the Locations tab, and then select Run this group on the following locations.
      For more information, see Running a user group at a remote location.
  4. Set the loops for the tests (or other schedule elements) to use: Right-click the user 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, which is discussed later. For more information, see Repeating tests in a schedule and Running tests at a set rate.
  5. 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, thus emulating the varied actions of real users, instead of running each test within a user 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.
  6. Add tests to each user group: Right-click the schedule element to contain the test, and click Add > Test.
    For more information, see Adding a test to a schedule.
  7. Set the stages for the VU Schedule. Each stage lasts for a specific amount of time and contains a specific number of users. By setting stages, you can model workloads that reflect real-world usage over time. Putting the tests in a stage in an infinite loop prevents virtual users from finishing before the stage ends. To set a stage:
    1. Open the VU Schedule, and click the User Load tab.
    2. On the User Load page, click Add.
      Enter the number of users in the stage and the duration of the stage.
    3. Click Window > Preferences > Test > Test Reports, and verify that Launch Compare report when staged run completes is selected.
      This selection automatically generates a report that compares each stage.
    For detailed information on stages, see Setting user loads.
  8. 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).
    Element Purpose For more information
    Synchronization point Used for coordinating the activities in a schedule, such as forcing virtual users to wait at a specific point Synchronizing users
    Delay Used to emulate user actions accurately; for example, a user might delay before placing an order Delaying virtual users or actions
    Comment Used for your notes and comments regarding the schedule element
  9. Set the VU Schedule options:
    Tab name Typical setting For more information
    Resource monitoring Select Enable resource monitoring to enable resource monitoring.
    You can capture resource monitoring data from these sources:
    • Apache HTTP Server Managed Beans
    • Apache Tomcat Managed Beans
    • IBM® DB2® monitoring
    • IBM® Tivoli® monitoring
    • IBM® WebSphere® Performance Monitoring Infrastructure
    • JBoss Application Server Managed Beans
    • Java™ Virtual Machine Managed Beans
    • Oracle Database monitoring
    • Oracle WebLogic Server Managed Beans
    • SAP NetWeaver Managed Beans
    • The rstatd daemon (UNIX™)
    • Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agents
    • Windows™ Performance Monitor
    		 Enabling Resource Monitoring from the workbench

    Enabling Resource Monitoring on Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008
    Response time breakdown Select Enable collection of response time data to enable response time breakdown.

    You can collect response time breakdown data from HTTP or SOA tests.

    		 Enabling response time breakdown collection

    Enabling response time breakdown collection on Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008
    Think time Use the options on this page to increase, decrease, or randomize the think time. The default setting is to use the recorded think time. Think time overview
    Statistics log level Typically, keep the default settings. If you are running a long test, change the sampling rate from the default 5 seconds to a larger interval. Setting the statistics displayed during a run
    Test log level Typically, keep the default setting of Primary test actions. You must have at least this level of logging to create a Page Percentile report and to see page title verification points that you have set. Setting the data that the test log collects
    Problem definition log level Change the default settings only when requested to do so by Support. Setting the problem determination level for schedules
    Advanced (at the bottom of the Schedule Element Details area) Click Edit Options to set protocol-specific options that apply to all tests in the schedule. Setting protocol-specific options for a schedule is similar to setting protocol-specific options for a user group. Emulating slower network traffic

    Running long duration Citrix tests

What to do next

After you create a VU Schedule that describes the behavior for your software system, run it against successive builds of the application under test or with an increasing number of virtual users. Then analyze the results that are reported.