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Rational® Performance Tester
Getting Started
This guide provides an overview and describes the task flows to get you started with Rational® Performance Tester. This guide is intended for new users.
Rational® Performance Tester overview
You can gain the conceptual understanding of Rational® Performance Tester and its test extensions with these topics.
SAP performance testing overview
With IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for SAP Solutions, you can test the performance of SAP applications.

Rational® Performance Tester
- Release Notes
  This document contains information about what's new, installation instructions, known issues in IBM® Rational® Performance Tester, and contact information of IBM Customer Support.
- System Requirements
  This document includes information about hardware and software requirements for IBM® Rational® Performance Tester.
- Getting Started
  This guide provides an overview and describes the task flows to get you started with Rational® Performance Tester. This guide is intended for new users.
  - Task flows for performance testing
    The task flows are designed to help you understand the end-to-end process of some of the capabilities of performance testing. For some of the technologies, there are specific task flows that you can follow to gain a clear understanding of the process.
  - Rational® Performance Tester overview
    You can gain the conceptual understanding of Rational® Performance Tester and its test extensions with these topics.
    - HTTP performance testing overview
      There are five stages when performance testing HTTP applications: test creation, test editing, workload emulation with schedules, schedule execution, and evaluation of results.
    - SAP performance testing overview
      With IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for SAP Solutions, you can test the performance of SAP applications.
    - Citrix performance testing overview
      IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for Citrix Presentation Server allows you to test the performance of Citrix applications.
    - Service testing overview
      The service testing capabilities of IBM® Rational® Performance Tester or IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality automate the creation, execution and analysis of functional, regression and performance tests for SOAP-based web services, including support for Java Messagine Service (JMS), Websphere MQ, WebSphere Java MQ, and Microsoft .NET Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), as well as any service that produces XML, plain text, or binary data.
    - Generic service client overview
      The purpose of the generic service client is to send requests to any service that uses an HTTP, JMS, WebSphere® MQ, or Microsoft™ .NET transport. The generic service client also displays the response returned by the service.
    - Socket API performance testing overview
      With IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for Socket Protocols, you can test the performance of any application that uses a TCP/IP socket-based protocol.
    - TN3270 performance testing overview
      With IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for Socket Protocols, you can test the performance of TN3270 terminal server applications.
    - IBM® Engineering Test Management overview
      IBM® Engineering Test Management is a collaborative, web-based, quality management solution that offers comprehensive test planning, manual testing, and integration with other test tools.
  - Streamlined Eclipse and full Eclipse overview
    When you work in the streamlined Eclipse mode, only those functions that are directly related to the product are enabled in the workbench. When you install the product, by default, the check box to use the streamlined Eclipse mode is selected. With the full Eclipse mode, you have access to all Eclipse functions.
- Tutorials
  This section contains the tutorials which explains the main features of Rational® Performance Tester.
- Samples
  This section describes about the sample project which can be used with Rational® Performance Tester to test the functionality of an application.
- Administrator Guide
  This guide describes how to install Rational® Performance Tester. After you install the product, you can perform administration tasks such as license configuration and integration with other products. This guide is intended for administrators.
- Test Author Guide
  This guide describes how to create test scripts in Rational® Performance Tester and enhances tests by applying different test elements such as dataset, variables, and verification points. This guide is intended for testers.
- Test Execution Specialist Guide
  This guide describes tasks that you can perform on schedules, test execution with custom code, and Extending Rational® Performance Tester to support other protocols. This guide is intended for testers or test execution specialists.
- Test Manager Guide
  This guide describes how to keep track of the performance of the application by evaluating the test results. This guide is intended for test managers.
- Troubleshooting Guide
  This guide describes how to analyze and resolve some of the common problems that you might encounter while you work with Rational® Performance Tester.
- Reference Guide
  This guide describes, additional topics to gain more knowledge about Rational® Performance Tester.
- All Guides (PDFs)
  You can find the link to view or download the content of the release notes, system requirements, and persona guides of Rational® Performance Tester as a PDF file.
- Security Considerations
  You can take certain actions to ensure that your installation is secure, customize your security settings, and set up user access controls.
- Notices
  This document provides information about copyright, trademarks, terms and conditions for the product documentation.

SAP performance testing overview

With IBM® Rational® Performance Tester Extension for SAP Solutions, you can test the performance of SAP applications.

Informative performance test results rely upon sound test development. Each of the following stages contributes to generating meaningful results when performance testing SAP applications:

Test creation. You create your test by recording a session with the SAP GUI client. Typically, the recorded session starts when you log on to the SAP server. You then interact with the application in order to produce a relevant performance test, and the session ends when you log out. The recorded session is split into transactions and SAP screens. Response time measurements and verification points are automatically added to transactions and SAP screens.
Test editing. After recording, you can edit the events in each transaction and SAP screen. With the SAP Protocol Data view, you can use snapshots of the SAP screen to edit the events. You can replace recorded test values with variable test data, or add dynamic data to SAP tests. You can also set verification points on field values or window titles to validate that the test behaved as expected.
Test validation. Before deploying the test, you can run the test manually as a single virtual user to make sure that the test runs smoothly and produces the expected results in a nominal environment with minimal server load. You can experience multiple test editing and validation cycles before your test is robust.
Workload emulation with schedules. When the test runs repeatedly as anticipated, you specify an execution schedule and user groups to emulate a workload that is generated by a large number virtual users. You can add SAP batch input tests to the schedule to simulate a heavy load on the servers while minimizing virtual tester resources.
Schedule execution. You run the schedule, deploying test execution over virtual users that can be hosted on remote hosts. Each virtual user runs an instance of the SAP GUI client. Response time results are provided by the SAP server and recorded. Verification points are checked and results are recorded.
Evaluation of results. You evaluate the results produced by the SAP performance tests through the various reports that are generated during execution. You can also design custom reports.