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Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
When HP released LoadRunner version 9, several new protocols were introduced.  One of these protocols was Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).  It allows the scripting of Terminal Server sessions.  From a scripting standpoint, it looks similar to earlier versions of the Citric ICA LoadRunner protocol.  Many of the same best practices used when recording Citrix can be used when recoding RDP Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
Citrix applications represent the second most common protocol for LoadRunner engagements at Loadtester Incorporated Northway Solutions Group. Our white paper from 2006 on Citrix best practices continues to be a very popular download on the site. In 2008, we’ve presented this information to the Citrix iForum and at local user groups. There continues to be a lot of interest in testing Citrix Read Entire Entry

Anyone who has written a script in LoadRunner has probably used parameters before. A parameter is a substitution for a hard coded values when there needs to be different data values submitted on each new iteration if the script. One way to feed new information in is by creating a data file (similar to a CSV delimited file). You can create your own .DAT files with multiple columns, convert them from excel spreadsheets, or from SQL extracts from the database.  Then point your parameter to the .DAT file. HP’s Virtual User Generator Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
The story of Mercury Interactive needs to be told. I hope someday someone within the company will write a book on the early years and discuss their great successes. It would probably be a fascinating tale. I think a lot of people would also like to know more about events which led up to the HP acquisition last year. I am not sure we will ever know the whole truth. What is known is that in 2004, Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
There are two things I love to do: Crush applications with LoadRunner and eat good BBQ. With regards to my first love – nothing gives me the same feeling as being able to expose things that suck, with graphs to prove it! Seriously though. I’ve seen a lot of applications and recorded against several of LoadRunner’s protocol types. But there is one that has eluded me for years. Or should I say, I Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
Microsoft recently posted a job for a performance engineer, and I happened to see it. It started off with the question, “Do you have experience with any of the common performance testing applications such as LoadRunner and OcraCoke?” I thought, “huh?”. For those of you not familiar with OcraCoke, that was the pre-launch code name for Visual Studio Team System. This peaked my interest further. I Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com by Suresh Nageswaran, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
Compilers and interpreters have always interested me. When I started tinkering with LoadRunner’s implementation, the initial motivation was simply to try an get an understanding of the engine under the hood. The idea was to acquire an edge by going from the documented to the undocumented. This approach bears rich dividends with avenues to extending the tool and using Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
I have been studying the maturity model put forth by Mercury around performance testing. Here’s a graphic representation of it.

I have some thoughts about it, but before I get off on a rant, I thought it was only fair to put some brief points and descriptions around each phase. Obviously, this is borrowed from the CMM model.
Take a look at some of the qualities below that describe the stages an Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
I was asked recently to describe in my own words what qualities a good performance engineer would have, as they were trying to make a decision on hiring a resource for their company. I came up with some stuff and thought it might be good to share it with you and offer it up as a discussion topic in the Forums for the site. Perhaps you can add your own input and help businesses make informed hiring Read Entire Entry

Note: This article was originally posted on Loadtester.com, and has been migrated to the Northway web site to maintain the content online.
Those of you following my columns know that I have laid out in some detail how to begin building a Center of Excellence (COE) around performance testing, and centralizing it. Now I want to expound on three models that performance testing groups generally follow. Encapsulation refers to a silo approach. Enablement means allowing resources from other groups to self-govern their performance. Read Entire Entry