NeoLoad is not a tool designed for functional testing. However, it can perform checks on content returned by the server. Basic functional testing can be carried out using assertions, such as content assertions based on regular expressions.

This largely depends on the application being tested and the scenario and its parameters, especially the think time used between two pages. In fact, with a think time of two seconds, a Load Generator can generate twice as many Virtual Users than with a think time of one second.

As an indication, a Pentium IV 2,4GHz can produce up to 1500 hits/sec. Typically, a Load Generator can generate between 500 and 1500 Virtual Users for a standard application.

Remember that the NeoLoad Controller can use as many Load Generators as necessary to generate the number of Virtual Users set out in the license, and at no extra cost.

With a NeoLoad license, you may install a Controller and as many Load Generators as needed to produce the required load. However, you may not use more than one Controller with each license.

Create a random variable corresponding to the variable part of the string to be generated. Then use the following string composition: "product_${productID}".

Yes. See the Chapter 2, Installation chapter for further information.

Any web server or application server may be used. NeoLoad can test any HTTP application: ASP.Net, J2EE, PHP,....

NeoLoad automatically manages cookies sent by the server during the test. Cookies may also be defined in the request settings. Note that NeoLoad does not handle script-based cookies generated by the browser.

Yes. NeoLoad can record HTTPS requests and play them back.

Moreover, NeoLoad does support authentication based on client certificates. When recording an SSL web site, the browser will generate a security alert. This is quite normal; ignore the alerts and continue browsing normally.

The think time between two pages and any pause actions are taken into account when calculating a container's response time.

When you plot a customized graph curve, the "all" node represents the average for all the HTTP requests filtered by the selected Virtual User and Population (see "Filtering by Virtual User").

It does not take into account logical actions such as web pages or containers.

Right-click on the curve to be exported, then select "Save as image..." to save the graph curve as a PNG image file.

The java.net.NoRouteToHostException: No route to host: connect error probably indicates that an incorrect network interface is being used. Check the Load Generator's network settings (see the section called “Load Generator hosts”).

Basic, form-based and NTML authentication.

The memory displayed in the Runtime pane refers to the Java heap, not system memory. If you want to use a heavy load, increase the memory available to the Load Generator (see Chapter 2, Installation).

NeoLoad can export raw data in CSV format. To export the statistics for a URL, page or container, use the Export button on the Values tab. You can also export all the raw data for several graph curves by using the Export button on the Graphs tab.

When the Play test button is disabled, a message is displayed in the status bar giving the reason. To play a test, you need to have at least one Virtual User and one populated Population. In Runtime view, you also must have at least one Load Generator selected.

In most cases, the current machine ("localhost") is pre-selected, but it may be necessary to select the Load Generator manually, depending on the network configuration.

NeoLoad records and plays back any HTTP transmission between the browser and the web server. Therefore, NeoLoad can simulate the activity of client-side components such as an ActiveX component, as long as it uses the HTTP protocol to communicate with the server.

If the component sends binary data, NeoLoad will only be able to play back the recorded data as it was recorded, without any modification. If this data contains session ID's or other parameters that require replacing dynamically, the test will not work.

The Virtual User's activity has been correctly recorded and you get an NL-NETWORK-03 error with the message: "Failed to connect to the server". This indicates that NeoLoad cannot connect to the server when the scenario is played back.

If the error details are "java.net.ConnectException: Connection timed out: connect", it would indicate that the Load Generator is using an incorrect network interface. Edit the Load Generator in the "Runtime/Scenario" section to check that the selected network interface allows access to the web server.

For other error details, typical causes are:

If the error is not caused by any of the above, please carry out a short recording on a public Internet site such as www.google.com, then create a Virtual User and check its validity using NeoLoad. Once finished, please send all log files (all files in the <neoload>/logs directory) to the NeoLoad support team.

If you get a 404 error on images, JavaScript or CSS files during the test, it means that these files are referenced and used in the HTML page but are missing on the server.

The end-user usually doesn't notice that the files are missing because the browser ignores this type of error.

Therefore, either the application needs to be fixed (by inserting the missing files or removing reference to them in the web page), or the request must be deleted from either the NeoLoad Repository or the Virtual User.