This section of the documentation will walk you through the first steps in order to getting started with the RealLoad Product.
Follow the next sections of the document and you should be able to run your first basic test script using the SaaS Evaluation scenario within few minutes.
Let us know if encounter any issues while getting started, as that will help us updating this documentation to make it as clear and user friendly as possible. Please email us at support@realload.com
1 - Portal Sign Up and Login
To get started you’ll need to setup and account for yourself at the RealLoad portal. See here how…
In order to login to the portal you’ll first have to setup an account. Go to the portal URL and click on the Sign Up button or go this URL: https://portal.realload.com/SignUp
You’ll need to provide:
Email address.
Mobile phone number.
No credit card required, it’s completely free.
Free Account Features
After sign up, you have access to 2 (shared) Measuring Agents and to a remote HTTP/S Proxy Recorder.
A free account allows you to execute both Synthetic Monitoring Jobs & Load Test Jobs with the following limitations:
Max Number of Monitoring Jobs: 5
Min Monitoring Job Execution Interval: 5 minutes
Max Emails to be configured for Monitoring Alerts: 3
Max Monitoring Data Storage Time: 1 month
Max Virtual Users per executed Load Test job: 50 ¹
Max Load Test job duration: 15 Minutes ¹
Max Load Test job runs per 24 hours: 12 ¹
Max disk space storage: 0.5 GBs. This is used to store your test scripts and test results.
Your Free Account expire after 60 days, after that you have to purchase a license. Expired accounts and their data can be reactivated up to 6 months after expiration by purchasing a (new) license.
¹ = Does not apply for Load Test Jobs executed on Measuring Agents launched by Cloud Credits: in this case there are no such restrictions.
In addition, you will receive at sign up 20 free Cloud Credits, which you can use to launch additional (private) AWS Measuring Agents to perform Load Tests with hundreds of virtual users.
You can add a RealLoad license to your account at any time, even if your account is expired (but no longer than 6 months ago), by purchasing licenses at https://shop.realload.com
.
Sign Up Process
Step 1 of 4
Provide your details, including email and mobile number. All data you enter in this form are only required to verify your identity and will not be shared with any third parties.
Step 2 of 4
Validate your email address.
Step 3 of 4
Validate your mobile number.
Step 4 of 4
Configure your nickname and password.
Welcome Page with Examples
Once you signed up, you will be automatically logged in and the welcome page will be displayed.
Four examples to perform a test are shown:
This section gets you kickstarted with a simple HTTP/S Test.
This example shows how a simple HTTP/S Test can be defined as a RealLoad ‘Test’ and executed as both a Load Test Job and a Synthetic Monitoring Job.
The test sequence is manually entered into the HTTP Test Wizard to keep this example simple. However, you can also record HTTP/S tests using an HTTP/S Proxy Recorder and convert the recording into a HTTP Test Wizard session.
Pre-Requisites
To configure and execute a simple test you’ll need:
Access to the RealLoad portal. If you haven’t signed up, do so first Sign Up
Approx. 20..30 minutes of your time
A cup of tea or coffee
1. Invoke the HTTP Test Wizard and Create a New Session
Enter the Headline that briefly describes what the test does.
2. Save the (empty) Session
It’s best to save the empty session now. To do this, you must select a Resource Set of a Project.
Alternatively, you can also create a new ‘Project’ and/or ‘Resource Set’. ‘Resource Sets’ are something like sub-directories of a Project, which contain all the files necessary to define and execute a test.
Enter the file name for the session, e.g. HttpSession_TestDownloadServer.json and save the session.
In this example, a new Project named ‘HTTP Tests’ is created which also contains a new Resource Set named ‘Download Server’.
3. Add URLs to the Session
Click on the ‘Add’ dropdown and select ‘URL’.
Enter the URL and click on the ‘+’ icon at ‘Verify HTTP Response’.
At ‘Verify HTTP Status Code’ select ‘200 OK’ and then click the ‘Add URL’ button.
You can then add additional URLs to the session. In this example it looks like this:
4. Debug the Session
Before converting the session into a RealLoad ‘Test’ you should Debug the Session first. This way you can check whether all URL calls are working correctly. Click ‘Debug Session’.
This invokes a powerful Remote Debugger that runs always on a Measuring Agent. As shown at the top right of the following image you can also select an alternative Measuring Agent on which the debugger will run.
In the debugger you can also extract values from HTTP responses and assign them to succeeding HTTP requests, whereby the session is automatically synchronized between the debugger and the HTTP Test Wizard.
In the debugger, click Next Step until all URLs have been executed successfully and the end of the session has been reached - or until an error occurs. If an error occurs, exit the debugger, then repair the URL (= HTTP/S request), and then invoke the debugger again.
After debugging is successful, return to the HTTP Test Wizard.
5. Save the (debugged) Session
6. Generate and Compile the Code, and Define the RealLoad ‘Test’
After the source code is compiled, click ‘Define New Test’.
Enter the Test Description, and click ‘Define New Test’.
The RealLoad ‘Test’ is now defined. From here you can now create both a Load Test Job and a Monitoring Job.
Note: In case you (later) modify the session in the HTTP Test Wizard, you will have to generate and compile the source code again.
7. Define and Execute a Load Test Job
In the RealLoad ‘Test’ click ‘Define Test Job’.
In next menu click ‘Continue’ …
… And select the Measuring Agent on which the Load Test Job will be executed, then click ‘Define Load Test Job’.
The Load Test Job is now defined. Click ‘Start Test Job’.
Enter the settings of the Load Test Job here and then click ‘Start Test Job’. We recommend the following settings for the first load test run:
Number of Users: 5
Max. Test Duration (Seconds): 60
Max. Loops per User: [unlimited]
Loop Iteration Delay (Milliseconds): 1000
Ramp Up Time (Seconds): 10
Limitations if using a Free Account
A free account allows you to execute Load Tests with the following limitations ¹ :
Max. Load Test Job runs per 24 hours: 12
Max. Number of (virtual) Users: 50
Max. Test Duration: 15 Minutes / 900 Seconds
¹ = Does not apply for Load Test Jobs executed on Measuring Agents launched by Cloud Credits: in this case there are no such restrictions.
You can add a Real Load license to your account at any time by purchasing it in our shop https://shop.realload.com
.
After a few seconds the Load Test Job is in the state ‘Running’. Click ‘Monitor Jobs’.
The real-time data of the running Load Test Job is now displayed.
Click on ‘Analyze Result’ after the Load Test Job is completed.
The Load Test Job result is then displayed.
To view the Job Output Files navigate to ‘Load Test Jobs’ and click in the dropdown of the Job on ‘Job Log Files’.
Select the file users.out which contains the Log Output of the Job.
If you would like to run the Load Test Job again with the same or changed settings, click on ‘Clone Job’ in the Job dropdown and then start the cloned job.
8. Define a Monitoring Job
If this is your first Monitoring Job, you must first create a Monitoring Group. Navigate to Monitoring, click the ‘Configuration’ tab and then click ‘Add Monitoring Group’. There is also a help available for configuring the Synthetic Monitoring.
Enter the ‘Group Title’ and select at least one ‘Measuring Agent’ on which the Monitoring Job(s) will be executed. Then click ‘Add Monitoring Group’.
In the ‘Monitoring Group’ click ‘Monitoring Jobs’ and then click ‘Add Monitoring Job’.
Select the ‘Test’ of the Monitoring Job.
Click ‘Define Monitoring Job’.
Enable the execution of the Monitoring Group and navigate to ‘Dashboard’.
The Monitoring Job is now defined and will be executed periodically. For additional help configuring monitoring (e.g. adding ‘Alert Devices’), see Monitoring Help.
Tip: If you modify the RealLoad ‘Test’, the corresponding Monitoring Job is not automatically updated to avoid unexpected corruption of the Monitoring Job. After you have verified the modified ‘Test’ by running a small Load Test Job, you must manually update the Monitoring Job.
Done, congrats, you’ve run your first test with Real Load.
9. Conclusion and Prospects
As you have seen, a RealLoad Test can be run as both a Load Test Job and a Monitoring Job.
This example was deliberately kept simple so that you can become familiar with the RealLoad product. To create a test with a web browser session across multiple web pages, you can use
a Remote Proxy Recorder to record the test case and then convert the recording into an HTTP Test Wizard session.
Additionally, a Test Job Template can also be defined from any ‘Load Test Job’, which can then be part of a Test Suite. This means that you can add multiple ‘Test Job Templates’ to a Test Suite and execute them in a single run as a Regression Test.
To learn more, we recommend you read the User Guide. There you will find detailed documentation on the steps described in this document.
3 - SSL Certificate Expired Test
This section gets you kickstarted with a SSL Certificate Expired Test.
This example shows how to create an SSL Certificate Expired Test and configure it as a Synthetic Monitoring Job. If the certificate is about to expire or has already expired, you will receive an alert message.
You will also receive an alert message if the SSL server is not reachable - and depending on the Configuration of the Monitoring Job: you will receive an alert message if the sum of the TCP connect time and the SSL handshake time (in milliseconds) exceeds a configurable threshold.
Pre-Requisites
To configure and execute the test you’ll need:
Access to the RealLoad portal. If you haven’t signed up, do so first Sign Up
Approx. 5..10 minutes of your time to create a SSL Certificate Expired Test and another 10 minutes to configure the Synthetic Monitoring Job
A cup of tea or coffee
1. Call the JavaScript Editor from the Main Menu
2. Click “New JavaScript Test”
Then:
Select a Project (or create a new one)
Create a new Resource Set in the Project
Select the corresponding Template
Enter a JavaScript File Name (any file name ending with *.js)
Enter a Test Name
Click “Define New JavaScript Test”
3. Customize the Test
Modify:
serverHost
serverPort
warnExpiredCertificateHoursBefore
4. Verify the Test
Click “Save & Execute”:
Enable “Display Log Files after Execution” and then click “Execute Load Test Job”:
Click “Start Test Job”:
Wait a few seconds until the test is complete. Then close the notification on the left and click on “users.out” in the log files:
If no error is reported in the log, your test was successful:
5. Add the Test to Synthetic Monitoring
Navigate to Synthetic Monitoring:
Click the “Configuration” tab and then click “Add Monitoring Group”:
Enter a “Monitoring Group Title” and then click “Add Monitoring Group”:
Enable the Monitoring Group execution, click “Monitoring Jobs” and then click “Add Monitoring Job”:
Select the Test:
Optionally, you can also configure performance thresholds. Then click “Define Monitoring Job”:
Go to the dashboard. It may take a few minutes for the monitoring job to run for the first time:
6. Configuring Alert Devices for Synthetic Monitoring
Navigate to “Alert Groups & Devices” and Add Alert Devices:
Then Add an Alert Group:
Then Assign Alert Devices to the Alert Group:
You can also check which Alert Devices are assigned to an Alert Group:
Finally, navigate to “Configuration” and add (assign) the Alert Group at the Monitoring Group level or at the Monitoring Job level:
Note: This test can be extended in a few steps so that any SSL server can be tested with the same (generic) test.
4 - Convert a Selenium IDE Test to a RealLoad Test
This example shows how to convert a Selenium IDE Test to RealLoad Test.
This example shows how a Selenium IDE Test - which was recorded with a Chrome or Firefox web browser - can be converted into a RealLoad ‘Test’.
The converted RealLoad ‘Test’ can then be executed both as a Load Test Job and as a Monitoring Job.
In addition, the converted test can also be part of a Test Suite for performing Regression Tests.
In most cases, the conversion can be done easily with just a few mouse clicks - without the need for any special settings.
At the end of each executed test run (of the converted RealLoad test), a final screenshot of the simulated web browser session is
taken for each virtual user so that you can check whether the web browser session of the virtual user has been fully executed.
Tip: If possible, always use the Chrome web browser for Selenium IDE recording, as Chrome sessions are simulated much faster (= more realistic) than Firefox sessions.
Pre-requisites
To configure and execute this test you’ll need:
Access to the Real Load portal. If you haven’t signed up, do so first: Sign Up
Approx. 20..30 minutes of your time
A cup of tea or coffee
1. Export the Selenium IDE Test as JUnit Test
Export the your recorded Selenium IDE Test as Java JUnit file and save the file to any folder on your local device.
Note that the 3-dot dropdown icon may initially be hidden and may only appear when you are near to the Selenium ‘Test Case’ area. Do not choose any export option.
2. Upload the exported Selenium JUnit File
At Projects menu click on the ‘Developer Tools’ dropdown and select ‘Convert Selenium IDE Test to Real Load Test’.
Then upload the file by ‘Upload File’ or by dragging and dropping the file into the dashed area.
3. Convert the Uploaded JUnit File
Click on the ‘Convert’ button after uploading the file. The converted Java code is then displayed. Then click on the ‘Save & Compile’ button.
You have to save the converted code in a Resource Set of a Project. You can also first create a new Project with a new Resource Set.
After saving the converted code, you will be automatically redirected to the Compile Java File dialog.
4. Compile the Converted JUnit File
The JAR files required to compile are already preselected, i.e. you need only click the ‘Compile’ button.
After successful compilation, click ‘Define or Update Selenium by JUnit Test’.
You will then be automatically redirected to the Define JUnit & Selenium Test dialog.
5. Define the Selenium RealLoad ‘Test’
Select the JUnit @Test method (in this case only one will be shown) and click ‘Define Test’.
In an intermediate step you can enter an (optional) test description.
Please note that not all Measuring Agents support the execution of Selenium jobs. You can ‘ping’ a Measuring Agent at application level to find out whether Selenium jobs are supported:
Example 1: Measuring Agent ‘Demo Agent 1 (CH)’ does not support Selenium jobs
Example 2: Measuring Agent ‘Demo Agent 2B (CH)’ supports Selenium jobs