Performance Testing - Embedded wmv file (1500 Virtual Users)

[Yshvets]

Hi,



I was assigned a task to come up with a testing strategy to simulate 1500 users going to a website and viewing the 20-25min embedded video.

We have an Enterprise edition of TestComplete with Unlimited Virtual User License. I went through the flow in terms of recording an HTTP Load test script by:



1. Opening the Browsers

2. Navigating to the Webpage

3. Clicking on "Play" button for video.



Please note, that i let it record for around 3-4 minutes as i saw that video was downloading while playing and the stream rate was 384K bits/s.



In my first attempts to run the scripts i was getting Warnings for X amount of Virtual Users i was running my script with (Currently only running 5 VU max to avoid the risk of bringing down the server)



I am seeking a TC professional who has experties working with TC Performance and Load testing to give me guidance for the following queries that i have:



1. How to make sure that my script is recorded correctly

2. How to determine that Script execution does what it needs to do

3. How to correctly read the Logs (Please note that i did some reasearch on that for a few days and have a bit of an idea).

4. What details do i need to present to Network Team to point out if the server is capable in accepting X amount of connections and that all connections should not have issues while streaming the video on their PCs.

5. Any other information that would be usefull for me.



Greatly appreciate all your help and comments in advance.



Thanks,

-Yuriy.

[Yshvets]

In addition to that, another question.



When running an HTTP load testing with 3 Virtual Users to get to the website and hit on play for wmv embedded video it takes 15 minutes per user (total of 45 minutes to execute this script)



Why is it taking that long to run the script with 3 virtual users?



Thanks.

[Yshvets]

Could someone please help? As this is really urgent for me as the project dead line is this coming friday 😞



Thank you.

[AlexanderM]

Hello Yuriy,





The actual behavior depends on your client-side player's implementation.

I have experimented with YouTube, and I have discovered that its player actually downloads the FLV video file from the server via HTTP, and hence this activity is recorded in the task. The problem with YouTube is the dynamic video links - the recorded link will not work during the test playback without scripting modifications.

So, if your application uses dynamic links to video files, you will need to handle them in a special way in your script.





Here are the answers to your questions:

1. How to make sure that my script is recorded correctly

Clear browser cache and cookies before the recording.

2. How to determine that Script execution does what it needs to do

There should be no errors or warnings in the test execution results.

3. How to correctly read the Logs (Please note that i did some reasearch on that for a few days and have a bit of an idea).

This depends on the type of the information you want to get from there. The logs show some performance parameters. So, the general task is to decide whether the timings are appropriate.

4. What details do i need to present to Network Team to point out if the server is capable in accepting X amount of connections and that all connections should not have issues while streaming the video on their PCs.

I would recommend that you read the Real-World Load Testing Tips to Avoid Bottlenecks When Your Web App Goes Live MSDN article - it should help you understand how to interpret Load Testing results.