Create custom image for load generators on the cloud

This topic describes how to create custom images for the Google Cloud and DigitalOcean cloud environments. For information about creating images in Amazon and Azure cloud environments, see the information on creating custom images for cloud hosts in the LoadRunner Enterprise Help Center.

Prerequisite - secure communication

When Controller communicates with load generators on the cloud using TLS (SSL), it encrypts the TLS certificate private key for enhanced security. The encryption uses the shared key included in the LoadRunner Professional installation. If this shared key is changed from the default value on the Controller machine, you must change the shared key on the load generator to the same value before creating the image for the load generator.

To change the shared key, use the Network and Security Manager command line tool. For details, see Shared key options.

Google Cloud - Windows

To create a custom image for the Google Cloud Platform on a Windows machine:

Install the Google Compute SDK. It can be downloaded from the Google Cloud website.

Using the SDK’s web interface from your browser:

Define a network with any name (in this example, network1) and add the following rules:

Name	Source tag / IP range	Allowed protocols / ports	Target tags
default-allow-lg	0.0.0.0/0	tcp:54345 (LR agent port)	lr-lg
default-allow-rdp	0.0.0.0/0	tcp:3389	rdp

Create an instance:
1. Provide a name for the instance (for our example instance1).
2. Specify a region for the instance (for our example, us-central1-a).
3. Specify a machine size g1-small (1 vCPU, 1.7 GB RAM), or higher.
4. Specify Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard x64 as the operating system.
5. Select Create New image > Management, Disk, Networking, Access & Security Options > Management and specify the tag rdp.
6. Select Create New image > Management, Disk, Networking, Access & Security Options > Networking and specify network1 as the network.
7. Confirm that you want to create the instance.
Connect to the instance that you just created using RDP.
Download the standalone load generator OneLG to the instance, and install using LoadRunner Enterprise (LRE) mode. The setup file is in the LoadRunner Professional installation package's Standalone Applications folder. Install it in a non-default location, such as C:\OneLG.
When the load generator is installed:
1. Open the Server Manager on the machine.
2. From the Tools menu, select Computer Management.
3. Under System Tools > Local Users and Groups, select Groups.
4. On the right, open the properties of the Administrators group.
5. In the General tab, under Members, remove IUSR_METRO.
6. Click OK.
Turn off firewalls using the following command:

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
Register the LGCloudAgent service using the following command:

sc create LGCloudAgent binPath= "c:\OneLG\bin\LGCloudAgent.exe" start= auto
Disable autostart for the LoadRunnerAgent service:

sc config LoadRunnerAgent start= demand

sc config remotemanagementagent start= demand
Run the System Preparation Tool using the Generalize and Shutdown options:

cd %windir%\system32\sysprep

sysprep (generalize, shutdown)

Using the Google Compute SDK console:
1. Authenticate yourself:
  
  gcloud auth login
2. Set current project:
  
  gcloud config set project <project ID>
Using the SDK’s web interface, determine the Project ID:
1. Terminate the instance using the SDK console:
  
  gcloud compute instances delete instance1 --keep-disks boot
2. Create an image from the instance disk. For example, for version 2023:
  
  gcloud compute images create <new image name> --description "LR LG, LRE Compatible, version{2023}, windows" --source-disk instance1 --source-disk-zone us-central1-a

Google Cloud - Ubuntu

To create a custom image for Google Cloud on an Ubuntu machine:

Install the Google Compute SDK. It can be downloaded from the Google Cloud website.