Add load generators to a scenario

The following steps describe how to add a load generator to a scenario. The procedure varies slightly depending on whether you are adding an on-premises or cloud-based load generator.

For details on the Load Generators dialog box, see Load Generators dialog box.

Add on-premises load generators to a scenario

If you know the host name or IP address of an on-premises load generator, you can manually add it to your scenario. Alternatively, you can choose to automatically detect all load generators available on the Controller's network. You then select one or more of the local load generators to include in your scenario.

To manually specify an on-premises load generator

  1. In the Load Generators dialog box, click Add and enter the host name or IP address of the load generator machine.

    For information on how to add new load generator machines, see Add New Load Generator/Load Generator Information dialog box.

  2. Click OK. The load generator remains in the Down state until it is connected.

To automatically detect local load generators

  1. In the Load Generators dialog box, click Autodetect. The Autodetect Load Generators dialog box opens.

  2. Choose a network adapter from the Available adapters dropdown. This can be for an IPv4 or IPv6 network.

  3. Click Start. Controller generates a list of the load generator machines available on the selected network.
  4. Optional: Select the Use IP addresses instead of host names option, to apply to the selected machines when adding them to Controller. Each host name is resolved to the IP address of the machine that originated the response packet, and the IP address is displayed in the Load Generators dialog box.

  5. Select the load generators that you want to include in your scenario and click Add. Controller adds the load generators to the list in the Load Generators dialog box.

    The load generators remain in the Down state until they are connected.

Note: For Linux load generators, check your machine for the Bash vulnerabilities. For details, see Shellshock vulnerability.

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Provision new cloud-based load generators

This section describes how to provision new cloud-based load generators.

The process of creating a new load generator in a cloud account is known as provisioning the load generator.

Controller installs a default system configuration, or an image, on the cloud load generator. Alternatively you can apply a custom image. For more information, see Create custom image for load generators on the cloud.

To provision a new cloud-based load generator:

  1. As a prerequisite, set up your cloud account and Controller for provisioning load generators on the cloud. For details, see Load generators on the cloud.
  2. Open the Load Generators dialog box.

  3. Click Add From Cloud > Provision New LG. The Create Cloud Load Generator dialog box opens.

  4. From the list of available cloud accounts, select the cloud account to host the new load generator.

  5. Specify the number of load generators to provision.

    Tip: Increasing the number of load generators allows you to provision more than one machine with the same parameters.

  6. To automatically terminate the machines after the scenario run and after all the data has been collated, select Terminate the load generator when load test is finished.

  7. Click More to specify provider-specific parameters and images. Initially, default parameters are selected. These parameters are unique for each cloud provider. For details, see Create Cloud Load Generator dialog box.

    Tip: In subsequent provisioning, the connection settings that you last applied to a load generator are used, not necessarily a cloud-based machine.

    • In the Machine Settings section, select the relevant settings. These settings differ for each of the supported cloud providers. The default values are the most popular and commonly used settings.

    • In the Connections section, select the network profile created for the cloud connection from the drop-down list.
      Click Browse to open the Network Profile Manager to create a new profile. For details, see Network Profile Manager dialog box.

      All of the connection settings are applied to the new load generators that are provisioned. For example, if you specify Port 6080, the load generator is created on port 6080 and listens on the same port.

  8. Verify the provisioning parameters (amount, termination policy, and machine parameters), and click Provision to provision the specified load generators

    During provisioning, the load generator status is In Progress. This status indicates provisioning of the test machine on the cloud and launching the OS and load generator on this machine. This process can take a few minutes.

    Once the load generator status changes to Down, it can be used for running a scenario. You can verify its availability by clicking the Connect button.

Caution: If you want to delete a cloud load generator from the scenario, make sure you select the correct deletion option. For details, see Manage load generators on the cloud.

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Use existing cloud-based load generators

This section describes how to use existing cloud-based load generators that were provisioned earlier, in your scenario.

You can use running instances of cloud load generators in your scenario, either provisioned through Controller, or manually created.

To use an existing cloud-based load generator:

  1. Ensure that you have provisioned load generators in your cloud account. For details, see Provision new cloud-based load generators.

  2. Open the Load Generators dialog box.

  3. Click Add From Cloud > Use Existing LG. The Use Cloud Load Generator dialog box opens. For details, see Use Cloud Load Generator dialog box.

  4. From the list of cloud accounts, select the cloud account that hosts the required load generator machine. A list of available load generators is displayed.

  5. Select the load generators that you want to add to the scenario in the Available Machines section.

  6. Select a Network Profile if you defined them beforehand. The network profile indicates the connection information for the load generator, such as the connection mode, proxy, and ports. To create a new network profile, close this dialog box and choose Tools > Network Profile Manager. For details, see Network Profile Manager dialog box. If the network profile that you chose indicates a different port for an existing load generator (cloud or on-premises), you also need to manually set it on the load generator machine.

  7. Click Add Machine.

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Modify load generator settings

You can modify the settings for a load generator in the Load Generator Information dialog box.

To modify load generator settings:

  1. Open the Load Generator Information dialog box.

  2. Select a load generator, and click Details.

  3. Modify the details displayed in the configuration tabs at the bottom of the dialog box.

    For details, see Add New Load Generator/Load Generator Information dialog box.

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See also: