Rendezvous points

During a scenario run, you can instruct multiple Vusers to perform tasks simultaneously by using rendezvous points. A rendezvous point creates intense user load on the server and enables the measurement of server performance under load.

Rendezvous overview

Suppose you want to measure how a web-based banking system performs when ten Vusers simultaneously check account information. To emulate the required user load on the server, you instruct all the Vusers to check account information at exactly the same time.

You ensure that multiple Vusers act simultaneously by creating a rendezvous point. When a Vuser arrives at the rendezvous point, it is held there by Controller. You then set a rendezvous policy according to which Controller releases the Vusers from the rendezvous point either when the required number of Vusers arrives, or when a specified amount of time has passed.

You define rendezvous points in the Vuser script. For information about inserting rendezvous points into Vuser scripts, see the VuGen Help Center.

Using Controller, you can influence the level of server load by selecting:

Which of the rendezvous points will be active during the scenario
How many Vusers will take part in each rendezvous

For example, to test a bank server, you could create a scenario that contains two rendezvous points. The first rendezvous ensures that 1000 Vusers simultaneously deposit cash. The second rendezvous ensures that another 1000 Vusers simultaneously withdraw cash. If you want to measure how the server performs when only 500 Vusers deposit cash, you can deactivate the withdraw rendezvous, and instruct 500 Vusers to participate in the deposit rendezvous only.

Rendezvous Information dialog box

The Rendezvous Information dialog box enables you to view and modify the attributes of each rendezvous point in the scenario. It displays general information about the rendezvous point: which script is associated with the rendezvous, and release history.

The dialog box is available only if one of the Vuser scripts participating in the scenario contains a rendezvous point.

To access: Manual scenario > Design tab > Scenario > Rendezvous

User interface elements are described below:

UI Element	Description
Disable Rendezvous	Deactivates the rendezvous, excluding it from the scenario, thereby influencing the level of server load.
Enable Rendezvous	Enables a deactivated rendezvous point.
Policy	Opens the Policy dialog box, where you can set the number Vusers to be released from a rendezvous at a time, as well as the amount of time Controller waits before releasing Vusers from a rendezvous. Release when X% of all Vusers arrive at the rendezvous. Releases the Vusers only when the specified percentage of all Vusers arrives at the rendezvous point. Note: This option interferes with the scheduling of your scenario. If you select this option, your scenario will not run as scheduled. Release when X% of all running Vusers arrive at the rendezvous. Releases the Vusers only when the specified percentage of all Vusers running in the scenario arrives at the rendezvous point. Release when X Vusers arrive at the rendezvous. Releases the Vusers only when the specified number arrives at the rendezvous point. Timeout between Vusers. The timeout value (in seconds). After each Vuser arrives at the rendezvous point, OpenText Professional Performance Engineering waits up to the maximum timeout period specified for the next Vuser to arrive. If the next Vuser does not arrive within the timeout period, Controller releases all the Vusers from the rendezvous. Each time a new Vuser arrives, the timer is reset to zero. You set a timeout for each rendezvous point. Default value: 30 seconds
Disable Vuser	Prevents a Vuser from taking part in the rendezvous.
Enable Vuser	Enables a Vuser to take part in the rendezvous.
Reset	Resets the Status Information, removing the information currently displayed.
Release	While a scenario is running, enables you to manually release Vusers from a rendezvous before Controller releases them. Use this option if you want the scenario to continue running even though all the Vusers did not reach the rendezvous.
Rendezvous	The names of the rendezvous points in the scenario.
Scripts	The Vuser scripts associated with the rendezvous points.
Status Information	During and after a scenario, displays: Current Status. The number of Vusers that arrived at the rendezvous point out of the total number of Vusers assigned to the rendezvous. Time. The time at which the Vusers at the rendezvous point were released. Reason. The reason the Vusers at the rendezvous point were released. The possible reasons are Timeout or Arrived.
Vusers	The Vusers associated with the rendezvous points.

Set up a rendezvous in a scenario

This task describes set up rendezvous points and policies in a scenario.

Prerequisites

Add Vuser scripts that contain rendezvous points. For details, see VuGen Help Center.

Rendezvous points are only effective for group mode—not percentage mode. To switch the mode, see Changing scenario modes.

When you add a Vuser group or script to the scenario, Controller scans the included scripts for rendezvous points and adds them to a central list of rendezvous points. Select Scenario > Rendezvous to view this list.

Note: In goal-oriented scenarios, a script's rendezvous points are disabled.
Set the level of emulated user load

Select the rendezvous points to take part in the scenario, and the number of Vusers to participate in each rendezvous.

You can temporarily deactivate a rendezvous and exclude it from the scenario. You can deactivate a rendezvous point for all Vusers in a scenario, or you can temporarily deactivate specific Vusers from participating in the rendezvous.

By deactivating and enabling a rendezvous, you influence the level of server load.
Set the attributes for the rendezvous policy - Optional

In the Rendezvous Information dialog box, for each rendezvous:
1. Select the rendezvous, and click the Policy button.
2. In the Policy dialog box, set the policy attributes as follows: