If you need to run a large test with several hundred users or more, you may need multiple Load Simulator client computers. You can run Load Simulator on multiple clients by using the same .sim file on each.
A Load Simulator client can simulate users on multiple servers, but it can't span multiple sites simultaneously. To run a simulation involving multiple sites, you need at least one Load Simulator client computer per site. Users simulated in a test are divided among the clients defined for a given site based on the weights assigned to those clients. If all the weights are equal, an equal number of users are simulated on each of the clients.
You can assign clients with different weights to compensate for differences in client hardware capacities. For example, one of Jane's simulated clients (client_a) has 32 MB of RAM, the other (client_b) has 64 MB. Jane adds both clients to the list of clients that will be tested and assigns them different weights. She assigns client_a with a weight of 1 and client_b with a weight of 2. When Jane runs her tests, client_a will simulate one-third of the users in the test and the more powerful computer, client_b, will simulate the other two-thirds of the users.
Note
If you use multiple client computers, the clients must be able to access the message files. Copies of the message files should reside in the same directory on all of your client computers.
1. From the Configuration menu, choose Client Machines.
2. Select the Use multiple client machines check box.
3. Select the clients that will be used in the test and their weighting values.
4. Save the .sim file and copy it to the same directory on each client's local disk.
Option | Description |
Use multiple client machines | Indicates whether multiple client computers will be used in the test. |
Test client machines | The client computers that will be used in the test. |
Weighting | Specifies the weight value for client computer. The weight value is a relative number that indicates whether the selected client will be used more or less than other clients. For example, if client A has weight 1 and client B has weight 50, client B will be used 50 times more often than client A. |
Client site | The site that contains the client computers. |
Add Client(s) | Adds client computers to the list of clients that will be tested. |
Remove | Removes a selected client computer from the list of clients that will be tested. |