Rehearsal of LoadRunner in 1 Hr: Interview Questions 1 – 10
While appearing in an interview for a position on HP LoadRunner, do a quick rehearsal of your knowledge on this tool.
Here is a collection of 80 short questions on LoadRunner & Load-Testing, the Test Managers commonly use while interviewing new aspirants for their organization.
The entire rehearsal of these questions can take less than an hour.
Set of Ten Questions
Q.1: What is Load Testing?
Load testing is to test that if the application works fine with the loads that result from large number of simultaneous users, transactions and to determine weather it can handle peak usage periods.
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Q.2: What is Performance testing?
Timing for both read and update transactions should be gathered to determine whether system functions are being performed in an acceptable timeframe. This should be done standalone and then in a multi user environment to determine the effect of multiple transactions on the timing of a single transaction.
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Q.3: Briefly explain as to what is LoadRunner?
LoadRunner works by creating virtual users who take the place of real users operating client software, such as sending requests using the HTTP protocol to IIS or Apache web servers. Requests from many virtual user clients are generated by Load Generators in order to create a load on various servers under test
These load generator agents are started and stopped by Mercury’s Controller program. The Controller controls load test runs based on Scenarios invoking compiled Scripts and associated Run-time Settings.
Scripts are crafted using Mercury’s “Virtual user script Generator” (named “V U Gen”), It generates C-language script code to be executed by virtual users by capturing network traffic between Internet application clients and servers.
With Java clients, VuGen captures calls by hooking within the client JVM. During runs, the status of each machine is monitored by the Controller.
At the end of each run, the Controller combines its monitoring logs with logs obtained from load generators, and makes them available to the “Analysis” program, which can then create run result reports and graphs for Microsoft Word, Crystal Reports, or an HTML webpage browser.
Each HTML report page generated by Analysis includes a link to results in a text file, which Microsoft Excel can open to perform additional analysis.
Errors during each run are stored in a database file, which can be read by Microsoft Access.
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Q.4: What is a Virtual User?
Unlike a WinRunner workstation, which emulates a single user’s use of a client, LoadRunner can emulate thousands of Virtual Users.
Load generators are controlled by VuGen scripts, which issue non-GUI API calls using the same protocols as the client under test. But WinRunner GUI Vusers emulate keystrokes, mouse clicks, and other User Interface actions on the client being tested.
Only one GUI user can run from a machine unless LoadRunner Terminal Services Manager manages remote machines with Terminal Server Agent enabled and logged into a Terminal Services Client session.
During run-time, threadedvusers share a common memory pool. So threading supports more Vusers per load generator.
The Status of Vusers on all load generators start from “Running”, then go to “Ready” after going through the init section of the script. Vusers are “Finished” in passed or failed end status. Vusers are automatically “Stopped” when the Load Generator is overloaded.
To use Web Services Monitors for SOAP and XML, a separate license is needed, and vUsers require the Web Services add-in installed with Feature Pack (FP1).
No additional license is needed for standard web (HTTP) server monitors Apache, IIS, and Netscape.
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Q.5: How do we use Windows Remote Desktop Connection?
To keep Windows Remote Desktop Connection sessions from timing out during a test, the Terminal Services on each machine should be configured as follows:
Click Start, point to Programs (or Control Panel), Administrative Tools and choose Terminal Services Configuration.
Open the Connections folder in tree by clicking it once.
Right-click RDP-Tcp and select Properties.
Click the Sessions tab.
Make sure “Override user settings” is checked.
Set Idle session limit to the maximum of 2 days instead of the default 2 hours.
Click Apply.
Click OK to confirm message “Configuration changes have been made to the system registry; however, the user session now active on the RDP-Tcp connection will not be changed.”
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Q.6: Briefly explain the Load testing process using LoadRunner?
Step 1: Planning the test: Here, we develop a clearly defined test plan to ensure the test scenarios we develop will accomplish load-testing objectives.
Step 2: Creating Vusers: Here, we create Vuser scripts that contain tasks performed by each Vuser, tasks performed by Vusers as a whole, and tasks measured as transactions.
Step 3: Creating the scenario: A scenario describes the events that occur during a testing session. It includes a list of machines, scripts, and Vusers that run during the scenario. We create scenarios using LoadRunner Controller. We can create manual scenarios as well as goal-oriented scenarios. In manual scenarios, we define the number of Vusers, the load generator machines, and percentage of Vusers to be assigned to each script. For web tests, we may create a goal-oriented scenario where we define the goal that our test has to achieve. LoadRunner automatically builds a scenario for us.
Step 4: Running the scenario: We emulate load on the server by instructing multiple Vusers to perform tasks simultaneously. Before the testing, we set the scenario configuration and scheduling. We can run the entire scenario, Vuser groups, or individual Vusers.
Step 5: Monitoring the scenario: We monitor scenario execution using the LoadRunner online runtime, transaction, system resource, Web resource, Web server resource, Web application server resource, database server resource, network delay, streaming media resource, firewall server resource, ERP server resource, and Java performance monitors.
Step 6: Analyzing test results: During scenario execution, LoadRunner records the performance of the application under different loads. We use LoadRunner�s graphs and reports to analyze the application�s performance.
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Q.7: When do you do load and performance Testing?
We perform load testing once we are done with interface (GUI) testing. Modern system architectures are large and complex. Whereas single user testing primarily on functionality and user interface of a system component, application testing focuses on performance and reliability of an entire system.
For example, a typical application-testing scenario might depict 1000 users logging in simultaneously to a system. This gives rise to issues such as what is the response time of the system, does it crash, will it go with different software applications and platforms, can it hold so many hundreds and thousands of users, etc. This is when we set do load and performance testing.
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Q.8: What are the components of LoadRunner?
The components of LoadRunner are The Virtual User Generator, Controller, and the Agent process, LoadRunner Analysis and Monitoring, LoadRunner Books Online.
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Q.9: What Component of LoadRunner would you use to record a Script?
The Virtual User Generator (VuGen) component is used to record a script. It enables you to develop Vuser scripts for a variety of application types and communication protocols.
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Q.10: What is the role of Remote Agent Dispatcher in LoadRunner?
The role of Remote Agent Dispatcher is to enable the Controller to start applications on the load generator.
Next Set of LoadRunner Rehearsal Questions 11 – 20
Rehearsal of QTP in 1 Hr. Interview Questions
An expert on R&D, Online Training and Publishing. He is M.Tech. (Honours) and is a part of the STG team since inception.
Really a very good website for the testers who wants to do certification or grow more in this field
Thanks for the great feedback Kavita. I will keep on writing more articles on Software Testing.
hello …someone is maintaining this site?
pls update with HP LR 12.01
mercury no longer owns LR..pls update with tutorials and updated interview questions