The virtual user logs lets you monitor the progress of virtual users as they are running or view errors as they occur.
The following is a summary of the virtual user logs features:
View virtual user playback as pages are accessed and displayed;
View only selected virtual user pages;
View only pages with errors.
To start the Virtual User Logs viewer:
Specify Scenarios.
Submit the Scenario to the Autopilot.
Start the Autopilot.
Select VU Logs from the Tools menu.
The main window of the virtual user logs is where you select the virtual user actions to view. The main window has the following parts:
Toolbar
Summary Views
All Logs view
The virtual user logs window has the following toolbar options:
Open - Opens an existing virtual user log.
Save as CSV - Exports the current VU log to a comma-separated value file.
Clear - Clears the virtual user logs.
View Text - Displays the source HTML for pages accessed by the virtual user.
Render HTML - Displays actual pages as accessed by the virtual user.
Auto Display - Displays pages as they are received by the viewer.
Manual Display - The VU log stays on the selected page and does not go to the next page; however, it continues to collect pages.
Refresh On - Allows the viewer to collect new pages that are being accessed by the virtual user.
Refresh Off - Stops the viewer from accepting new pages being accessed by the virtual user.
Navigate to First Page - Displays the first page in the log.
Navigate to Previous Page - Navigates to the previous page in the log.
Navigate to Next Page - Navigates to the next page in the log.
Navigate to Last Page - Displays the last page of the log.
[View Buttons] - Selects the view to display: Summary view, Summary by VU view, or All Logs view.
Filter - Displays and hides the filter pane on the main screen. The filter fields corresponds to the table columns and can be used to enter particular values to filter the tabular data based upon specified values.
Details/Content - Displays or hides a text area used to display the contents of messages. You can only select a button if it is enabled. Only one can be selected at a time. If neither button is selected, the text area is hidden.
The Details button shows a text report that contains all the values of fields of the currently selected row in the particular view's table.
The Content button shows any message associated with a log entry. For example a message with type ResponseContent is associated with the full response content received by the agent. A message with type Parameter substitution is associated with a string specifying all the parameter/value pairs. Any messages with contents are shown in the contents pane.
Level/Threshold - The level selector filters the tabular data to the selected levels. If Threshold is cleared, only the messages of the selected levels will be shown. If Threshold is selected, all the messages of the selected level and the levels of higher priority are shown.
The Summary view provides an overview of how many times a particular type message has occurred and by what number of Virtual Users. The Summary view shows the following information:
[Level image] - Indicates the message level. The level can be Info, Debug, Warning, or Error.
Sample Message - Shows the message of the first record of the group as a sample message.
Type - Specifies the type of message. Some examples of valid types are: Action, BeginPage, Cached Data, Customized Log, DatabankRecord, FoundResource, ParameterSubstitution, RequestHeader, ResponseContent, ResponseHeader, ScriptError, Sync Point, ThinkTime, Verification.
Occurrence - Specifies the number of time this message has occurred.
Vusers - Specifies the number of distinct Virtual Users that have thrown this message.
Script - Shows the name of the script that generated the message.
Step - Specifies the step number in the script.
Parent Chain - Specifies the chain of scripts starting with the parent script if the message occured in a child script called from another script.
The Summary by VU view provides an overview of how many times a particular type message has been thrown by a particular VU. The Summary by VU view shows the following information:
VU-ID - Specifies the virtual user number.
Level - Indicates the message level. The level can be Info, Debug, Warning, or Error.
Sample Message - Shows the message of the first record of the group as a sample message.
Type - Specifies the type of message. Some examples of valid types are: Action, BeginPage, Cached Data, Customized Log, DatabankRecord, FoundResource, ParameterSubstitution, RequestHeader, ResponseContent, ResponseHeader, ScriptError, Sync Point, ThinkTime, Verification.
Occurrence - Specifies the number of time this message has occurred.
Script - Shows the name of the script that generated the message.
Step - Specifies the step number in the script.
Parent Chain - Specifies the chain of scripts starting with the parent script if the message occured in a child script called from another script.
The All Logs view shows all messages as they are stored without grouping. You can use the filter to see only messages for a particular VU and its chronological path flow. Use this view to debug problems in depth by viewing message contents. The All Logs view shows the following information:
VU-ID - Specifies the virtual user number.
Level - Indicates the message level. The level can be Info, Debug, Warning, or Error.
Message - Shows the message.
Type - Specifies the type of message. Some examples of valid types are: Action, BeginPage, Cached Data, Customized Log, DatabankRecord, FoundResource, ParameterSubstitution, RequestHeader, ResponseContent, ResponseHeader, ScriptError, Sync Point, ThinkTime, Verification.
Script - Shows the name of the script that generated the message.
Step - Specifies the step number in the script.
Parent Chain - Specifies the chain of scripts starting with the parent script if the message occured in a child script called from another script.
Iteration - Shows the iteration number.
Time - Shows the date and time the message occurred.
You can open an existing VU log for viewing in the VU Logs viewer. To open a VU log:
Start the VU Logs Viewer.
Click Open.
Select from Server - lets you open a log file that is saved on the server. Select the session from the list.
Select from local machine - lets you open a log file that has been saved on the local machine. Click Browse to navigate to the file.
Select whether you want to open a log file on the server or on the local machine.
Select the log that you want to execute in the virtual user logs. If you are opening a log file from the local machine either enter it's path or click Browse to navigate to the file.
Click OK.