Running Virtual Scripts

This chapter provides an overview of virtual script runs and discusses how to:

Run virtual scripts from a single workstation.
Launch and manage multiple script playback.

Understanding Virtual Script Runs

After you generate one or more scripts using Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Virtual Autopilot, you are ready to execute playback to simulate multiple users running processes. If you want to simulate multiple users on a single workstation, you can launch the script either from a command line or from JD Edwards Virtual Runner.

Using Mercury Interactive's LoadRunner tool, you can also launch one or more JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot script playback sessions on more than one workstation. LoadRunner manages the playback sessions. Using LoadRunner as the script playback manager enables you to more accurately simulate the actual stress that users in a business environment might impose on the system.

Running Virtual Scripts from a Single Workstation

This section provides an overview of virtual script runs from a single workstation, lists a prerequisite, and discusses how to:

Run virtual scripts from the command line.
Run virtual scripts using JD Edwards Virtual Runner.

Understanding Virtual Script Runs from a Single Workstation

You can launch the Virtual Script Player from a command line on a single machine or from JD Edwards Virtual Runner, which manages virtual script playback, in order to simulate more than one user on a single workstation. The Virtual Script Player accesses the .vsx file that you create when you generate a virtual script on the Virtual Autopilot Script Editor. After you run the script, you check the log files for errors.

Prerequisite

Before you can use JD Edwards Virtual Runner, you must cut the vap.ini file from \\B9\system\Bin32 and paste it into \\WINNT.

Running Virtual Scripts from the Command Line

The Virtual Script Player accesses the .vsx file generated by the Virtual Autopilot Script Editor. You can launch the Virtual Script Player from a command line on a single machine or from a LoadRunner controller when you want to run virtual scripts on more than one workstation.

The command line must have entries specifying the user, the environment, and the script name. This table summarizes the required entries on the command line:

Command Line Abbreviation	Description	Sample Entry
-u	User ID	-u JDE
-p	User password	-p JDE
-e	Environment	-e PRD733
-s	Script Name + number of script iterations to run	-s Script1.vsx

To run virtual scripts from a command line:

From the Start menu in Windows, select Command Prompt from the Programs menu.
At the C: prompt, type the Virtual Script Player command with appropriate parameters. For example: Virtual Script Player -u JDE -p JDE -e PRD733 -s5 script1.vsx.
Click Enter to run the command.
To review the progress of the program, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to access the Windows Task Manager.

Note. The Processes tab displays the executable (Virtual Script Player.exe) and the CPU activity associated with it. Otherwise, there is no indication of activity on the screen.

When playback concludes, the Virtual Script Player.exe task disappears from the Task Manager window and a log in the \\JD Edwards Autopilot\VAP_Logs directory displays any errors that were encountered. You can change the directory location in the section of vap.ini file.
To search the JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot log for errors, click the Search menu, select Find, and search on the keyword error.

If errors occur, see the documentation on debugging virtual scripts.
If the script contains valid values list data, change the data and play the script again.

Running Virtual Scripts Using JD Edwards Virtual Runner

The JD Edwards Virtual Runner program enables you to manage the playback of virtual scripts. You use it to specify the script, the number of player sessions, and the number of iterations that you want to run in each session. You also specify the system environment against which you want to run the sessions.

You use the JD Edwards Virtual Runner log in conjunction with the system logs and more detailed VAP logs to help debug failed sessions.

To run virtual scripts using JD Edwards Virtual Runner:

From the desktop or the appropriate directory, double-click the JD Edwards Virtual Runner executable.
Click the Option button located on the JD Edwards Virtual Runner toolbar.

The Option window appears.
Complete these fields and then click OK:
- User ID
- Password
- Environment
  
  The environment against which you want to run the test.
Click the Wizard button.

The JD Edwards Virtual Runner Add Wizard - Step 1 of 3 form appears.
Click the Browse for script button to select the script that you want to run.

The Choose a Virtual Player Script to run form appears.
Select the script that you want and click the Open button.

The name of the script appears in the Select a script to run field.
Specify the number of player sessions to run on the workstation.

Example: enter 4 to run four scripts simultaneously.
Specify the number of virtual script session iterations to run.

Example: enter 5 to run the script five iterations sequentially.
Click the Next button.

The JD Edwards Virtual Runner Add Wizard - Step 2 of 3 form appears. If you entered information into the Option window, then the Wizard pulls that information into this window.
If you did not enter information into the Option window, enter your User ID, Password, and Environment.
Click Next.

The JD Edwards Virtual Runner Add Wizard - Step 3 of 3 form appears.
If you want to add another script, click the button to add more scripts and repeat steps 4 through 10.
If you do not want to add additional scripts, click the Finish button to return to the JD Edwards Virtual Runner form.

JD Edwards Virtual Runner displays the script or scripts that you chose and activates the Run button.
Click the Run button to begin script processing.

The main JD Edwards Virtual Runner screen displays the message Starting Up, indicating that the processing of the scripts has begun. The main JD Edwards Virtual Runner screen displays the message Running when JD Edwards Virtual Runner is processing the script or scripts. If the scripts successfully run, the screen displays the message Success.

After JD Edwards Virtual Runner finishes running the sessions, it displays the status of each test. You can view log information about a test by clicking the Log button. If processing is not successful, a red failure message appears.
Click Log and click Yes to view the current test log.

The Common Log Viewer form appears.
Review the log for error and warning messages.

You can expand the nodes in the Common Log Viewer form to see any error or warning messages that might have been issued during the JD Edwards Virtual Runner session. In addition to error and warning messages, the form displays:
- Name of the test
- Number of errors
- Number of warnings
- Status of the test
- Duration of the test
- Time of completion
If the script contains valid values list data, change the data and play the script again.

Launching and Managing Multiple Script Playback

This section provides an overview of LoadRunner and discusses how to:

Define scripts.
Define the host machine.
Define virtual users.
Gather LoadRunner results.
Run virtual playback from the LoadRunner controller.

Understanding LoadRunner

LoadRunner enables you to set up multiple workstations, each representing multiple users, from which you can launch playback sessions to simulate actual user load on the system. You provide LoadRunner with selected rendezvous points and transactions, which LoadRunner then reports to its controller. LoadRunner gathers and stores the results of each run. The LoadRunner controller workstation must have network connection to all of the workstations that are involved in the test, and the controller must run Windows NT.

Defining Scripts

You define the script that you want to play back so that LoadRunner can locate the Virtual Script Player and pass the Player the necessary script command line.

Defining the Host Machine

After you have defined the scripts, you define the host machine for the LoadRunner test and the platform on which the test ran.

Defining Virtual Users

After you define the script and the host machine, you define the virtual users who created the scripts that you want to run. You can define users individually or you can define a group as the virtual user.

Setting Rendezvous Points

You set the rendezvous point that defines for LoadRunner the time at which all virtual scripts pause before the tool releases them for virtual playback.

Gathering LoadRunner Results

The LoadRunner results directory typically has this structure:

VAPI (the test directory)
User Name (from those defined in the Users window)
Session Number Output.txt (the rerouted VAP_log from the client workstation)

Running Virtual Playback from the LoadRunner Controller

After you have prepared virtual script playback, you are ready to run the test from the LoadRunner controller.