Testing Siebel Business Applications > Automating Load Tests > Benefits of Load Test Automation >

Key features of Load Test Tools

Tools for load test automation (such as LoadRunner from Mercury Interactive or e-Load from Empirix) provide features that allow you to simulate a multiple-user environment. These features include:

• Test script recording. Rather than composing a script in a text editor, you start a recorder and perform a series of steps in the application. The test tool records the session, which you can use to perform the test.
• Virtual users. A single test script can be executed simultaneously by many virtual users from a single machine.
• Controlled test execution. The test tool allows you to specify parameters that indicate how the load test is run, such as how quickly to add users, how many users to add, and which scripts to run.
• Result tracking. The test tool records important statistics, such as memory usage and response times, that allow you to track KPIs and isolate bottlenecks.

Not all load testing tools have all of these features, and some have more. For more information, refer to the documentation for your load testing tool.