Adding a user group to a schedule

A user group lets you group tests together and run tests in parallel.

To add a user group:

  1. In the Test Navigator, expand the project until you locate the schedule.
  2. Right-click the schedule, and then click Open.
  3. In the schedule editor, right-click the schedule, and then click Add > User Group.
  4. In the Group name field, enter a descriptive name for the user group.
  5. In the Group Size section, select Absolute or Percentage, and enter the number of users or the percentage of users in the group.
    Option Description
    Absolute Specifies a static number of virtual users. Enter the maximum number of virtual users that you want to be able to run. For example, if you enter 50, you can run up to 50 virtual users each time you run a schedule. Typically, you create an Absolute user group only if the group does not add a workload. For example, if one test prepared a Web site for use and another test restored the site to its initial state, each test would be in an Absolute user group that would contain one user.
    Percentage Specifies a dynamic number of users. Type the percentage of the workload that the user group represents. In general, you assign user groups a percentage, rather than an absolute number. For example; perhaps 70% of your users browse your Web site, and 30% order an item from your Web site. You would set two user groups up in this proportion. Then, at the schedule level, you enter the initial number of users to run, and, if you want, you can also add users during the run. The schedule distributes the users among the dynamic user groups according to the percentages you specify.
  6. Decide where whether the user group will run on your computer or on another computer.
    Option Description
    Run this group on the local computer The user group runs on your computer. Use this option if the workload is small or you are testing the schedule.
    Run this group on the following locations We recommend that you run user groups at a remote location. When user groups run from workbench locations, the workbench activity doesn't affect the ability to apply the load. You must run a user group at a remote location if
    • You are running a large number of virtual users, and your local computer does not have enough CPU or memory resources to support this load. You can conserve resources by running the users on different locations so that fewer users run on each computer.
    • A test requires specific client libraries or software. The user group that contains this test must run on a computer that has the libraries or software installed.
  7. To declare a remote location:
    1. Click Add New.
    2. In the Add Location wizard, select the project to store the location.
    3. In the File Name field, type the name of the file that will contain information about this computer, and then click Next.
      Note: The data stored in the file includes information such as the host name and deployment directory. You can change this information later by opening the Test Navigator and double clicking on the file.
    4. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the remote computer.
    5. In the Hostname field, enter the IP address or the fully qualified host name of the remote computer.
    6. In the Deployment Directory field, enter the directory on the remote computer that will store the test assets. The directory, which is created if it does not exist, stores the temporary files that are needed during a schedule run.
    7. In the Operating System field, select the operating system of the remote computer, and then click Finish.
  8. To add an already declared location:
    1. Click Add Existing.
    2. In the Select Location dialog box, select the computer on which the user group will run, and then click OK.
The following schedule shows two user groups. Browsers represent 70% of the users, and Buyers represent the remaining 30%:
tree containing two user groups
After you have added user groups, you typically add the tests that each user group will run.

Parent topic: Adding elements to a schedule

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