About IBM Rational Performance Tester
After you install Rational Performance Tester
IBM Rational Performance Tester is a product that tests system performance. Rational Performance Tester supports testing of Web applications and provides major improvements in ease-of-use and scalability. It is hosted in the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment, using a Java-based execution engine.
There are two components to the product: Rational Performance Tester, which is installed on the desktop, and Rational Agent Controller, which generates load using additional computers. Agent Controller runs drivers, which emulate virtual users, on the remote computers. Virtual users are instances or iterations of load tests. When you install Performance Tester on a local computer, you also install Agent Controller.
If you install any of these products, the Rational Software Development Platform is installed as part of the product. If more than one of these products is installed, the Rational Software Development Platform is installed only once. All of these products use the same copy of the Rational Software Development Platform.
The following chart summarizes how each product interacts when you attempt to install another product that contains the Rational Software Development Platform.
Already installed | Rational Software Modeler | Rational Web Developer | Rational Application Developer | Rational Software Architect | Rational Functional Tester | Rational Performance Tester | |
Rational Software Modeler | N/A | Shell Share | Shell Share | Upgrade | Shell Share | Shell Share | |
Rational Web Developer | Shell Share | N/A | Upgrade | Upgrade | Shell Share | Shell Share | |
Rational Application Developer | Shell Share | Block | N/A | Upgrade | Shell Share | Shell Share | |
Rational Software Architect | Block | Block | Block | N/A | Shell Share | Shell Share | |
Rational Functional Tester | Shell Share | Shell Share | Shell Share | Shell Share | N/A | Shell Share | |
Rational Performance Tester | Shell Share | Shell Share | Shell Share | Shell Share | Shell Share | N/A |
Before you install Rational Performance Tester, use the information in this section to perform preliminary tasks.
The following tables list supported platform and system requirements for CPU, RAM, disk space, network interface, and display. System requirements are the same for Performance Tester and Agent Controller. See the Release Notes for the latest updates.
Platform | Service pack | Components |
---|---|---|
Windows 2000 Professional | SP3, SP4 | Performance Tester and Agent Controller |
Windows XP Professional | SP1, SP2 | Performance Tester and Agent Controller |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 | None | Performance Tester and Agent Controller |
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 | SP1 | Performance Tester and Agent Controller |
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition | None | Agent Controller only |
Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server | SP3, SP4 | Agent Controller only |
System component | Requirement |
---|---|
CPU | Intel Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or compatible processor |
Memory (RAM) | 768 MB |
Free disk space | 1.5 GB (with at least 500 MB in /tmp for Linux systems) |
Network interface | 100 megabits/second Ethernet |
Display | 1024 x 768; 256 colors |
You do not need a license key to install Rational Performance Tester. However, you do need license keys if you plan to emulate a load of more than five concurrent virtual users. For example, you can run Performance Tester with four virtual users and no license key (on a trial basis, for example), but if you choose to run ten virtual users, you must purchase a virtual tester license key pack supporting 5 or more additional virtual users. License keys are sold in groups called virtual tester license key packs. These packs come in groups of 5, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 virtual testers.
Virtual tester license key packs are not divisible. Performance Tester checks out a pack when it runs a test with more than five virtual testers. If you have a license pack for 50 virtual testers, and Performance Tester initiates a test with 25 virtual testers on machine A, then machine B is limited to five virtual testers until the test initiated from machine A is completed.
On the other hand, virtual tester license key packs are additive. Performance Tester on a specific machine can check out multiple license keys from a given license server to run a test. For example, machine A can check out two 50 virtual tester license key packs to run a test with 100 virtual users.
When you purchase Performance Tester through Passport Advantage, the Passport Advantage software shipment or download contains a document called Important Licensing and Installation Information. That document contains the following information:
You can use either that document or the Proof of Entitlement certificate to obtain license keys from IBM.
To obtain license keys:
You use license keys to authenticate with a Rational License Server. If you use other Rational products, you probably have access to a license server. If you do not, follow the procedures in the IBM Rational Software License Management Guide to set up a license server. You can download this publication at no charge from http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order.
On Linux, you can install a Rational License Server directly from the launchpad. On the Linux launchpad, click Install IBM Rational Common Licensing Server for Linux. This option is currently not available from the Windows launchpad.
License servers and clients can run on different platforms. For example, if a license server is already running on a Linux computer, you do not need to install a license server on Windows to serve Windows clients.
This section describes additional steps you may need to perform before installing the product.
If a beta copy of Rational Performance Tester is installed on the system, you must completely uninstall the beta version before installing this version. You cannot install the new version of the product over the beta version. Data created in the workspace with a beta version might not be usable in a full-release version of the product.
For information on uninstalling the product, see the appropriate uninstallation procedures in this document.
You can install a current version of Rational Performance Tester directly over a trial version of the product. All data in the workspace is preserved.
If you have a previous version of Agent Controller or any software derived from the Hyades Data Collection Engine, stop it and uninstall it before installing Rational Performance Tester. See Uninstalling Agent Controller on Windows and Uninstalling Agent Controller on Linux for details.
This section contains information about installing Rational Performance Tester. You can install Performance Tester either from CD-ROM or from electronic images that you download. An installation wizard is provided, but you can also install Performance Tester either from a command prompt, or perform a silent installation, as outlined later in this documentation. The installation program can also be run in an interactive console mode, which may be better suited for persons with accessibility requirements. The Accessibility Mode command line option (-accessibility) makes the run-time console mode wizard more friendly for screen reader programs.
To run in console mode on Windows, run this command from the \setup directory of the Performance Tester installation CD:
setup.exe -is:javaconsole -log @NONE -accessibility
To run in console mode on Linux, type this command on one line:
CD_device/setup/setup.bin -is:javaconsole -log @NONE -accessibility
where
To install Rational Performance Tester on a Windows or Linux system:
Before you install the product, verify that you have sufficient space.
To download and create the electronic installation image:
You can place a copy of the installation image on a network drive so that users can install across a network.
To run the installation program from a network drive, you must either work with a downloaded electronic image of Rational Performance Tester or copy the contents of the CD as described below.
You need approximately 1.5 GB of disk space to store the contents of the Windows, Linux, and Agent CDs on the disk. To copy the core installation files from the CD:
The wizard cannot continue because of the following error: could not load wizard specified in /wizard.inf(104)
In this case, you must map the drive by specifying a device name (for example, x:\sharename).
If you do not want to interact with the installation wizard, you can run the Rational Performance Tester installation program silently.
Before silently installing Rational Performance Tester, you must set up your local images:
The following features are installed by default when silently installing Rational Performance Tester:
On Windows, the default directory is system_drive:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\SDP\6.0.
On Linux, the default directory is /opt/IBM/Rational/SDP/6.0.
To silently install Rational Performance Tester in the default directory with only the default selected features:
By changing the installLocation parameter, you can install Rational Performance Tester to a different directory.
On Windows, to specify "d:\my softdev" as your installation directory, run the following command: setup.exe -silent -P installLocation="d:\my softdev"
On Linux, to specify "/my_softdev" as your installation directory, run the following command: ./setup.bin -silent -P installLocation="/my_softdev"
(In these examples, only the default features are installed.)
Rational Performance Tester provides you with a sample response file that silently installs all the default features. This response file is called responsefile.txt and it is located in the \disk1\util directory (/disk/util on Linux). To change the response file to install other features, first make a backup copy of responsefile.txt.
You can update the response file to install one or more optional Rational Performance Tester features. The following table lists the features and their corresponding entries in the response file.
Feature | Response file entry |
---|---|
Product installation directory | installLocation |
Language Pack | feature_lang_pack_rad_win32.active |
Examples for Eclipse Plug-in Development | feature_examples_win32.active |
To silently install any of the optional features:
On Windows: :# -P feature_examples_win32.active=<value>
On Linux: :# -P feature_examples_linux.active=<value>
In the Windows example, change this line to:
-P feature_examples_win32.active=true
-P feature_examples_linux.active=true
From the Linux command line, change to the /disk1/setup directory in the temporary directory (for example, /tmp/install_image/disk1/setup) that you created in a previous section.
On Windows: setup.exe -silent -options "Your_directory\myresponsefile.txt"
On Linux: ./setup.bin -silent -options "Your_directory/myresponsefile.txt"
Your_directory is the fully qualified name of the directory that contains your response file.
The following table provides several sample silent install commands:
Command | Description |
---|---|
setup.exe -options-template c:\responseFile.txt | Creates a response file template |
setup.exe -options-record c:\responseFile.txt | Creates a response file by recording user choices in an actual installation |
setup.exe -silent -options c:\responseFile.txt | Executes a silent install |
uninstall.exe -silent -options c:\responseFile.txt | Executes a silent uninstall |
Agent Controller is a daemon that allows client applications to launch and manage local or remote applications. It also provides information about running applications to other applications. Agent Controller is required by Rational Performance Tester and must be running on the local system where Rational Performance Tester is installed.
Although Agent Controller is installed automatically on the local system when you install Rational Performance Tester, you can choose how to install it. You can perform a default installation or perform a custom installation, in which case you will step through the installation wizard page by page. In addition, you can install Agent Controller on remote Windows, Red Hat Linux, and SuSE Linux systems. Use the instructions in this section to perform a custom installation of Agent Controller during the Rational Performance Tester installation process or to install Agent Controller on remote systems.
When Agent Controller is installed standalone (without Rational Performance Tester), it allows remote users to launch Java programs on the machine where it is installed. Therefore, you should restrict access to Agent Controller using one of the following options:
Agent Controller is installed automatically after Rational Performance Tester is installed.
To perform a custom installation of Agent Controller on a local Windows system where Rational Performance Tester is installed:
Before you install Agent Controller, verify that the Eclipse Platform is not running. If necessary, exit Eclipse.
By default, the Agent Controller service starts when it is installed and then whenever you start the computer. For more information about working with Agent Controller, see the online help.
To install or upgrade Agent Controller:
See the online help for more information about working with Agent Controller.
On Linux platforms, the Agent Controller process (RAServer) does not start automatically. You must start it yourself.
To start Agent Controller:
where by default $RASERVER_HOME is /opt/IBM/Rational/SDP/6.0/IBM_Agent_Controller.
If Agent Controller fails to uninstall successfully, there might be Java processes that contain either the Java Profiling Agent or the J2EE Request Profiler running. You must end these processes before you can uninstall Agent Controller successfully. For more information about profiling an application, see the online help.
To uninstall Agent Controller on a Linux system:
The following list contains hints and tips for using the Agent Controller security feature on all platforms:
This section covers known problems and limitations related to installing and uninstalling Agent Controller. Except where otherwise noted, the following information applies to all operating systems that are supported for Agent Controller.
RAServer failed to start.
This failure usually occurs because TCP/IP port 10002 is not free. Agent Controller listens on this port by default. Another process running on the system might be using this port when Agent Controller is started, or Agent Controller might have been recently stopped and then restarted before the port could be released.
Some errors occur during installation or uninstallation, because the object files of Agent Controller are loaded by running processes. To ensure that the object files can be modified, do the following:
After you install the product, use the information in this section to perform optional tasks.
If you plan to run more than five virtual users, use the procedures in this section to install license keys on Windows and Linux systems.
To install license keys on Windows, you must have access to a license server and a license client. If you do not, see Licensing requirements for information about installing a server.
After you install the license client, which is installed as part of the Rational Performance Tester installation, the Rational License Key Administrator starts. Follow the procedures in the IBM Rational Software License Management Guide to install license keys. You can download this publication at no charge from http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order.
If you are running other products on Windows that use Rational Licensing, it is possible to mistakenly uninstall the Rational License Client. If this occurs, you will be instructed to install the client manually. To do this, click Install Rational License Client from the launchpad. See the IBM Rational Software License Management Guide for more information on installing the Rational License Client.
To install license keys on a Linux client, create or set the $HOME/.flexlmrc file with the computer name or the IP address of the Rational license server. For example, add the lines @server-name.com or @ip-address to the .flexlmrc file. The .flexlmrc file must be created in the home directory of every user on the target system who is expected to run more than five virtual testers.
Rational ClearCase LT is a configuration management tool for small project teams. ClearCase LT is part of the IBM Rational ClearCase product family and can scale from small project workgroups to the distributed, global enterprise.
See Putting Performance Tester assets under source control in the online help for information on the file types that comprise Rational Performance Tester assets. This information can help you use ClearCase LT or any other version control tool to manage Rational Performance Tester assets.
The installation instructions in this section are to help you install the client and server code for Rational ClearCase LT. Refer to the complete installation instructions found in the Rational ClearCase LT Installation Guide when installing the product.
To learn about changes in the latest version of Rational ClearCase LT, refer to the Rational ClearCase LT Release Notes.
If you are installing ClearCase LT on a Japanese system, refer to the section "Guidelines for Using ClearCase on Japanese Systems" in the Rational ClearCase LT Release Notes.
The Rational Software Development Platform product you purchased entitles you to a free license of Rational ClearCase LT.
If you do not have the ClearCase LT product media, you must download and install the latest supported version of ClearCase LT.
If you already have the ClearCase LT v2002.05 or ClearCase LT v2003.06 product media, you must download and install the latest ClearCase LT patches to support the ClearCase LT integration with the Rational Software Development Platform product.
For instructions about how to obtain the latest supported version of ClearCase LT, and the latest required patches that are supported with the IBM Rational Software Development Platform, go to IBM Rational Support Technote number 1188585: www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21188585. Or, go to http://www.ibm.com and enter 1188585 in the Search box.
Before installing Rational ClearCase LT, read the release notes and installation documentation for the product. This documentation is available online from the IBM Publications Center at http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order. Also refer to http://www.ibm.com/software/rational/support/documentation. To open Acrobat PDF files, you must have installed the Adobe Reader software, which you can download from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
On Windows, download the latest IBM Rational ClearCase LT Release Notes for Windows, the Rational Software Desktop Products Installation Guide, and Rational Software Server Products Installation Guide for Windows from the IBM Publications Center at http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order, as follows:
On Linux, download the latest Rational ClearCase LT Release Notes and Rational ClearCase LT Installation Guide for Linux from the IBM Publications Center at http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order.
Refer to the ClearCase LT Desktop Installation Guide for details on preparing to install the product.
By default, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) Version 9, set the locale for US installations to a Unicode locale (en_US.UTF-8), and might also do so for international installations. ClearCase LT does not support Unicode locales. Therefore, you must explicitly set your locale to a non-Unicode setting. You can change the locale as follows:
To install Rational ClearCase LT Version 2003.06.00 on Linux:
cd /usr/ccase_lt_rls/rhat_x86/clearcase/install ./site_prep
./install_release
For example, if you are using a Bourne shell, you can run the following command to modify your path:
PATH=${PATH}:/opt/rational/clearcase/bin export PATH
Refer to the Installation Guide for detailed instructions and for additional information on customizing the client host's environment for ClearCase LT.
cleartool hostinfo -long
When you have Rational Performance Tester installed on the same computer as Rational ClearCase LT, you do not need to configure Rational ClearCase LT licensing. However, if you install Rational ClearCase LT without Rational Performance Tester, you will need to configure ClearCase LT licensing. For details on how to configure licensing, see the ClearCase LT installation guide.
The Rational ClearCase LT license that is included with Rational Performance Tester does not include a license for the Rational ClearCase Web interface. To use the Rational ClearCase Web interface, you must purchase additional Rational ClearCase or ClearCase LT licenses. For more information on obtaining licenses, contact IBM Rational Support at 1-800-IBM-SERV (1-800-426-7378).
For information on using Rational ClearCase, refer to the ClearCase online help.
If diagram files have been checked into Versioned Object Bases (VOBs) in your ClearCase environment before patching or setting up the environment as described above, run the following command to change the file type of the elements in the VOB so that they can be merged properly:
cleartool find . -name *.emx -exec "cleartool chtype -force xtools2 %CLEARCASE_PN%"
To uninstall Rational ClearCase LT on a Windows system:
To uninstall Rational ClearCase LT on a Linux system:
cd /usr/ccase_lt_rls/rhat_x86/clearcase/install ./install_release