Schedule provides a way to apply huge user load on the
application under test. To apply that amount of load, you need good
infrastructure support ranging from physical desktop computers with
enough RAM, Processors, and different operating systems. You need
labs to host the computers. There is good amount of investment required.
You can cut down on that investment by running the schedule in a cloud
location.
Creating location templates
A location template defines virtual machine attributes such as operating system image
type, data center location, and host type for the agent virtual machines to be hosted in the cloud.
After creating location templates, when creating a cloud schedule, you associate the location
templates with the schedule and specify the number of agent virtual machines to use to run the
schedule.
Connecting to the cloud manager
To run a cloud schedule, first, you must establish a connection to the cloud manager. By
connecting to the cloud manager, you specify properties for the workbench and agent machines on
cloud such as location of data center, type of operation system, and type of host manager (dedicated
or shared hypervisor).
Creating a cloud schedule
If you must scale up the user load for a performance test
and cannot invest in physical computers, you can create a schedule
that runs on the cloud.
Running a cloud schedule IBM® Rational® Performance Tester can be
used to run schedules in the cloud. The benefits of running a schedule in
the cloud include access to load generating agents in the cloud, access to System Under Test from
geographically diverse locations with data centers located worldwide, and paying for load generation
services only when needed.
Auditing measurement accuracy
In a virtualized environment, the load generating capacity can be degraded significantly
for throughput, CPU utilization, and measurement accuracy. For instance, in a cloud environment,
measuring the response time can vary, depending on factors such as the location of data center, type
of host, and life-span of agent virtual machines. It is difficult to get an accurate response time
every time because not all factors can be controlled by IBM Rational Performance Tester. But, you
can do a statistical comparison of the reported measurements against a trusted control.