Overview of LoadRunner LoadRunner is a load testing tool that predicts system behavior and performance. It exercises an entire enterprise infrastructure by emulating thousands of users and employs real-time performance monitors to identify and isolate problems. LoadRunner enables organizations to protect their revenue streams, maximize their IT infrastructures without purchasing any additional hardware, and ensure a positive end-user experience by testing application quality, reliability and scalability at all stages of an application's life. It is a highly scalable automated load testing solution that allows one to predict system behavior and optimize performance. It stresses the entire enterprise system by emulating the behavior of real users and employs real-time performance monitors to help identify and isolate problems for faster resolution. It supports the widest range of protocols and technologies, providing a solution that is tailor-made for any unique environment. The Virtual User Generator is an engine that generates agents, or virtual users, that imitate the business processes and behavior of real users. By using virtual users, LoadRunner enables one to significantly minimize the hardware and personnel resources needed for load testing, since one can run thousands of them on just a few Windows, UNIX, or Linux machines. A utility called TurboLoad allows the creation of loads equivalent to several hundred thousand concurrent users and millions of hits per day. Parameterization allows one to test the application with different sets of real-life data in order to mirror the enterprise workload. A Data Wizard connects directly to the backend database servers where one can access desired data and import it directly into the test script. Eliminating the need for manual data manipulation saves a great deal of time. One can control the number of transactions, transaction frequency, user think time, and connection speed. The mix of business processes and the number of virtual users that will run on each load server can be changed to define different load scenarios. One can quickly compose multi-user test scenarios using LoadRunner's Controller. One can create repeatable and consistent loads. Its graphical interface helps to organize and control scenarios during load test setup and execution. One can use the scheduler to define the rate at which users run on the system to generate load. Automated load test runs are a reality. It is possible to define load scenarios in which all users perform one action simultaneously to emulate peak load conditions. One can create scenarios that benchmark the performance of different vendor components - servers, databases, networking components, etc. - to help make informed purchasing decisions. At any time during the load test, one can view the application's system performance by using LoadRunner's suite of integrated real-time monitors. These non-obtrusive monitors display data in real time for transaction performance metrics, such as response time. ContentCheck verifies Web content of an application as virtual users are running to determine whether incorrect content was delivered. Once the test is completed, LoadRunner collects all test performance data and provides you with sophisticated analysis and reporting capabilities to quickly identify performance problems and determine the source. The Web Transaction Breakdown Monitor determines the time required for all images, frames and text to be downloaded for each Web page. LoadRunner's controller allows the repetition of identical load test scenarios. Generated reports are HTML based so it is easy to publish these on a coporate intranet. This package shares many of the same attributes as SilkPerformer. Its applicability is probably about the same, which is to say it is more of an internal development tool that a benchmarking-for-publiccomparison tool.