Release Notes - IBM Rational Performance Tester, Version 9.0

This document contains information about the known limitations and problems for IBM® Rational® Performance Tester.

Contents

Description

Rational Performance Tester is a scripting-free environment for automating load and scalability testing of web, ERP, and server-based software applications. Rational Performance Tester provides rich and customizable reporting to help you identify the presence and cause of system bottlenecks. It captures the network traffic that is rendered when the application under test interacts with a server. This network traffic is then emulated on multiple virtual users while playing back the test. With Rational Performance Tester, you can test applications that use the following protocols or domains:
  • HTTP
  • SAP (GUI)
  • Citrix
  • Socket
  • TN3270
  • Service (SOA)
To scale up the load for tests without investing money in computers, you can create a schedule that runs in a cloud location. You can specify the number of agents require for a run. The cost of the cloud run is based on the number of virtual users and the number of hours.

The information in this file applies to IBM Rational Performance Tester.

Note: Translated versions of this file are also available in the Rational Performance Tester Knowledge Center.

System requirements

For information about hardware and software compatibility for Rational Performance Tester, see the http://www.ibm.com/software/products/en/performance#tab_othertab1 document.

What's new in version 9.0

  • Support to record and run WebSphere Java MQ tests with the SOA test extension. See Creating a service test for WebSphere MQ.
  • UI to support Kerberos authentication and proxy mode to connect to the IBM Rational Quality Manager server. See Configuring the Rational Quality Manager adapter.
  • Availability of Rational Performance Tester Stater Edition. The starter edition is available to create and debug tests easily without requiring a product license. However, certain test execution capabilities are available only with the full version of the product. See http://developer.ibm.com/testing/docs/rptse/
  • Support for Web Analytics in Beta to explore and provide feedback on a new web-based reporting infrastructure. The new implementation provides new reporting features and improved interactivity and visuals while using less CPU and memory overhead for collecting, persisting, and processing statistical data. The Web Analytics Beta is not intended for production use, and its run results can not be viewed with the standard reports. To explore the Web Analytic Beta, use -DltStats=2 in the eclipse.ini file, start Rational Performance Tester, and run a test or schedule. See Evaluating results in the web analytic reports.
  • Support to run a service test with the SOA extension for one user without the need of a protocol license. With the trial product, you can still run the test for up to five users. To run a test with more users, you still need a Virtual Tester pack license, IBM Rational Performance Test Server, IBM Rational Test Virtualization Server, or subscribe to the IBM Rational Performance Tester on Cloud service.
  • Support to instrument WebSphere Application Server Liberty profile 8.5.5.5 on Windows and Linux platforms.

Installing the product

You cannot use the update procedure in IBM Installation Manager to update from the previous versions of the product to v9.0.0. You must first uninstall the previous version and then perform a fresh installation. See Install the product software.

Known limitations

The known problems are documented in the download document. Select a download document from http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27036136. Known problems are also documented in the form of individual technotes in the Support Knowledge Base.

Contacting IBM Rational Software Support

IBM Rational Software Support provides you with technical assistance.

For contact information and guidelines or reference materials that you will need when you require support, read the IBM Software Support Handbook.

For product information about Rational Performance Tester, visit the product home page at www.ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/performance/.

For FAQs, lists of known problems and fixes, and other support information, visit the product support pages at www.ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/service/support/index.html.

For personalized support, including notifications of significant upgrades, register at http://www.ibm.com/support/mysupport/.

For Rational software product news, events, and other information, visit the IBM Rational Software Web site.

Before you contact IBM Rational Software Support, gather the background information that you will need to describe your problem. When describing a problem to an IBM software support specialist, be as specific as possible and include all relevant background information so that the specialist can help you solve the problem efficiently. To save time, know the answers to these questions:
  • What software versions were you running when the problem occurred?
  • Do you have logs, traces, or messages that are related to the problem?
  • Can you reproduce the problem? If so, what steps do you take to reproduce it?
  • Is there a workaround for the problem? If so, be prepared to describe the workaround.

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