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Starting an HTTP throughput test

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Starting an HTTP throughput test

FortiTester tests HTTP throughput performance by simulating multiple clients that generate HTTP traffic.

Note the following limitations:

  • You cannot modify the HTTP request or HTTP response headers.
To start an HTTP throughput test:
  1. Go to Cases > Performance Testing > HTTP > Throughput to display the test case summary page.
  2. Click + Create New to display the Select case options dialog box.
  3. In the popup dialog, for the Network Config option, select the network template you have created in Cases > Security Testing > Objects > Networks. Then the network related options will automatically be filled. See Using network configuration templates for how to create a network template.
  4. Click OK to continue.
  5. Configure the test case options described below.
  6. Click Start to run the test case.

FortiTester saves the configuration automatically, so you can run the test again later. You can also click Save to save the test case without running it.

Tip: You can also copy an existing case, and change its settings to create a new case. In the case list, click Clone to clone the configuration. Only the case name is different from the original case.

HTTP Throughput Test Case configuration

Settings Guidelines
Basic Information
Name Specify the case name, or just use the default. The name appears in the list of test cases.
Ping Server Timeout If a FortiTester connects to a DUT via a switch, the switch might cause a ping timeout, resulting in the test case failing to run. If this occurs, increase the timeout. The default is 15 seconds. The valid range is 0 to 600.
Note: You can disable this end-to-end connectivity test by entering a setting of 0. If the DUT is unable to return packets, it is recommended you do so.
Number of Samples Select the number of samples. The default is 20, which means the web UI will show the last 20 sample data (about 20 seconds) in the test case running page. You can select 20, 60, or 120.

Script Config

Select the script that will run before/after the test. To create a script, see Using script object templates.

Steady Duration Specify the test duration. The default is 10 minutes. The test stops automatically after the duration you specify.
Stopping Status in Second The maximum time out in seconds allotted for FortiTester to close all TCP connections after the test finishes.

DNS Host Group

Select the DNS host group to look up the IP address of a domain name. To create a DNS host group, see Creating DNS host group.

DUT Monitor

Select to monitor a FortiGate device under test (DUT). If selected, you can monitor the DUT from the DUT Monitor tab on the management interface. To create a DUT monitoring, see Using DUT monitoring.

Network Settings
If you have selected a network config template, the network settings automatically inherit the configurations in the template. See Using network configuration templates for the description of network settings.
Load
Simulated Users Number of users to simulate.
Ramp Up Time Time in seconds for traffic to ramp up when you start the test.
Ramp Down Time Time in seconds for traffic to ramp down when you stop the test.
HTTP Request Time Out An HTTP request timeout occurs when an HTTP request is issued, but no data is responded back from the server within a certain time (in seconds). The timeout usually indicates an overwhelmed server or reverse proxy, or an outage of the back-end transactions processing servers. FortiTester will reset the connection upon timeout.
Bidirectional Traffic Flow Select Enable to enable bidirectional traffic flow.
Client Profile
Request Header The HTTP header of the request packet. Click the Add button to specify more headers. Wild card is supported.
Client Close Mode Select the connection close method: 3Way_Fin or Reset.
Source Port Range Specify a client port range. The valid range is 10,000 to 65,535, which is also the default.
IP Change Algorithm/Port Change Algorithm Select a change algorithm: Increment or Random. This setting determines how the system changes source/destination IP addresses and ports to simulate multiple client requests. The Increment option uses the next IP address or port in the range, for example: 10.11.12.1 -> 10.11.12.2; port 10000 -> 10001. The Random option selects an IP address or port in the range randomly.
Server Profile
Response Header The HTTP header of the response packet. Click the Add button to specify more headers.
Case Server Port The server port where the test case traffic arrives.
Client/Server TCP Options
TCP Receive Window The receive window in which you want the TCP stack to send TCP segments. The receive window informs the peer how many bytes of data the stack is currently able to receive. The supplied value is used in all segments sent by the stack. The valid range is 0 to 65535.
Delayed Acks Select to cause the TCP stack to implement the Delayed ACK strategy, which attempts to minimize the transmission of zero-payload ACK packets. Acknowledgments will be deferred and should be piggybacked on top of valid data packets. If successfully deferred, these acknowledgments are free, in the sense that they consume no additional bandwidth.
Delayed Ack Timeout If you select Delayed ACKs, use this timeout value to specify the maximum time the TCP stack waits to defer ACK transmission. If this timer expires, the stack transmits a zero-payload acknowledgment.
Timestamps Option Select to add a TCP time stamp to each TCP segment.
Enable Push Flag Select to set the TCP PSH (push) flag in all TCP packets. This flag causes buffered data to be pushed to the receiving application. If deselected, the PSH flag is not set in any TCP packet.
SACK Option Select to enable TCP Selective Acknowledgment Options(SACK).
Enable TCP Keepalive Select to enable TCP Keep-alive Timer.
Keepalive Timeout If you enable TCP Keepalive, use this timeout value to specify the maximum time to send your peer a keep-alive probe packet
Keepalive Probes If you enable TCP Keepalive, use this value to specify the maximum probes to detect the broken connection.
Override Internal Timeout Calculation Select to override the TCP stack calculation of the retransmission timeout value.
Retransmission Timeout If you select Override Internal Timeout Calculation, use this value for the first transmission of a particular data or control packet; it is doubled for each subsequent retransmission.
Retries The number of times a timed-out packet is retransmitted before aborting further retransmission. If the client does not receive a response after the configured number of retries have been attempted, the error is logged in the results. CSV file as a TCP timeout when a SYN or FIN is sent, and no SYN/ACK or FIN/ACK from the server is received.
Client/Server Network
Network MTU The maximum transmission unit size.
Network MSS The maximum segment size. If MSS is bigger than the MTU, IP fragmentation will be triggered conditionally.
IP Option DSCP Provide quality of service (QoS).
Client Limit
Bandwidth Bandwidth in Mbps. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Packets per Second Rate of the packets per second. The default is 0, which means the device will create transactions as fast as possible.
Transactions per Second Rate of new transactions per second. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Available only under Client tab.
Server Limit
Bandwidth Bandwidth in Mbps. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Packets per Second Rate of the packets per second. The default is 0, which means the device will create transactions as fast as possible.
Action
Method Three methods are available here: GET, POST, and Custom. If you select Custom, you can click +Add to add at most 32 requests.
Request Page Select System Pages with Fixed or Random File Name and Content.
Get page Select the file that the simulated clients access. Optionally, you can select Custom to choose the file template you have created in Cases > Performance Testing > Objects > Files.
Post page Select the file that simulated servers response. You can edit the post parameters. The file size limit is 10MB.
Success criteria Select criteria to determine if the test succeeds or fails. If the test does not meet the criteria set, the test fails. See Using success criteria.

Starting an HTTP throughput test

FortiTester tests HTTP throughput performance by simulating multiple clients that generate HTTP traffic.

Note the following limitations:

  • You cannot modify the HTTP request or HTTP response headers.
To start an HTTP throughput test:
  1. Go to Cases > Performance Testing > HTTP > Throughput to display the test case summary page.
  2. Click + Create New to display the Select case options dialog box.
  3. In the popup dialog, for the Network Config option, select the network template you have created in Cases > Security Testing > Objects > Networks. Then the network related options will automatically be filled. See Using network configuration templates for how to create a network template.
  4. Click OK to continue.
  5. Configure the test case options described below.
  6. Click Start to run the test case.

FortiTester saves the configuration automatically, so you can run the test again later. You can also click Save to save the test case without running it.

Tip: You can also copy an existing case, and change its settings to create a new case. In the case list, click Clone to clone the configuration. Only the case name is different from the original case.

HTTP Throughput Test Case configuration

Settings Guidelines
Basic Information
Name Specify the case name, or just use the default. The name appears in the list of test cases.
Ping Server Timeout If a FortiTester connects to a DUT via a switch, the switch might cause a ping timeout, resulting in the test case failing to run. If this occurs, increase the timeout. The default is 15 seconds. The valid range is 0 to 600.
Note: You can disable this end-to-end connectivity test by entering a setting of 0. If the DUT is unable to return packets, it is recommended you do so.
Number of Samples Select the number of samples. The default is 20, which means the web UI will show the last 20 sample data (about 20 seconds) in the test case running page. You can select 20, 60, or 120.

Script Config

Select the script that will run before/after the test. To create a script, see Using script object templates.

Steady Duration Specify the test duration. The default is 10 minutes. The test stops automatically after the duration you specify.
Stopping Status in Second The maximum time out in seconds allotted for FortiTester to close all TCP connections after the test finishes.

DNS Host Group

Select the DNS host group to look up the IP address of a domain name. To create a DNS host group, see Creating DNS host group.

DUT Monitor

Select to monitor a FortiGate device under test (DUT). If selected, you can monitor the DUT from the DUT Monitor tab on the management interface. To create a DUT monitoring, see Using DUT monitoring.

Network Settings
If you have selected a network config template, the network settings automatically inherit the configurations in the template. See Using network configuration templates for the description of network settings.
Load
Simulated Users Number of users to simulate.
Ramp Up Time Time in seconds for traffic to ramp up when you start the test.
Ramp Down Time Time in seconds for traffic to ramp down when you stop the test.
HTTP Request Time Out An HTTP request timeout occurs when an HTTP request is issued, but no data is responded back from the server within a certain time (in seconds). The timeout usually indicates an overwhelmed server or reverse proxy, or an outage of the back-end transactions processing servers. FortiTester will reset the connection upon timeout.
Bidirectional Traffic Flow Select Enable to enable bidirectional traffic flow.
Client Profile
Request Header The HTTP header of the request packet. Click the Add button to specify more headers. Wild card is supported.
Client Close Mode Select the connection close method: 3Way_Fin or Reset.
Source Port Range Specify a client port range. The valid range is 10,000 to 65,535, which is also the default.
IP Change Algorithm/Port Change Algorithm Select a change algorithm: Increment or Random. This setting determines how the system changes source/destination IP addresses and ports to simulate multiple client requests. The Increment option uses the next IP address or port in the range, for example: 10.11.12.1 -> 10.11.12.2; port 10000 -> 10001. The Random option selects an IP address or port in the range randomly.
Server Profile
Response Header The HTTP header of the response packet. Click the Add button to specify more headers.
Case Server Port The server port where the test case traffic arrives.
Client/Server TCP Options
TCP Receive Window The receive window in which you want the TCP stack to send TCP segments. The receive window informs the peer how many bytes of data the stack is currently able to receive. The supplied value is used in all segments sent by the stack. The valid range is 0 to 65535.
Delayed Acks Select to cause the TCP stack to implement the Delayed ACK strategy, which attempts to minimize the transmission of zero-payload ACK packets. Acknowledgments will be deferred and should be piggybacked on top of valid data packets. If successfully deferred, these acknowledgments are free, in the sense that they consume no additional bandwidth.
Delayed Ack Timeout If you select Delayed ACKs, use this timeout value to specify the maximum time the TCP stack waits to defer ACK transmission. If this timer expires, the stack transmits a zero-payload acknowledgment.
Timestamps Option Select to add a TCP time stamp to each TCP segment.
Enable Push Flag Select to set the TCP PSH (push) flag in all TCP packets. This flag causes buffered data to be pushed to the receiving application. If deselected, the PSH flag is not set in any TCP packet.
SACK Option Select to enable TCP Selective Acknowledgment Options(SACK).
Enable TCP Keepalive Select to enable TCP Keep-alive Timer.
Keepalive Timeout If you enable TCP Keepalive, use this timeout value to specify the maximum time to send your peer a keep-alive probe packet
Keepalive Probes If you enable TCP Keepalive, use this value to specify the maximum probes to detect the broken connection.
Override Internal Timeout Calculation Select to override the TCP stack calculation of the retransmission timeout value.
Retransmission Timeout If you select Override Internal Timeout Calculation, use this value for the first transmission of a particular data or control packet; it is doubled for each subsequent retransmission.
Retries The number of times a timed-out packet is retransmitted before aborting further retransmission. If the client does not receive a response after the configured number of retries have been attempted, the error is logged in the results. CSV file as a TCP timeout when a SYN or FIN is sent, and no SYN/ACK or FIN/ACK from the server is received.
Client/Server Network
Network MTU The maximum transmission unit size.
Network MSS The maximum segment size. If MSS is bigger than the MTU, IP fragmentation will be triggered conditionally.
IP Option DSCP Provide quality of service (QoS).
Client Limit
Bandwidth Bandwidth in Mbps. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Packets per Second Rate of the packets per second. The default is 0, which means the device will create transactions as fast as possible.
Transactions per Second Rate of new transactions per second. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Available only under Client tab.
Server Limit
Bandwidth Bandwidth in Mbps. The default is 0, which means the device will send traffic as fast as possible.
Packets per Second Rate of the packets per second. The default is 0, which means the device will create transactions as fast as possible.
Action
Method Three methods are available here: GET, POST, and Custom. If you select Custom, you can click +Add to add at most 32 requests.
Request Page Select System Pages with Fixed or Random File Name and Content.
Get page Select the file that the simulated clients access. Optionally, you can select Custom to choose the file template you have created in Cases > Performance Testing > Objects > Files.
Post page Select the file that simulated servers response. You can edit the post parameters. The file size limit is 10MB.
Success criteria Select criteria to determine if the test succeeds or fails. If the test does not meet the criteria set, the test fails. See Using success criteria.