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Omkar  Sawant - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Helpful, user-friendly tool that allows organization-wide load testing
Pros and Cons
  • "LoadRunner Professional allowed us to load test potential new payroll solutions that would be implemented throughout the entire organization so that we knew which was best suited to performing well under pressure."
  • "Micro Focus has two separate products for web and mobile applications, which means you have to invest in both."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use LoadRunner Professional to load test applications in a manufacturing environment. 

How has it helped my organization?

LoadRunner Professional allowed us to load test potential new payroll solutions that would be implemented throughout the entire organization so that we knew which was best suited to performing well under pressure. 

What is most valuable?

LoadRunner Professional's most valuable features are the easy setup, the auto-correlation feature, the high number of protocols, the analysis, and the reporting.

What needs improvement?

Micro Focus has two separate products for web and mobile applications, which means you have to invest in both. LoadRunner Professional does have a mobile protocol, but it works on very few applications. Merging the two products would be a big improvement, especially if Micro Focus also ensures the on-prem and cloud solutions have the same features. They're also not great with communication, including about important things like new rollouts. 

Buyer's Guide
OpenText LoadRunner Professional
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about OpenText LoadRunner Professional. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using LoadRunner Professional for five to six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

LoadRunner Professional's performance has been good, and we've had no issues with stability.

How are customer service and support?

LoadRunner Professional's technical support is really good - they respond promptly and give super support. They also have a nice, robust knowledge bank, so if there are any issues, you can usually find help on the support site or via the community.

How was the initial setup?

The ease of LoadRunner Professional's setup process is one of its strengths - it's straightforward and takes a day or two to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We used a vendor team.

What was our ROI?

We've got quite a good ROI from LoadRunner Professional, as it has reduced our downtime, raised our response time, and allowed us to test the new payroll system for the entire organization. However, the ROI is lower than it could be as we only use LoadRunner sparingly to avoid higher costs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

LoadRunner Professional's licensing costs are on the higher side, apart from the Community Edition. The Community Edition is free but limited to fifty users; after that, you have to pay for extra users.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend LoadRunner Professional as a helpful, user-friendly tool with a huge knowledge base. The only thing to bear in mind is the higher cost. I would give LoadRunner Professional a rating of eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Peter  Pischel - PeerSpot reviewer
Peter PischelSenior Sales Executive at Tricentis
Real User

In my opinion, LoadRunner is outdated. The best Load and perf tool on the market is NeoLoad, owned by Tricentis.

Senior Manager at Capgemini
Real User
Feature-rich, easy-to-install, with instant upgrades and patches
Pros and Cons
  • "It is actually a very good tool because it will support almost all, if not all, industry-standard protocols, and it is also equipped with very nice reporting capabilities, which is why I like it."
  • "I would like them to lower the licensing cost and provide better support."

What is our primary use case?

I use Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional primarily for performance testing.

What is most valuable?

It is actually a very good tool because it will support almost all, if not all, industry-standard protocols, and it is also equipped with very nice reporting capabilities, which is why I like it.

They are immediately upgrading and providing the patch in this manner. It's good.

What needs improvement?

The drawback is that it is very expensive.

It is already a well-known tool with a vast number of features. The only issue is what they are actually making up for the asking rate.  A lot of people are unable to pay that much money in the industry.

I would like them to lower the licensing cost and provide better support.

The price is too expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional for the last ten years and LoadRunner exclusively for the last twenty.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional is 100 percent stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional is 100 percent scalable.

We have 500 users in our organization.

I may use it 12 to 15 times per year.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate the technical support a one out of five.

The technical support is very bad.

They are not providing any technical support, even though we have a support license. They have only hired people with zero knowledge.

They are completely unresponsive.

If I run into any problems or have any issues, I will resolve them only by myself. I will not rely on any technical support. If I raise a support ticket, they will actually require my setting for more than a month or two to solve a very simple problem.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Negative

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am new to this company. I only use the company website and the CS portal. Other than that, I do not use any of the other products.

I work in performance testing and I am currently using RadView or WebLOAD, as well as a Micro Focus LoadRunner and Silk Performer. At the same time, I used a couple of IBM products, including SLAMD and the rational performance tester. Aside from that, I use a variety of other products such as JMeter and others.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

I would rate the initial setup a five out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing depends on our choices because it depends on what type of protocol we are getting, what type of licensing we are getting, and what kind of relationships we have with HP and Micro Focus. We can't say how much it will be based on that.

I cannot say because we are technical managers and I am not involved in any costing or pricing issues. I am not involved with any pricing.

I would rate the pricing a one out of five. It is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional a ten out of ten.

Without a doubt, it is an excellent product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Peter  Pischel - PeerSpot reviewer
Peter PischelSenior Sales Executive at Tricentis
Real User

In my opinion, NeoLoad is the way to go.

Buyer's Guide
OpenText LoadRunner Professional
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about OpenText LoadRunner Professional. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
RajeevSAwant - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Automation CoE at Truglobal
Real User
Great for performance testing and capturing performance engineering
Pros and Cons
  • "A very comprehensive tool that is good for performance testing."
  • "Lacks specific level monitoring."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was for performance testing and platform application problems. We used it mainly in the banking sector and for API testing. It's multi-purpose. I recently moved to a different company.

What is most valuable?

This is a very comprehensive tool. It helped us with performance testing and allowed us to capture the actual performance engineering as well. 

What needs improvement?

If they were to add some kind of specific level monitoring, I think that would be very useful. When it comes to the main load of operation, it stimulates the load by using the underlying mechanism, either the API or some other protocol. If they were able to capture the UI aspect as well, that would be very, very helpful. This is an expensive solution and perhaps they could change their modeling to improve that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I used this solution for over 12 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. The whole objective of LoadRunner is scalability. In the organization, we had somewhere around 20 users supporting multiple customers. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also have experience with JMeter. In comparison, if it's a wave application or to some degree API testing, then JMeter works well and it's a free tool so we can tweak it to our needs. We can use BlazeMeter for the same purpose. They are cheaper options than LoadRunner. But when it comes to different types of protocols, unique protocols, those are typically supported by LoadRunner. It's a very comprehensive tool and that's why it's costly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not that straightforward. It requires specialists to train LoadRunner users. We used integrators to assist with implementation. The solution doesn't really require any maintenance. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Micro Focus offers several options for licensing, it really depends on the number of users you have and your use case. 

What other advice do I have?

It's important to have proper parameterization and correlation as part of the scripting. The workflow or modeling has to be done appropriately according to the load that will be required and that needs to be done prior to implementation. Know what your steps will be, how you plan to increase the load and replicate real-world scenarios.

I rate this solution eight out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Techical Lead at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Good for performance testing and good customer support
Pros and Cons
  • "The implementation was very straightforward and not an issue."
  • "Sometimes when we were migrating from one version to another, some of our scripts started failing."

What is most valuable?

LoadRunner handles the testing of complex multi-user scenarios. It was not complex. It's pretty easy. 

The reports have been effective in identifying system bottlenecks. It offers very good reports.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes when we were migrating from one version to another, some of our scripts started failing. And configuration-wise, we used to get support since we had the license with us. We used to just connect with Micro Focus, and the turnaround time was very less. It was very fast.

With my understanding and experience, for future releases, I suggest some correlation features that had to be tuned from the tool because, for SAP applications, capturing dynamic values from the responses and other technical things still had to be done manually.

For how long have I used the solution?

In my previous job, I worked with OpenText LoadRunner Professional.

I used it for almost 14 years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Around 14 people used it. 

How are customer service and support?

There were some technical challenges, but the support was pretty good.

They could work on some more things because there are some more complex applications, like SAP applications, wherein some of the challenges were capturing dynamic values and other things that had to be done manually.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I already put forth the proposal for LoadRunner Professional in my current company. 

How was the initial setup?

The implementation was very straightforward and not an issue. To get comfortable with LoadRunner, it was just three to four months for me. 

Within four to five months, I was totally comfortable with it and started doing all the activities.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The license was a bit expensive. That was the reason we used to depend on the customer to fund it.  

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend it to other users. I recommend LoadRunner for every company where performance testing is considered a key value.

Because I have some experiences wherein some companies will not consider performance itself as their key thing. So wherever performance is being concentrated, I'll propose LoadRunner as the first thing.

Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Venkat G - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Software Engineer at DXC Technology
Real User
I like the ability to use multiple protocols
Pros and Cons
  • "I like LoadRunner's ability to use multiple protocols. That's one of the greatest features along with the ability to test service calls between the app and server."
  • "Sometimes, we aren't able to see an accurate page view while replying and executing the script. When you are navigating the application side by side, it needs to be displayed on a random viewer. Sometimes we will get a few applications, and we won't get others."

What is our primary use case?

Multiple protocols are available in LoadRunner, so we can choose one based on our requirements. If it is a single protocol, we have to start recording the scripting and checking whether you can record through LoadRunner. Once the recording is done, we have to do scripting and execution. We have three people working on various applications for the same client. We are working simultaneously and sharing our work to finish our content.

What is most valuable?

I like LoadRunner's ability to use multiple protocols. That's one of the greatest features along with the ability to test service calls between the app and server. 

What needs improvement?

Sometimes, we aren't able to see an accurate page view while replying and executing the script. When you are navigating the application side by side, it needs to be displayed on a random viewer. Sometimes we will get a few applications, and we won't get others.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using LoadRunner for my entire career, so it's been almost four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

LoadRunner is standalone. It doesn't rely on anything. There are three components. We are using a controller and analysis instead of a controller. We design a script and run it in the controller. In analysis, we do the reporting and analysis, but instead of a controller, we have the option called performance center, where we can run the script like the controller. However, the controller is a standard Windows-based application. If you choose the performance center, any number of people can access it at the same time.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used JMeter and NeoLoad. I switched to LoadRunner because the client preferred it. If they have a budget and need to see clear views, we will opt for LoadRunner. However, if they lack funds, they can use an open-source tool like JMeter. I also have more experience with LoadRunner, so I would prefer to use that. We can write any number of lines of code manually to make the script work.

LoadRunner is a little more expensive than NeoLoad, but LoadRunner's interface is more user-friendly. 

How was the initial setup?

Whenever a client wants to improve their application, they will procure the licenses. It's simple to install. it will take hardly 20 to 30 minutes of time to install and we will get 50 user licenses free of cost.

It only takes 30 minutes to deploy on our application. It's on a private cloud that we use whenever we're working on a particular project. One person is enough to install it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

LoadRunner is a little more expensive than other solutions, but there are no hidden costs. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate LoadRunner nine out of 10. You can get 50 users for free before you decide to procure the license, but run the script for multiple users.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Peter  Pischel - PeerSpot reviewer
Peter PischelSenior Sales Executive at Tricentis
Real User

LoadRunner is going to be replaced by many customers. As indicated, LoadRunner does not match today's requirements.

Vipul-Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Intelli AI LLC
Reseller
Top 5
Feature-rich, quick to create effective test cases, and timely support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the ability to create performance test cases quickly and then execute them. It provides a lot of powerful features to do that very efficiently and effectively."
  • "The flexibility could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I use this product primarily for performance testing in various software applications. There are web-related use cases, as well.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ability to create performance test cases quickly and then execute them. It provides a lot of powerful features to do that very efficiently and effectively.

What needs improvement?

The flexibility could be improved. For example, there are some use cases where I prefer to use NeoLoad rather than LoadRunner because of the flexibility that it provides.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional for the past 10 to 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had no significant issues with stability or performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easy to scale and configure. We have approximately 50 people that work with it.

How are customer service and support?

There are issues from time to time that we need help with. There have been specific problems that we reached out to the vendor about, and they have mostly been resolved on time.

I am satisfied with the support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used several other performance testing tools.

One of the other ones that I have used is NeoLoad, which is a more recent entrant in this space. It's a lot more flexible to use than some other products.

When it comes to setting up test cases, the process is slightly different in NeoLoad. It is a little more automated than LoadRunner.

NeoLoad is also more cost-effective than LoadRunner.

The suitability of one product over another depends on the use case. Both of them have their strengths. LoadRunner is a much more longstanding and mature product in the market.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a complex process that is not too straightforward. However, with some expertise, it is not a big problem.

It took a couple of days for us to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We did most of the implementation internally. I handled it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

LoadRunner is more expensive than some competing products.

The pricing is a little too high. However, everything is mostly included in the initial license. It depends on how many nodes you want to set up. This is what determines some of the additional costs.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is looking into implementing LoadRunner is to try it out. Start playing with the product and test it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Sr. QA Automation Specialist at Department of Transportation NYC
Real User
Correlation and parameterization are the key valuable features for us
Pros and Cons
  • "Paramterization and correlation are important features."
  • "Licensing costs could be reduced."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for client service applications, mostly web-based applications. There are a lot of service conversions needed in terms of Apple to Apple talking or using with a protocol. If you need what they're offering then I think LoadRunner is a good tool. And it's from HP. Primary use cases are creating code-based operations for the latest updates, and API calls if we are in corporate. I'm a QA leader and we are customers of Micro Focus LoadRunner. 

What is most valuable?

I think correlation is one of the important features. Correlation, parameterization, those kind of features make things easier.

What needs improvement?

It's a very expensive tool so I think licensing costs could be reduced. I think their monitoring services in real time could be improved and made more user friendly. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for nearly 15 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable product - I've dealt with it over the past 15 years and it's stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product in terms of it's running or technology wise. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their tech support is pretty good. They try to document things and they are organized. I would say I've had good experience with them. 

How was the initial setup?

This is a heavy-duty tool, so it's not a one-click installation. But I think it's comparatively easier with the documentation they provide.

What other advice do I have?

I would suggest that if you have a site that needs to be used by a lot of people or if it's for enterprise applications where consumption is high, then it's a good tool. Otherwise, if there are fewer users or not a lot of load, then I would say that other tools might be handy. If you require performance-oriented applications, then it's a good tool. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Lead Solution Architect at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It has helped us identify performance issues well in advance
Pros and Cons
  • "The number of protocols that it supports, and especially, for example, when it talks about SAP GUI-based performance testing."
  • "You should be able to use LoadRunner as a single platform. You should be able to have browser based access. You should be able to run enterprise tests."

What is most valuable?

LoadRunner is one of the most versatile performance testing tools. One thing I really like about LoadRunner is its breadth of coverage. The number of protocols that it supports, and especially, for example, when it talks about SAP GUI-based performance testing. I could not think about any other tool other than LoadRunner. I've also seen LoadRunner evolve over a period of time, in the sense that it addresses new technologies. I would say it's still a very strong product and there's a lot of new products out there.

How has it helped my organization?

Think about the performance testing as a part of the whole of your testing lifecycle. It's our go-to product and that's the only product which we use within the organization right now. Not every project goes through performance testing, but any project that has performance testing is a component of the test lifecycle. It has our de facto standard.

When you think about deploying these applications to production, and our organization being a global company, we have a user footprint across the globe. LoadRunner, along with HPE Envy Network Virtualization: It's a combination where we, not only run business processes in volumes, but also similar to these network conditions, helps us identify some performance issues well in advance. It's one of those risk verifications that we do.

What needs improvement?

One thing I was desiring a few years ago, before StormRunner came in, I was hoping HPE would come out with some of the new tools that are cloud-based, SAS-based performance testing solutions. With StormRunner coming out, it has probably filled that gap.

You should be able to use LoadRunner as a single platform. You should be able to have browser based access. You should be able to run enterprise tests. HPE addressed a little bit of this by taking over the license for the controller and tying it to the load generators. But in an ideal world, just make it a single platform, everything should be like Performance Center.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using LoadRunner as a performance engineer since 2002. That makes it about 15 years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's such a mature product. It's been out there for a very long time. It has come a long way. It's extremely stable in the sense that I can approach the technical support, as an example. It is because we ran into some challenges with program scripting or something, but generally not because of the application crashing. I'd list my experience with LoadRunner as it being a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In my previous experience with previous employers working with some retailers, we had to run some extremely large tests, and even at my current company, we go up to about 3000 content users. I think it's fairly scalable. We run very small tests, obviously, with StormRunner. It's can probably scale to much higher levels, but within our boundaries of demands, it's scaled very well.

How are customer service and technical support?

We use tech support, but not quite often, just when we really run into some problems. We have a really strong internal team, which so a majority of the issues are internally solved. We are either experimenting or knowledge base in everything. We do reach out to tech support, but it's very rarely done (rare cases).

Service depends upon the issue we face. Sometimes we go off on a tangent. It's an exception, but we go down the wrong path. Then, it's a long winding road to the actual resolution. In many cases, if it's a common issue and it's fairly quick, we get pretty good support. I've actually seen both.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In 2002, was the first time I was actually really involved in bringing the tool in. Ever since, I go to new employers, the tool was already there. I help take it to the next level, mature the practice of what not, but again there's only one instance where I really had to bring the tool in, but everywhere else, we already had a tool in place.

Back then, there was no competition. It was the only choice there. After that, whenever I moved companies, the tool was already there. I was involved in the sense of bringing new protocols, new additional licenses, and so on.

How was the initial setup?

I was involved in the initial setup. It's extremely straightforward. I've probably worked on about six or seven different versions, and it's extremely straightforward and fairly simple to setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would still consider LoadRunner as an expensive tool and you get a LoadRunner and the Performance Center.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Once there was situation before StormRunner was out, where we did venture into a tool call. Here I was working for a retailer. We ventured in tool call with SOASTA. We were looking for a cloud-based performance testing solution, and at that time, HPE was not there. Every time I wanted to make a decision, LoadRunner was our default choice and we had nothing else running in contention.

What other advice do I have?

LoadRunner is still my first choice. There's still no competition to LoadRunner. In the sense, there are tools out there. I know without a doubt, very good tools. But again, LoadRunner to me is more versatile and has more breadth of coverage.

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor:

  • We look at the product itself. In the sense, the stability of the product, etc.
  • In terms of the vendor, we look at the thought leadership and the roadmap. That's something we always look into. Just to see, is the vendor a good investment. For example, are they going to stick around for a long time?
  • We want them to innovate. In the sense, if you think about how quickly the technologies are changing. We want the vendor that we are looking into to focus on innovation.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free OpenText LoadRunner Professional Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free OpenText LoadRunner Professional Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.