In the previous article, "How-to record and replay ESRI ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap)?" we proposed four techniques to record and replay ESRI ArcGIS Desktop, and how each techniques work generally with the application.  In this article, we will discuss particular business activities that will be recorded and what are the areas of concerns that will be affected during a load test.  We will be using Web (HTTP/HTML) protocol of LoadRunner for this discussion.

Typically, a user will launch ArcGIS Desktop, open a layer and perform zooming and panning activity throughout the usage of the application which is listed below:

1. Launch ArcGIS Desktop
2. Select layer
3. Perform zooming and panning

As we know that LoadRunner is not a functional tool (refer to "Are client activities recorded by Vugen?"), [1] Launch ArcGIS Desktop will not be recorded as it's a client activity.  Moving on to [2] Select layer, ArcGIS Desktop will (a) open a dialogue to select the server for connection, and after which (b) provide a list of layers (map services) for the user to select.  After selection, the layer will be loaded onto the main frame inside ArcGIS Desktop.

Moving on, [3] the user will perform zooming and panning.  In this activity, ArcGIS Desktop is actually retrieving image files from the ArcGIS Servers.  If you have a Web Server before ArcGIS Server, it will be retrieving the image files from there.  Unless the area that you zoomed in/out or panned isn't in the cache or readily available in the Web Server, a request is sent to the ArcGIS Server to "re-calculate" the area and generate the map image then send it back to the ArcGIS Destop.  As it is a retrieval of image files, it's actually a HTTP GET request made from ArcGIS Desktop to the ArcGIS Server for the file, which also can be viewed via the browser.

As such, similarly, for [3] Perform Zooming and panning, Web (HTTP/HTML) protocol will be sufficient to record these HTTP activities.

On the scenario modeling, a typical usage will generally select multiple layers and after the selection of layers, the user will proceed to zoom and pan multiple times.  As such, in planning the scenario, it is advisable to have the [2.a] performed once, [2.b] performed to the required layers (e.g. 8 map services of different terrains) and [3] multiple times controlled by pacing.  The duration of the scenario will be dependent on your load testing requirements.

During the load test, in a typical setup, ArcGIS Server will experience higher server utilization due to the processing required in it particularly the processor usage.  This is particularly for [2.a] and [2.b]. Therefore, more resources should be catered for the servers assuming ArcGIS Server roles.  Lastly, do take note if there are any limiting connections on the Web Server (if deployed in the system architecture) as they may restrict the number of connections user can make to the ArcGIS Server.