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Can someone point out the major differences between LoadRunner and Performance Center? My little research shows that both can be used for load testing and performance monitoring. What additional features are provided by Performance Center? Is VUGen a part of Performance Center?

ROMANIA_engineer
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jobinbasani
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4 Answers4

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Let me try to give a little less sales-oriented and more technical slant (without the rant).

Performance Center runs multiple copies of LoadRunner.

Performance Center adds a web app to schedules time on the various LoadRunner machines. Allocating time also implies allocating the number of "vusers" that has been purchased.

For more technical information (including an architecture map and tips on using it), see my http://wilsonmar.com/lr_perf_center.htm

For more sales information, see Joe or a HP Software salesperson.

Wilson Mar
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    One other thing, Performance Center has a Trend Report that compares averages among selected runs. It highlights with different colors each transaction red, yellow, and green depending on the extent of difference. But I'm leery of the 90th percentile number, which is one (sometimes wild) number selected from among the range of response times during a run, and not the 90% probability statistic derived from the normal probability curve which many wrongly assume it is. – Wilson Mar Nov 07 '11 at 13:45
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As indicated by the previous post LoadRunner is performance and load testing. Performance center (which includes LoadRunner) is supposed to be a complete performance management solution. Performance center is HORIFICALLY expensive and from what I can see a number of the so-called features simply address some of the licensing restrictions in LoadRunner. It also appears that not a lot of organisations use Performance Center so HP don't have much expertise. If you just want performance and load testing without all the hassles then Borland SilkPerformer is a better option.

  • I'm marking this as the accepted answer since it gave the answer I was looking for. The first one was also extremely helpful. – jobinbasani Jul 22 '09 at 14:17
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    SilkPerformer is better? I was on training in Borland Test automation tools and guy from Borland said 'We are not afraid of any competition. What do you use in your company?' I said we use HP QC and he said 'Well... HP has good tools but besides that we are not afraid of any competition'. Although it wasn't about performance testing but functional automated testing, from given conversation I would assume that HP has not that bad testing toolset. – yoosiba Nov 30 '09 at 13:00
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It should also be noted that significant license differences exist between Performance Center and LoadRunner controller related to remote access. By default Performance Center allows it, the LoadRunner controller does not. Please do not take my word for it, examine the license text for your copy of LoadRunner. These constraints have been in place for the better part of a decade.

James Pulley
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Well Performance center is an advanced web based performance test management tool. however it is costlier than the Loadrunner in terms of license and deployment. But it provides the ease of managing performance testing task. You can schedule multiple tests through the scheduling window and according to the scheduler timing you can assign different scenarios to run at that point of time.

Hp Loadrunner provides the facility to run and schedule a single scenario at any point of time. However we cannot ignore the good things in Loadrunner --i.e it is easy to manage and schedule a run and monitor the results. Whereas in Performance center it may be difficult for new users to schedule and run a test and collate the results after the test.

I would suggest that Both the tools are good in use.

abhishek
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