IBM Rational Performance Tester Reviews

This product is basically for performance testing of web applications and mobile applications. It is used for all sorts of performance and load testing. We are currently using its latest version.

It can support both web applications and mobile applications, and in certain cases, it can also support testing of desktop applications or software-based applications. You can write web applications, mobile applications, and software-based applications.

There are some features that Micro Focus LoadRunner provides, but they are not available in IBM Rational Performance Tester. They should include such features.

It can also have more reports similar to what HP provides. It might also need some improvement in terms of the tools and support for other technology areas. Certain technologies are not supported by every tool. They need to support all sorts of technologies and platforms on which web applications and mobile applications are built. They need complete support for all sorts of technologies.

I have been using IBM Rational Performance Tester since its inception. It has been 10 to 15 years.

It is a very stable product. It competes with Micro Focus LoadRunner.

It is a very scalable product. It can support the load of thousands of users, and it works very smoothly. I have more than ten customers who use this solution. We plan to keep using this solution. This product is being continued by IBM, and it is a very good product.

Their technical support is wonderful. They provide wonderful support. As a part of the first sale, IBM gives support for this tool to people who buy or evaluate the product. After that, you have to renew support every year.

It was straightforward. It takes hardly a day to install and configure everything.

I installed it myself. We use it ourselves, and it is also used by our customers.

For the basic features, you don't need a technical person, but for advanced testing or customized application testing, when you have to write the code, you need a technical person. Other than that, it is very user-friendly, and any person who knows about testing can use it.

It is much cheaper than Micro Focus LoadRunner. We need perpetual licenses. 

Support is included in the first sale. After that, you need to renew support every year.

We had the option of Micro Focus LoadRunner, but it was very costly.

I strongly recommend this solution to others. They can use IBM Rational Performance Tester without any problems for their web applications, mobile application, or software-based applications.

I would rate IBM Rational Performance Tester an eight out of ten.

The most valuable aspects of the solution are the multiple technologic supports and the multiple integrations with other IBM tools from the same ecosystem. 

The way the solution was developed to build the components is very poor. 

They need to be able to integrate better overall. 

They don't have to change the architecture of the solution, but they need to adjust the development aspects to make it easier and more user-friendly for customers.

The solution is stable.

The solution is not easily scalable. If you want to extend the solution, you need to purchase a different kind of license. You also have to work with the IBM team to assist in scaling.

Technical support is very good. I'm very satisfied with the assistance we've received so far.

For a rational performance testing solution, the initial setup is very complex. The setup was difficult and the documentation was not very up to date. The documentation is also too simple; it's good for making simple operations, but when the difficulty level is a bit higher, you will need IBM to help you. You can get lost in the process very quickly. 

We need between two and five people to maintain the solution.

We implemented the solution using a consultant. 

We use the on-premises deployment model of the solution.

I'd advise people to understand their needs before implementing. If they have a simple flow, they probably don't need such a complex tool.

I  would rate the solution eight out of ten. 

The tool supports multiple protocols, such as HTTP, Citrix, and SAP. It enables me, as a consultant, to run performance tests against the most common application environments.

I can manage the complete performance test process from a single interface, which saves me from installing additional software and swapping between applications.

Provides very good user workload modelling functionality, which is important for me to accurately represent real business scenarios when designing my tests.

Very easy to customize and edit tests once recorded with lots of features for renaming, merging, splitting pages, and data driving tests.

Load generation is supported from the cloud via a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model, which removes the need for us to provide additional hardware resources and network bandwidth for large tests.

Resource monitoring of the system under test infrastructure is also supported. This enables me to correlate performance statistics with resource utilization figures during analysis.

It supports our agile approach not only philosophically but now practically in enabling us to provide performance testing “On Demand” and earlier in the development lifecycle.

This allowed us to act quickly on several occasions where it was crucial to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks with minimal delay.

The installation and tool setup can take some time, since this involves several components. A review of the licensing implementation would help here.

There could be better process guidance to help inexperienced testers to follow procedures and navigate the tool.

We have been using this for 10 years.

There were no issues with stability, although as this is a Java-based tool. You do have to manage the “housekeeping” in terms of garbage collection and heap size optimization when running large load tests or executing tests for an extended period of time.

This tool is very scalable. This is one of its selling points. For large scale tests, i.e., 5000 virtual users and up, it performs very well.

When needed, I have found the technical support to be very in terms of speed of response and problem resolution ability.

JMeter was used previously, but we found it limited in terms of protocol support, scalability, and lack of support for the entire test process i.e., analysis and reporting.

The installation and tool setup can take some time since this involves several components. A review of the licensing implementation would help here.

This is not the most expensive tool in the market place, but of course, it is not open source.

The cloud load generation option could be a solution for companies not able or willing to invest in an enterprise performance test solution.

I would consider their token licensing option if you are looking into other testing and or development tools since you can optimize license usage by re-using licensees across the Rational tool set.

• Apache JMeter
• RadView WebLOAD
• Neotys NeoLoad

Realize that this tool will require some time and expertise to setup and configure. Make sure that you plan for this.

Code extending capabilities are the most valuable features, however it requires Java coding skills, and is not for those who aren't coders or for those with basic knowledge.

As other load tests, this product allows production of effective load to the SUT. It can create scripts from the recording or allows to create scripts from direct coding.

Since it is built on Eclipse, it is expected to face corrupted projects that would impact time and efforts.

A better stable platform would be great, they might need to get away from the Eclipse platform and integrate on top of IntelliJ IDEA for a Linux version.

I have used this solution for about five years.

There were a couple of stability issues.

Since it is Java-based, it is expected to be a resource eater on Windows.

The technical support is about average, I would rate it a 7/10.

I did not switch solutions. Our company had this solution; it was the available product to deliver the services.

The setup was straightforward, it depends on the company's regulations and infrastructure policies.

A solid PC should be used for scripting.

CPU: At least 4 Cores physical (i7)
RAM: 16GB to 32GB
SSD: 64-bit OS

For the controller, a proper size analysis based on the volume of testing is needed.

• Automatic correlation and saving manual correlations and parameterization in a rule, so that it can be used for re-recording or subsequent flows. These features are big time saver.
• Easy to include Java classes and write code to manipulate or provide data getting generated at run time.
• It offers a good variety of reports to identify the presence and cause of performance bottlenecks. The reports provide the response time breakdown at the method level, which can be used to identify the cause of the bottleneck, by identifying slow performance classes, methods and individual lines of application source code

Saving the correlations in rule file and using this rule file, helped to automatically correlate dynamic values and thus reducing the script enhancing time and meeting the project schedules. Its built in root cause analysis tool helped to identify issues in codes. It also has good report formats and also provides variety of reports.

Support for more protocols is required. In one of my projects, we had an application using Oracle NCA protocol. To record this application, third party BSD plugin provided by IBM was used which was not very helpful. The support for this plugin was also not good as IBM support team didn’t know the exact solution.

It's been over three years.

It's above average.

We previously used HP LoadRunner and switched because the license is cheaper.

Straightforward.

We used a vendor team.

The pricing is fine, and it's good for long periods.

It is significantly cheaper than LoadRunner. I would recommend this tool for small businesses with only web applications for performance testing. This tool is good to use after LoadRunner, but since it is not marketed properly, people have difficulty in using it. Once you are used to this tool, it is user friendly and provides very good analysis for web applications.

We mainly used it for load and stress tests for our application.

The valuable features are--

• test cases
• data pools, and
• logging features to see what went wrong during load run.

It's definitely helped in scaling the performance of our application.

I used it in an on-demand capacity for two years.

There were some issues, but they were related to another product.

There were some issues, but they were related to another product.

There were some issues, but they were related to another product.

Customer service is good.

Technical support is good.

I hadn't used a similar solution before.

It is complex for a novice.

We used a vendor team.

Customization and extensions made in Java is valuable because this can help you set elements to improve your results. 

Additionally, it gives you the ability to have an editor where you can see requests and responses, and the way to correlate it. 

Lastly, the possibility to cross data with your servers measure points such as CPU percentage, disk I/O, paging, etc.

Once we we're doing performance testing for a new system developed in Java, and the people in charge of development wanted to deploy the application as soon as possible for contract requirements, and were proposing to deploy it without performance testing it to gain two weeks. 

We refused to do that and thankfully we did it, because during testing the server launched a CPU page fault error meaning one of the eight CPUs the sun blade had was defective, and needed to be replaced.

I can't suggest anything as I haven't used the latest version.

I've used it for about eight years.

We had open many PMRs for problems found in the products, and I'm not sure if all of them have been fixed.

4/5 - customer service is not bad, but many times they said that for an issue found in the product it "works as designed" and in my honest opinion, they were not correct.

We chose this product because the client had a full contract with IBM for software services.

It wasn't complex as the documentation is vast.

Implementation was neither a vendor team nor in-house. It was done as a service contract. 

The main advice is to not forget to plan early all the testing cycles, and no matter how pushed you may be, don't give up on testing before deployment to the production environment, as this will save you a lot of money.

• Easy to create scripts if you are not a programmer
• Nice GUI feel
• Easy to maintain servers

Non-programmers can now create performance tests.

• Make expression editing more automated
• A better way of the system detecting why certain scripts are not playing back as recorded
• Need the app to tell us at a higher level what went wrong

I've used it for one year.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

Its English speaking support who responds the same day.

We previously used HP Performance Center. We changed due to HP overcharging for additional protocols needed for testing. IBM Rational Performance Tester does not charge any additional fees.

Straightforward. Some issues if you previously had HP UFT, QTP or Performance Center software installed. I would recommend a re-imaging prior to installing IBM if you had HP previously.

In house IBM implementation team. Also, it gave us a one week training course that was helpful

ROI is big because we do not need vendors to assist some with performance testing.

The HP tool is overall a little better but much more expensive. More apps can use this tool for their performance tests.

• The graphical Test Results and executive reports
• The improved Load Generation Agent
• The ability to couple test results with resource monitoring results across all application tiers
• The ability to add custom code where needed (for enhanced data correlation for example)
• The ever improving auto-data correlation

It helps the testers quickly and efficiently record tests, and setup schedules (test suites).

The Rational Quality Manager adapter for Rational Performance Tester allows testers to manage, schedule, and execute their Rational Performance Tester assets from Rational Quality Manager.

Comprehensive Rational Performance Tester results allow testers to identify bottlenecks in the systems under test.

I’d like to see a tighter integration with Rational Quality Manager and the Jazz platform. Additionally, making the results/reports more customizable would be useful.

We've been using it for seven years.

When implementing complex solutions like this, you often run into deployment issues during the initial setup. However, upgrades have been very easy and transparent to the testers.

In terms of scalability and stability, it is important to gather your performance test requirements ahead of time so that you can properly design the most stable and scalable solution for the enterprise. For example, how many concurrent virtual users will be run during average and peak times is an important factor when determining the number of agents.

Rational support is responsive and knowledgeable of any issues we run into with RPT.

The initial setup itself was straightforward, but resolving the various issues after deployment took a couple weeks.

The internal Rational Support team is responsible for the Rational tools where I work. I was involved in the Rational Performance Tester redesign, moving to a virtual server architecture, and involved IBM support when necessary. You definitely need to know what you are doing, or have someone who does available.

It helps knowing your usage model, having a performance test plan that includes requirements or projections from the applications to be tested, as well as design details of the test environment. It is more cost-effective buying all your projected licenses up front, as opposed to buying a small number each year to meet your needs.

HP LoadRunner and JMeter were evaluated, and those are good solutions too. The client chose RPT due to the Eclipse IDE and the graphical reports. Additionally, RPT doesn’t really require a lot of custom coding. However, being a Java shop, if custom code is needed we are able to leverage in-house Java developers to help in custom code development if necessary.

With little or no experience, you can try to muddle through the implementation if you have enough time. Otherwise, I suggest involving a consultant who really knows it. Full time support is always preferred (hire an experienced in-house team). Alternatively, hire part-time quick start support; find a good IBM Partner, like A Better Solution (ABS), that has a proven track record in helping organizations spin up on the various Rational tools such as this one.

Virtual Users

I found a couple of SQL bugs and discovered that when we used Rational Performance Tester the response time was longer than normal.

I would expect tool should support all application types, such as mobile, web applications, XML requests, PDF support etc.

I've used it for six years.

There were lots of problems.

There were lots of problems.

There were lots of problems.

7/10.

7/10.

It was complex.

We used a vendor team.

It's too costly.

The tool has lots of limitations.