System Requirements¶
Verify your system meets these requirements before installing Load Tester v7.0.
What's New in v7.0
Load Tester has always bundled its own JRE. What changed in v7.0 is the move to Java 11, which delivers better performance and a more modern UI. The application also runs on Eclipse 4.19 RCP.
Load Tester Application (Desktop)¶
The Load Tester application runs on your Windows or macOS computer. This is where you record, configure, and analyze test cases.
Windows Requirements¶
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or equivalent (2.0 GHz minimum) |
| Memory (RAM) | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended |
| Disk Space | 2 GB for application, additional space for test results |
| Display | 1920×1080 minimum resolution recommended |
| Java | Bundled Java 11 JRE included (no separate installation needed) |
| Browser | Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for recording (proxy-based recording) |
macOS Requirements¶
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating System | macOS 12 (Monterey) or later |
| Processor | Intel x86_64 or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3 via Rosetta 2) |
| Memory (RAM) | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended |
| Disk Space | 2 GB for application, additional space for test results |
| Display | 1920×1080 minimum resolution recommended |
| Java | Bundled Java 11 JRE included (no separate installation needed) |
| Browser | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge for recording |
Apple Silicon Support
On Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3), the Load Tester runs via Rosetta 2 translation. Performance is excellent; no manual configuration needed.
Administrator/Root Access¶
Windows: Administrator privileges required during installation. Standard user privileges are sufficient for normal operation.
macOS: Admin password required during installation to approve system extensions. Standard user privileges are sufficient for normal operation.
Load Engine (Remote Execution Servers)¶
Load Engines execute virtual users during your load tests. You can run them on Windows, Linux, or AWS cloud instances.
Windows Load Engine¶
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows Server 2016 or later, Windows 10/11 |
| Processor | 2+ cores (4+ cores recommended for high load) |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB+ recommended for high virtual user counts |
| Disk Space | 1 GB for engine, additional space for logs |
| Java | Bundled Java 11 JRE included |
| Network | Outbound HTTPS access to target application, bidirectional TCP port 10443 to Load Tester |
Linux Load Engine¶
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Ubuntu 20.04+ LTS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8+, Amazon Linux 2 |
| Processor | 2+ cores (4+ cores recommended for high load) |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB+ recommended for high virtual user counts |
| Disk Space | 1 GB for engine, additional space for logs |
| Java | Bundled Java 11 JRE included |
| Network | Outbound HTTPS access to target application, bidirectional TCP port 10443 to Load Tester |
| Libraries | glibc 2.17+ (usually pre-installed) |
AWS Cloud Load Engines¶
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Instance Types | t3.medium or larger (t3.large recommended for production) |
| AMI | Amazon Linux 2 or Ubuntu 20.04 LTS |
| IAM Permissions | EC2 launch, terminate, describe (see Cloud Load Testing) |
| VPC/Security Groups | Outbound HTTPS to target, inbound TCP 10443 from Load Tester |
| Regions | Any AWS region (multi-region load testing supported) |
Cloud Engine Sizing
For estimating engine capacity:
- t3.medium (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM): ~500 virtual users
- t3.large (2 vCPU, 8GB RAM): ~1000 virtual users
- t3.xlarge (4 vCPU, 16GB RAM): ~2000 virtual users
Actual capacity varies with test case complexity, think time, and how fast your target application responds.
Server Monitoring Agent (Optional)¶
The Server Monitoring Agent collects CPU, memory, and disk metrics from your application servers during load tests.
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows Server 2016+, Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, RHEL 8+), AIX 7.1+ |
| Processor | 1+ core |
| Memory (RAM) | 512 MB |
| Disk Space | 100 MB |
| Java | Bundled Java 11 JRE included (or system Java 8+) |
| Network | Outbound TCP port 10443 to Load Tester, or inbound TCP 10443 if Load Tester initiates connection |
| Permissions | Read access to system performance counters (Windows: Performance Monitor Users group; Linux: standard user) |
Network Requirements¶
Firewall Rules¶
Load Tester → Load Engines: - TCP port 10443 (bidirectional for engine control and monitoring)
Load Tester → Server Agents: - TCP port 10443 (bidirectional for metrics collection)
Load Engines → Target Application: - HTTP (TCP 80) and/or HTTPS (TCP 443) - Additional ports as needed by your application
Load Tester → AWS (for cloud load testing): - HTTPS (TCP 443) to AWS API endpoints in your selected region(s)
Proxy Support¶
If your organization uses HTTP proxies, Load Tester supports them:
- Recording proxy: You'll configure your browser to use Load Tester's recording proxy (HTTP port 8080, HTTPS port 8443)
- Outbound proxy: Load Tester and engines can route through your corporate proxy for internet access
See Advanced Configuration for proxy configuration details.
Storage Requirements¶
Test Case Storage¶
- Small test cases (10-50 pages): ~1-5 MB each
- Medium test cases (50-200 pages): ~5-20 MB each
- Large test cases (200+ pages): ~20-100 MB each
Load Test Results¶
Result storage scales with test duration and virtual user count:
- Baseline replays: ~1-10 MB per result
- Load tests (10 VUs, 1 hour): ~50-100 MB per result
- Load tests (100 VUs, 4 hours): ~500 MB - 2 GB per result
- Large load tests (1000+ VUs, 8+ hours): ~5-20 GB per result
Storage Planning
Budget at least 50 GB of free disk space for a typical load testing project with multiple test cases and results. Archive or delete old results regularly to manage disk usage.
Memory Recommendations¶
Load Tester Application¶
Application memory usage scales with the number of open test cases, their size (page count, response sizes), and how many result views you have open at once.
Recommended JVM heap sizes:
- Standard usage: Default settings (4 GB heap) are sufficient
- Heavy usage (large test cases, many results): Increase to 8 GB
- Maximum: 16 GB for extremely large test cases or result sets
Load Engines¶
Engine memory usage scales with virtual user count, test case size (page count per iteration), and response payload sizes.
Memory per virtual user (typical):
- Simple test cases (API, small responses): ~10-20 MB per VU
- Medium test cases (web app, typical pages): ~20-50 MB per VU
- Complex test cases (large responses, file uploads): ~50-100 MB per VU
Example: Running 500 VUs with a medium web application test case requires ~10-25 GB of RAM on the engine.
Browser Requirements (for Recording)¶
Load Tester v7.0 uses a Chrome browser extension for recording. You need Google Chrome installed.
Supported Browser¶
| Browser | Minimum Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Version 90+ | Required for recording in v7.0 |
Why Chrome-Only in v7.0
v7.0 uses a Chrome extension for HTTPS recording, which provides better security and simpler setup than the old proxy-based approach. The extension installs the first time you record a test case.
Replaying Test Cases
While recording requires Chrome, replaying test cases and running load tests does not require any browser. Virtual users send HTTP/HTTPS requests directly, no browser involved.
Browser Configuration¶
The first time you record, Load Tester configures Chrome automatically. The setup wizard:
- Installs the Chrome extension for HTTPS recording (one-time setup)
- Configures proxy settings automatically
- Enables JavaScript and cookie handling
See Browser Configuration for detailed setup instructions.
Internet Connectivity¶
Required for:¶
- Software updates: Check for and download Load Tester updates
- License activation: Activate and validate license keys
- Cloud load testing: Provision and manage AWS load engines
- Documentation access: Online manual and support resources
Not required for:¶
- Recording and replay (local network testing)
- On-premises load testing (using standalone engines)
- Offline analysis of saved results
Comparison with v6.0 Requirements¶
| Component | v6.0 | v7.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Windows XP/Vista/7 | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) |
| macOS | OS X 10.6+ | macOS 12+ (Monterey or later) |
| Java | Separate Java 6-8 installation required | Bundled Java 11 JRE (no separate install) |
| Eclipse | Eclipse 3.6 | Eclipse 4.19 RCP |
| Browser | IE8+, Firefox, Chrome | Chrome only (extension-based recording) |
| RAM | 4 GB recommended | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended |
| Cloud | Basic EC2 support | Full AWS SDK v2 integration |
Next Steps¶
Once your system checks out:
- Download the v7.0 installer for your platform
- Install the Load Tester application
- Activate your license to begin testing
Related Topics: - Installation - Cloud Load Testing - Browser Configuration