Forecast targets a wide range of technologies including Web/HTTP, Web Services, client-side Java, client-side .Net, Citrix, GUI replay, and network level messaging. Forecast is not a limited “Web only” tool; technologies can be combined to test systems with complex architectures.

tests websites, web based applications and web services to identify system bottlenecks, improve application quality and optimise network and server infrastructures.

supports a comprehensive and growing list of protocols, standards and data formats including; HTTP/HTTPS, SOAP, XML, JSON and Ajax.

is efficient and has a low overhead, yet reproduces the behaviour of one to tens of thousands of real users performing both simple and complex transactions.

combines dynamic form handling with advanced script generation enabling the effective testing of even the most complex applications.

Highly scalable with a low Web Virtual User footprint.

Simulate from one to tens of thousands of Web users.

Test complex and demanding Web applications.

Support for a wide range of internet protocols and technologies;

.NET, ASP, JSP, SOAP, XML, Flex, AJAX, Java Objects, JSON, and FTP.

Supports Basic authentication, NTLM authentication, Kerberos, proxy authentication and client-side security certificates.

Record and replay SSL (HTTPS) sessions.

Record Web scripts using any browser.

Record non-browser based applications.

Generate Web service scripts from sample XML.

Script generation options create optimal Web scripts.

Web script generation rules create scripts that specifically target the application under test. Create a rule and apply it to all scripts or a single script.

Dynamic form handling automatically correlates returned data.

Parameterised host and port allows switching of target servers without re-scripting.

Automatically handles cookies and session ids. Each VU has a distinct cookie cache.

Each VU has a fully functional data cache optimised for efficiency during testing.

Redirects are handled automatically.

Interrogate and extract Web page content during test execution.

Easy parameterization of Web requests using Forecast’s data parameterization model.

Validate Web server responses.

Web trace viewer displays a recorded session; use it to view the rendered page and HTML, request and response details, text and binary data, request and response headers, decoded POST requests ,query data and formatted XML.

Web log viewer provides a view similar to the Web trace viewer, allowing comparison between a session recording and its subsequent replay.

Monitor and chart Web-specific metrics in real-time and in post-run reports. Includes; Cache activity, HTTP(S) Request Rate, HTTP(S) Response Codes, Connection Attempts, Bytes Sent/Received, Total Bytes, DNS Lookups.

Incorporate server metrics into runtime dashboard and post-run analysis and reporting.

Log user specified metric data using Forecast’s user metrics functionality.

Record timings for both complete page downloads and individual HTTP requests.

A common API across all languages and Virtual User types.

Scripting with industry standard languages.

Handle unique data encoding formats requiring specific encoders and decoders.

Customize by creating an extension Virtual User type.