Release Notes

Benchmark Factory® 8.1

Release Notes

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

About Benchmark Factory

Quest Software is pleased to make available Benchmark Factory® 8.1 to meet your database workload testing needs. Benchmark Factory is a database performance and code scalability testing tool that simulates users and transactions on the database and replays production workload in non-production environments. With Benchmark Factory developers, DBAs, and QA teams can validate that their databases will scale as user loads increase, application changes are made, and platform changes are implemented.

Benchmark Factory is available for Oracle®, SQL Server®, IBM® DB2®, SAP®, MySQL, and other databases via ODBC connectivity. Benchmark Factory:

• Simulates thousands of concurrent users with a minimal amount of hardware.
• Simulates database production workloads.
• Reports tests results with built-in reporting features.

Upon completion of a test execution, all test results are collected and stored in the repository for data analysis and reporting. Benchmark Factory collects a variety of informative and detailed statistics that include:

• Overall server throughput (measured in transactions per second/minute or bytes transferred).
• Detailed transaction executed statistics by individual agent workstations producing a load.

New Features

This release of Benchmark Factory includes the following new features and enhancements.

Benchmark Factory Agent for Linux

This release includes an exciting new feature. Benchmark Factory now provides an agent which you can deploy in your Linux environment. After installing the Linux version of Benchmark Factory Agent in your Linux environment, use the Benchmark Factory Console to set up the new agent. After setup, you can select the new agent from the list of agents available for load testing. In addition, the Benchmark Factory REST API supports configuring and modifying the Benchmark Factory Agent for Linux.

Supported Databases. The Benchmark Factory Agent for Linux can be used to test workloads against PostgreSQL databases.

Note: The Benchmark Factory Agent for Linux supports the following platforms only: Red Hat 7.x (64-bit), CentOs 7.x (64-bit), and Oracle Linux 7.x (64-bit).

The Benchmark Factory Agent for Linux is available for download from the Benchmark Factory Community on Toad World.

PostgreSQL Native Connection

This release of Benchmark Factory includes a PostgreSQL Native connection.

1. To create a PostgreSQL connection, click New Connection in the main toolbar.

2. Then select PostgreSQL from the Connection Type drop-down list.

   

3. Enter connection information in this dialog to create a PostgreSQL native connection.

   Alternatively, if you want to create a PostgreSQL ODBC connection, select the ODBC tab and enter connection information.

The following PostgreSQL database versions are supported: PostgreSQL 9.4, 9.5, 9.6 and 10, and EnterpriseDB Postgres 10.

Enhanced Licensing Dialog

This release includes an enhanced Licensing dialog which provides a simpler, easier-to-use interface.

• Select Help | Licensing to open the Licensing dialog. The Licensing dialog opens and displays the list of licenses for Benchmark Factory. Benchmark Factory supports multiple licenses. For example, a Toad for Oracle Edition license and a Toad for SQL Server Edition license may be active simultaneously.
• To enter a new license, click Add and enter the license key and the site message included with the license key.
• To modify a license, select the license to update and click Modify. Then update the key and site message.
• If Benchmark Factory was activated by a Toad Edition license, the Toad license is listed. Select the license and click Modify to update it.

• To delete a license, select the license to delete and click Delete License.

  Important: If you delete a license key, any features enabled by that license and not supported by another currently-active license are disabled.

BMFServer.exe Enhancements

• The default REST API port number for BMFServer.exe is now the same as the Benchmark Factory console, port 30100.
• The BMFServer log file (BMFServer.log) is now located in: \My Benchmark Factory\<version>\<bitness>\Error Logs

See Resolved Issues for more enhancements and resolved issues in this release of Benchmark Factory.

Learn More

Learn more and connect with the community at the Benchmark Factory Community page on Toad World.

• Find interesting blogs and other useful information.
• Ask questions in the forum.
• Link to Commercial, Trial, and Freeware downloads.
• Find Benchmark Factory documentation.

Deprecated Features

SQL Server Native Client

Beginning with Benchmark Factory 8.1, the Microsoft SQL Server Native Client (11.0) is no longer distributed along with Benchmark Factory.

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues and Enhancements

The following is a list of issues addressed and enhancements implemented in this release of Benchmark Factory.