One of the real challenges of testing a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is getting enough users to logon to the system to test it at the same time. While load testing should be an essential part of validating a new system, scheduling three or four users to test applications can be challenging. What if you would like to simulate the load of 25 or 50 users? Often, due to the challenges of scheduling and man hours involved load testing gets ignored and you end up hoping for the best on go live day.
LoginVSI is an application that allows you to orchestrate as many users as you would like to test the system while having it all be automated. Out of the box, LoginVSI will simulate a user logon and then perform a series of very real activities like surfing the web, reading emails, or editing spreadsheets. This simulated workload progresses for about an hour per user. This allows you, the administrator, to observe how resources are used and look for issues related to a stressed system. LoginVSI can be set up to keep having new users logon until the system stops responding or crashes. It then compiles the performance metrics and tells you the optimal amount of users the system can handle before the server starts to have poor response time. They call this number the VSImax.
This article explains how to resolve the error, "VSISetup has stopped working" while setting up LoginVSI. During the install process of the LoginVSI management console the setup program crashes shortly after starting it.
Resolution:
Add the .NET Framework 3.5.1 using the Add Features wizard. Before continuing on with the LoginVSI install, run Windows Update and patch .NET. This can be time consuming as there are lots of updates available and this may require a reboot or two.
Cause:
While it is documented in the excellent install guide, it is easy to forget that the default install of Windows Server 2008 R2 does not have .NET 3.5.1 installed and it is required.
Brian Olsen @sagelikebrian
