“Cannot connect to machine <machine name>”

When adding Windows Resource measurement on the LoadRunner Controller, the add was unsuccessful and returns a “Cannot  connect to machine…” error with a bunch of suggestions to keep you busy…   Before you move on in this article, do take a look at two articles, namely, “How-to configure Windows System Resource monitoring” and Document ID: KM304905: Error: “Monitor name: Windows Resources. Cannot connect to machine…” on the configurations required.  Apply them first before moving on.

If error persists after configuring the Windows Resource from the two documents, the next step that you do is to validate the necessary setup from perfmon.  What must be working are, (a) perfmon is running on the target machine and (b) TCP 139 must be opened for the communication on a two-way communication. Some steps here are repetition of the configuration as mentioned above, however, it’s advisable to re-validate the setup:

[1] Validate network setup

• Launch command prompt
• Ping from the command prompt, Run > cmd the SUT from the Controller.  Command as followed: ping <target_machine>.  If the Ping test fail, it’s straight-forward on the following few possibilities: (a) target machine is not up, (b) firewalls or target machine is preventing network pings.
• Telnet from the command prompt, Run > cmd the SUT from the Controller on port 139. Command as followed: telnet <target_machine> 139.  The expected result that if the connectivity is ok on TCP 139, the command prompt will turn full black.  If it fails, it will return “Connecting To <target_machine>…Could not open connection to the host, on port 13
  9: Connect failed” which can be a likely caused of firewall misconfiguration at the (a) network level (e.g. disallow/block ports or IP filtering on firewall) or at the target machine level (e.g. ZoneAlarm or Windows Security).

[2] Validate target machine setup (NTFS)

• At the target machine, launch perfmon.
• Ensure perfmon is running.  If perfmon is not running, it can be caused by corruption of perfmon which may require re-installation of perfmon (Windows OS).
• Now, launch perfmon from the Controller, and connect from Controller’s perfmon to target_machine in “Select counters from computer:”.  If it connects, then you will be able to retrieve the counters.  If not, which response with “Unable to connect to machine”, you will need to ensure the following to be configured.
• In the target_machine, launch the Services.msc from Run.  Ensure the following services are started: Network DDE DSDM, Network DDE and Remote Registry.  Usually they are turned off due to hardening policy.
• Launch regedit from Run.  Naviigate to the following registry keys and ensure that READ access is granted to them:
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurePipeServers\winreg
• Disable Simple File Sharing.  Launch Folder Explorer in target_machine > > Tools > Folder Options > View > at the bottom of “View all settings”, disable “Use simple file sharing (Recommended)”.
• Launch Folder Explorer and type %SYSTEMROOT% in the address bar.  Navigate to %SYSTEMROOT%\System32.  Allow READ access for all users on two files, namely, Perfc009.dat and Perfh009.dat.  (NOTE: Ensure the user being granted the READ rights is the one being used for monitoring from Controller.  If not, do create an additional account for it.)
• Now, go back to Controller’s perfmon and connect to the target_machine again in “Select counters from computer”.  You should be able to see the counters from the target machine.
• Now, go back to Controller and connect to the target_machine which should have resolve the problem.

If you happened to try out the mms_get_property API on a Media Player (MMS) and Web (HTTP/HTML) script, you may get the above error if you missed out on an include entry for the globals.h file. The compilation error is caused with constant, LRMMS_PACKET_QUALITY is not found in the globals.h file. The following snippet of the codes that resulted in the error that occurred was used, based on the Function Reference on mms_get_property API.

vuser_action()
{
int pack_quality,time_quality,pack_count,pack_rate;

pack_quality=mms_get_property(LRMMS_PACKET_QUALITY);
time_quality=mms_get_property(LRMMS_TIME_QUALITY);
pack_count=mms_get_property(LRMMS_STREAM_COUNT);
pack_rate=mms_get_property(LRMMS_STREAM_RATE);

return 0;
}

What do we need to do to resolve it? You’ve to include mic_media.h in the multi-protocol script in order for it to recognise the constants. A snippet of the globals.h can be found as followed:

#ifndef _GLOBALS_H
#define _GLOBALS_H

//——————————————————————–
// Include Files
#include “lrun.h”
#include “web_api.h”
#include “lrw_custom_body.h”
#include “mic_media.h”

//——————————————————————–
// Global Variables

#endif // _GLOBALS_H

Error -27740: Overlapped transmission of request to “www.url.com” for URL “http://www.url.com/ProdApp/” failed: WSA_IO_PENDING

What is WSA_IO_PENDING? WSA_IO_PENDING 997, is a Windows Socket error that is returned by the WSAGetLastError function. It is non-LoadRunner error like “Error -27728: Step download timeout (999 seconds) has expired when downloading non-resource(s)” or “Connection to load generator failed. Error: Process “lr_bridge.exe” was not created. Reason: – communication error. [MsgId: MERR-29996]“, etc. The error means the overlapped operations will complete later. From Windows Socket perspective, the application has initiated an overlapped operation that cannot be completed immediately.

A completion indication will be given later when the operation has been completed. This error is returned by the operating system and therefore the error number may change in future releases of Windows. For the complete list of Windows Socket errors, refer to Windows Socket Error Codes.

(Source: MSDN Library, Windows Socket Error Codes)

However, having mentioned the above, there is still a slight relationship of how the error occur. The transmission of data to the server failed. It could be a network, router, or server problem. The word Overlapped refers to the way LoadRunner sends data in order to get a Web Page Breakdown.

To resolve this problem, add the following statement to the beginning of the script to disable the breakdown of the “First Buffer” into server and network time:

web_set_sockets_option(“OVERLAPPED_SEND”, “0″);

The error message that is thrown upon when the bootclasspath was not specified in the recording options is shown below:

To resolve the error was straight forward, enter the following to (a) the additional startup command to the recording options or (b) add it to the command batch file that is launching the Java application:

-Xbootclasspath/p:”D:\Program Files\LoadRunner\classes;D:\Program Files\LoadRunner\classes\srv”

Most of the time we have to work with the administrator account on a Windows environment in a load test or setting up of monitors. A common problem that I encountered is that I’m unable to login as an administrator to have full privileges to the machine either if some settings have changed throughout the duration of its usage. In anyway, to login as administrator account, you will need to enable administrator login for the Windows XP.

And in order to do that, you will have to edit the registry.

• Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe
• Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
• Use the File, Export option to backup the key (recommended)
• Create a new DWORD Value named Administrator
• Double-click Administrator, and set 1 as its data
• Exit the Registry Editor.
• Log off the current user and return to the login page again. You should be able to see the administrator login.

NOTE: This can also be applied to non-administrator account login on the welcome menu.

Error: C interpreter run time error: vuser_init.c (4): Error — Unresolved symbol : mms_play

Lately, we’ve talk about using Media Player (MMS) protocol with Web (HTTP/HTML) in “Combining non-standard protocols in a single script that are not listed in Multi-Protocol selection”. The above error message is a compilation error that I forgotten to mentioned. This error occurs when Media Player (MMS) is not included as part of the multiple protocol. From the error message, this may happened with the following context.

1. Only Web (HTTP/HTML) protocol was selected.
2. Media Player (MMS) was not selected to be included in the Multi-protocol script.
3. mms_play API was added in the single Web (HTTP/HTML) protocol script.

Of course, this also occurs for other protocols. Example, if you put in a FTP function related API in Web (HTTP/HTML) protocol script, the error will occur in a different context where it will alert the unresolved symbol for the FTP API.

What do you need to do to resolve this error? Ensure that the API you are including is part of the protocol you’ve selected with the Function Reference.

Error -10343: Communication error: Failed to connect to remote host [server name: ]. (sys error message – ) [MsgId: MERR-10343]

Error -29989: Process “lr_bridge.exe” was not created on remote host “” ,reason – communication error. [MsgId: MERR-29989]

Lately, while I was verifying the upgrade of my LoadRunner versions from 8.1 to 9, I encountered a connectivity problem with the Controllers and Load Generators but well, it’s been resolved… Anyway, just to share with you like a case study on the steps I took to troubleshoot the problem.

Initially I went to the support website in hope to find some information with these generic errors but they weren’t helpful in my context. I’m not implying that they are useless but it wasn’t applicable to me at that point of time. You can look through it too first:

Document ID 25162 – Common connectivity problems between Controller and Generator
Document ID 11905 – How-to and troubleshooting guide for setting up a Windows machine as a Load Generator

To give you a background information, I’ve got 4 machines, one Controller and 3 Load Generators (LG). Let’s name them in the following manner for the ease of illustration:

1. Controller – CONTROLLER
2. Load Generators – LG1, LG2 and LG3

The OS installed for all machines were Window XP and firewall programs were installed in them, namely ZoneAlarm and Sygate.

The following steps were taken:

1. Ping from CONTROLLER to LG1, LG2 and LG3 – No problem
2. Ping from LG1, LG2 and LG3 to CONTROLLER – No problem
3. Telnet port 54345 from CONTROLLER to LG1, LG2 and LG3 – No problem
4. Telnet port 54345 from LG1, LG2 and LG3 to CONTROLLER – No problem
5. Turn off Windows XP firewall for all machines – Done
6. Allowed firewall access for incoming and outgoing traffic – Done
7. Install LoadRunner full suite on LG1 and connect to all other machines via the Controller program – All machines connected except unsuccessful connection to CONTROLLER.

This is clear that communication in terms of network port from ALL machines were successful. Except CONTROLLER where port establishment from the LoadRunner program on CONTROLLER was unsuccessful which signifies that the problem could be caused at the application-level.

8. Tried launching the Sygate on the CONTROLLER – Unsuccessful; Sygate not launched.

After trying all the above, my assumption is that Sygate is corrupted with the LoadRunner, disallowing the it to communicate to the agents on the LG. I’m left with two options.

a. Uninstall Sygate.
b. Format the entire machine and start anew with nothing on it.

I went ahead with [a] before doing the ultimatum [b]. And well, it solves the whole thing! (of course, I installed a new copy of Sygate to get things back to normal too.) Anyway, summary of this troubleshooting, it was caused by a corrupted firewall program which may affect you too so do take note in future!

Warning:
The installer has detected a system restart is required.
Click Cancel to exit the installation. After restarting the system, run the installation again.

Lately, I’ve encountered this problem while installing my SiteScope version 8.5 as the monitoring mechanism for my LoadRunner. I couldn’t find any information relating to it and so, logged a support case with HP Support. Below is the screenshot of the warning. Click on image to enlarge.

I’ve attached the log files which was generated during the installation. They are found in the %TEMP%\Mercury directory (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\Mercury). The files should be in the following format.

Mercury_SiteScope.{numeric string}.install.html
Mercury_SiteScope.{numeric string}.install.is.log

Click on the link to view an example of the content in the log files when the installation warning occur.

Mercury_SiteScope.01.07.11.01.install.html
Mercury_SiteScope.01.07.11.01.install.is.log

The solution provided is as followed (with some minor amendments while I was executing it). It looks at two registry keys namely [1] PendingFileRenameOperations and [2] RunOnce keys. Perform [1] before proceeding to [2]. Do remember to backup the registry before performing the following tasks (if you are unsure of the changes).

[1] PendingFileRenameOperations Registry

1. Go to following registry Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager2. Open PendingFileRenameOperations key. It will show the file name that will be renamed when you reboot.

3. If the file pointed by the above key doesn’t exist delete PendingFileRenameOperations key and run installation again.

4. If file exist, it means you should reboot the machine at least once and if you still get the message after reboot, you can delete the key.

If it still fails with the message that you need to reboot, go to [2].

[2] RunOnce Registry

1. Go to registry Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\2. When you select RunOnce key, in the right hand side pane you will see multiple values and the first one is “Default”

3. Make a backup of the entries in the RunOnce key (right click > Export > Save).

4. Delete all other entry except “Default”.

5. If there is only one entry (”Default”), there is no need to delete anything.

6. Repeat same Step 1-5 for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\

Both solutions should resolve the problem, but do remember to perform [1] before trying out [2]. Hope this is useful to you!

Error -27728: Step download timeout (120 seconds) has expired when downloading non-resource(s) [MsgId: MERR-27728]

Step Download Timeout means that the step needed to performed for the subsequent step to be performed have reached its timeout limit (default is 120 secs) in LoadRunner. A more detailed explanation can be found in Document ID 15370 – Error: “-27751: Step download timeout (120 seconds) has expired when downloading resource(s)…” even though timeout is set.

Having mentioned the above, there are situations we must take note when this error occur. If the error occurs during the generation of the script (replay in Vugen), it could mean that the application is really taking time of more than 120 secs to complete the download of the resources. You may want to configure the timing to suit your application needs.

If the error occurs during a scenario execution and happens in the middle of the scenario (usually with a large amount of load), the application is handling a lot of load and unable to attend to all the vuser request, thus (maybe) taking more than the configured download timing. For this,it will be better advisable to look at the system utilization of the server to seeth out any performance problems.

To determine the initial problem, we can ask the following questions, that is similar to a previous article, “Why are my scripts/vusers failing?“.

1. Does the error occur in Vugen?
2. Does the error occur in Controller?
3. If yes for (2), does it occur in the start of the scenario run or in the middle of the scenario run?
4. If yes for (2), what is the amount of running users when the error occur?

The above, can scope down to the area of problem and allow you to determine your next course of action.

If you have decided that the Step Download Timeout needs to be configured, you can configure that in the Runtime Settings of the script. There are other articles that you may find useful should you required to configure the Step Download Timeout:

Document ID 11299 – How to increase the connect , receive and step timeout value for Web Vusers
Document ID 15450 – How to increase the timeout settings in a Web script
Document ID 22864 – How to resubmit a Web request if “Page downloads timeout” is received

To access the above articles, please ensure that you have a valid user login into the Support Website.

Final note, its best to determine the characteristics of your application before applying the configuration. (Do not configure to suit the load test but rather let the load test determine the configuration).

Error -26377: No match found for the requested parameter “Siebel_Analytic_ViewState5″. Check whether the requested boundaries exist in the response data. Also, if the data you want to save exceeds 1024 bytes, use web_set_max_html_param_len to increase the parameter size [MsgId: MERR-26377]

This is a typical error on correlation but not really limited to it. This can also be a generic error for other problems and here we will discuss about the causes and how to resolve them.

So what are the possibilities of the error?

1. The server is under load and unable to return the web page correctly.

When the server is under load, it may not response causing timeout page or it may have a custom page that handles errors. In this way, a different page that was not expected by the web_reg_save_param (in Left Boundary and Right Boundary) is returned, thus causing the error. This happens usually in Controller.

2. A different request was sent prior resulting in a page that was not expected by web_reg_save_param.

Somewhere in the script before the web_reg_save_param or before the request to generate the response meant to be captured, a different request was being sent to the server which resulted in the server sending a different page. This can be caused by previously correlation (incorrect/correct ones) or paramterization.

3. The generation of the parameter of LB and RB was incorrect during recording.

The page may had changed and the LB and RB no longer exists in the application. This can be due to changes in the page design or application code.

4. The parameter within the LB and RB is more than 1024 bytes.

This occurs especially with VIEWSTATE where it will grow to a substantial size more than the initial setting of 1024 bytes. If such things, happened, increase the length with web_set_max_html_param_len accordingly to suit the application needs.

Having mentioned the above, the troubleshooting is more likely conducted using the replay log (With Full Extended Log enabled). Do not over rely on the auto-correlation, it may not be able to detect all differences in the replay and recording. The replay log is a very useful tool in tracing the requests and response during the replay. From there, you should be able to find the problem source.

I would recommend you to do manual correlation. Though tedious, you are more aware of the data sent and returned. To do this, record the application twice and compare it. Use the Wdiff tool provided by LoadRunner if you want. Also, read through the Document ID 11806 – What is correlation and how is it done.