Analyzing Threshold Rule Violations

Threshold rules are associated with specific performance counters, and violations indicate that a performance counter exceeded or fell below a set value. When you run a load test, you can analyze violations that occur for the threshold rules you set up previously. For more information, see About Threshold Rules.

If any violations occurred, a threshold violations hyperlink appears on the load test status bar and specifies the number of violations that occurred. You click the hyperlink to display the threshold violations table. You can also view threshold violations in the Counters window, and on the graph.

Viewing Threshold Violations in the Table

The threshold violations table displays the first 1,000 violations. The following table contains these columns:

Column Description Visible By Default

Time

The time during the load test at which the violation occurred.

Yes

Computer

The name of the computer under test on which the violation occurred.

Note

This is important when you run load tests on rigs. For more information, see Working with Controllers, Agents, and Rigs.

Yes

Category

The category of the performance counter on which the violation occurred.

Yes

Counter

The name of the performance counter on which the violation occurred.

Yes

Instance

The performance counter instance on which the violation occurred.

Yes

Message

A message that describes the threshold violation. For example, The value 5 exceeds the critical threshold value of 0.

Yes

Note

You can sort the table by clicking the column headers.

For more information, see Working with Load Test Tables.

Viewing Threshold Violations in the Counters Pane

You can view threshold violations in the Counters pane, in the tree that lists the performance counters for your load test. Icons in the Counters pane communicate threshold violations. The icon will be one of the following:

  • A red circle with an X indicates that a critical threshold violation occurred in the current sampling interval.

  • A gray circle with an X indicates that a critical threshold violation occurred on a prior sampling interval, but the threshold rule is no longer violated.

  • A yellow triangle with an exclamation point indicates that a warning threshold violation occurred in the current sampling interval.

  • A gray triangle with an exclamation point indicates that a warning threshold violation occurred on a prior sampling interval, but the threshold rule is no longer violated.

In the counter tree, the icon for a threshold violation is propagated from the specific counter node, up to the root node. This alerts you to a violation on a counter that may not be visible in the tree because the tree has not been expanded.

Viewing Threshold Violations on the Graph

You can view threshold violations on the graph. Similar to the Counters pane, icons communicate threshold violations on the graph. The icons appear on the graph next to the data point where the threshold violation occurred. If a threshold violation occurs on a counter that does not appear on the graph, you can add it to the graph by dragging it from the Counters pane to the graph.

For more information, see Working with Graphs.

See Also

Concepts

About Threshold Rules

Other Resources

Load Test Counter Sets
Analyzing Load Test Runs
Working with Load Tests