Web Mail workload

The Web Mail workload models an active Web Mail user using a browser to send, retrieve, and delete Notes® mail.

About this task

The script contains an average of 15 minutes of waiting, so an average user runs this test no more than four times an hour. For each iteration of the script, there is a check and retrieval of POP3 mail messages. When sending messages, each user sends a mail message to the number of users specified by the NumMessageRecipients variable, no more than every 15 minutes. The messages sent by each simulated user are delivered to the mail databases of other simulated users on the SUT.

The measurements obtained by this test are:

  • Throughput of completed Notes® operations
  • Average response time at maximum capacity
  • Maximum number of Web Mail users supported

The resulting capacity metric for a Web Mail server is the maximum number of users that can be supported before the average user response time becomes unacceptable.

Note: You can review the Web Mail Workload script.

The following hard disk requirements apply to the SUT and, during some tests, to the destination systems that receive mail from the SUT:

Table 1. Hard disk requirements

Setting

Value

Initial Disk Requirement

In Domino® 6 or later, approximately 13MB on the SUT for each user (mail database). In Domino® 5, approximately 5.5MB.

Subsequent Disk Requirement

Increase of 1MB an hour for the duration of the test. (This figure is not dependent on the number of users.)

Increase of 100KB an hour as impacted by the value of the nthIteration setting in the NOTES.INI file

The growth rate of each database is a function of the ratio of the number of users and recipients sending and receiving mail.

Tips for running the Web Mail workload

Procedure

  1. Use these server commands.
    Table 2. Server commands

    Command

    Description

    Show Tasks

    Show either the Database Server task (Notes® clients) or HTTP task (Web users).

    Show Stat Mail

    Monitor message counters

    Show Stat Domino®.Requests.*

    Monitor message counters
  2. If authentication errors occur on the Domino® server console, verify the password in the HTTP field of the respective user's Person document in the SUT's Domino® Directory; edit the Domino® Directory if necessary.
  3. From the SUT console, enter this command to display additional routing information:
    Set Config Log_MailRouting=40
  4. Check that the database properties for the mail database:
    • Web access: Use JavaScript when generating pages -- Must be checked.
    • Allow soft deletions -- Must not be checked.
  5. In the Server document on the Internet Protocols > HTTP tab, complete these fields:
    Table 3. HTTP tab

    Field

    Action

    Optimize performance based on the following primary activity

    Choose Advanced (Custom Settings) to view and modify the number of HTTP threads.

    Number Active Threads

    Specify one active thread for every 10 Web Mail users.
  6. Make sure that the administrator has Manager access to the Domino® Directory.
  7. Authentication
    • By default, WebMail assumes user authentication is required.
    • For authenticated users, Anonymous must have No Access and -Default- must have Manager access. Use the WebAuthenticationOff=0 setting in the client's NOTES.INI file.
    • To run WebMail without authentication, Anonymous must have Manager access in the ACL of all mail databases and the Domino® Directory. Use the WebAuthenticationOff=0 setting in the client's NOTES.INI file.
    • To run Web Mail with authentication, use the WebAuthenticationOff=0 setting in the NOTES.INI file and run the Update ACL of MailDBs to include Owner (mail1, mail2, ...) agent on the SUT.

Running the Web Mail workload

Procedure

  1. Make sure that you already completed the procedure to run the Web Mail Initialization workload.
  2. Run the Create NotesBench Mail Person Documents agent to create the desired number of Person documents in the Domino® Directory.
  3. On the Domino® Administrator client, start Server.Load.
  4. In the Test Type field, choose Built-In, and then choose Web Mail Initialization Workload from the list.
  5. Click the Script Variables tab, and enter these values:
    Table 4. Script variables

    Variable

    Action

    HTTPHost

    Enter the TCP/IP address or host name of the Domino® Web server

    nb_dbdir

    Enter a database directory relative to the Notes® data directory. Recommended value is mail\.

    WebPreferencesOff

    Make sure this is set to Off. If it's On, the script sets the mail database to be its own owner.
  6. Click the Test Parameters tab. If you are running the test on multiple clients, increment the value of the Starting Thread No. parameter when you run the test on each client.
  7. Optional: Click the Stop Conditions tab to set a stop condition.
  8. Click Execute.
  9. Optional: Select metrics to monitor.
  10. Optional: In the Server to receive console commands field, enter the name of the SUT.
  11. Click Start Test.