14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has made available for download a new release of the Windows Media Load Simulator designed to help customers running Windows Media Services 9 Series test their infrastructure.
Windows Media Load Simulator 9 Series can be grabbed from the Microsoft Download Center and offers a tool capable of allowing for a real-world load to be simulated on a Windows Media Services server.
Essentially, Windows Media Load Simulator 9 Series provides customers with an easy way to test their servers in scenarios involving a large number of client requests.
Microsoft has also made it as easy as possible for IT professionals to use the tool, equipping it with a graphical user interface (GUI).
“Windows Media Load Simulator creates a real-world load on a server by simulating Microsoft Windows Media Player connections; the load-test results on the server can be viewed in a log. Windows Media Load Simulator is designed to run on one or more client computers to simulate a large number of client requests,” Microsoft explained.
“If you balance the load on your Windows Media servers for greater scalability and availability, then Windows Media Load Simulator should be run against each individual server.”
At the same time, Windows Media Load Simulator can also offer monitoring capabilities.
Customers can keep a close eye on Windows Media server in active service, the Redmond company revealed.
In this regard, the tool offers configuration options set up to allow admins to tweak the solution in order to not only monitor but also deliver alerts on specific events such as performance degradation and server hangs.
“Windows Media Load Simulator is designed to simulate hundreds of users that stream audio and video from a Windows Media server,” the Redmond company added.
“This places a significant load on the server and on the network. It is recommended that Windows Media Load Simulator be used on an isolated network and a dedicated server to avoid interfering with other network and server applications.”
Windows Media Load Simulator 9 Series is available for download here.