HP LoadRunner Mobile Recorder – a short tutorial

The recently-released HP LoadRunner Mobile Recorder is an Android application that enables you to record
all of the network traffic of your native, browser-based or hybrid mobile web applications to a capture file.
The file is then used to generate a LoadRunner script.

Before you use the LoadRunner Mobile Recorder, here are a few important notes:

 You can only install the application on a rooted device

 The application has been tested on a Samsung Galaxy device with the Android OS version 4.0.3 to
4.2.2

Here are four simple steps to create a VuGen script that you can use in your LoadRunner scenarios:

1. Download and install the application

Download and install the LoadRunner Mobile Recorder from the Google Play Store.

2. Record the business process

We recommend that you close all running applications before you begin a recording session. This will
make the recorded script smaller and more manageable.

a. Tap the application icon to open it.

b. Start the recording session by tapping the Start Recording button.
c. Open the application to record, and perform the steps of the business process.
d. To stop the recording either:
 Press the home button, tap the application icon, tap the Stop Recording button to stop the
recording session, or
 Tap the LoadRunner Mobile Recorder icon in the notification bar. This automatically brings
you to the LoadRunner Mobile Recorder home screen. Tap the Stop Recording button to stop
the recording session.
3. Send the recorded session by email

The recorded session is on your mobile device, and it needs to be sent to the computer where VuGen is
installed. This is done via email, as follows:

a. When you stop the recording session, the default .lrcap file is selected and displayed.
b. You can tap Browse to select a previously recorded .lrcap file.
c. Specify an email address in the send to box:

d. Tap 'Send'.

4. Create a vuser script

a. On the computer where VuGen is installed, download the .lrcap file that was sent from the mobile
device.
b. When you double click it, VuGen will automatically open the .lrcap file, and create and generate
the script.

Note: If the recorded traffic contains SSL communications, you’ll need to create a new Mobile
Application – HTTP/HTML script in Vugen first, and use the Analyze Traffic option of the recording
wizard to select the .lrcap file. You can then click on the ‘SSL Configuration’ button to add the server-
side certificates.
Tips and Tricks

1. Logging

Logs and capture files are saved to the HP LoadRunner Mobile Recorder’s default working directory on the
mobile device, usually located under:

/storage/sdcard0/Android/data/com.hp.mobileRecorder/cache/

The log file name is log.csv. When the application is uninstalled, these files will be deleted permanently. If you
want to save the .lrcap files, back them up in a safe place, or change the working directory in the HP
LoadRunner Mobile Recorder’s advanced settings page.

2. lrcap file format

Currently, .lrcap is a pcap file. The file can be viewed in Wireshark by renaming the .lrcap to a .pcap extension.

3. WIFI vs 3G Link-layer header types

The pcap file may be compressed by two compression methods that can be read by VuGen:

 If recorded on a 3G interface, the header type will be LINKTYPE_LINUX_SLL (aka “Linux cooked”).
 If recorded on a WIFI interface, the header type will be LINKTYPE_ETHERNET (IEEE 802.3).