Deploy a Load Generation Fleet
The Launcher Appliance is a downloadable Ubuntu VM image. It enrolls with the platform, receives managed updates, runs preflight checks, and joins the assigned agent pools. All connections dial out from the appliance to the platform. Nothing dials in from the internet.
Launcher Appliances
What an Launcher Appliance is, how it reaches the platform, and how to get from image to load-ready agents.
Vertical view for narrow screens. The full architecture is available in the Expand view.
The Launcher Appliance is a packaged Ubuntu VM. Three agents run inside it — the Appliance Agent handles enrollment, heartbeat and management on TCP 5050 with a pinned TLS certificate; the Linux Core Agent drives web and protocol load with Chrome, Edge and Playwright over TCP 4850 with results streamed back on TCP 4851; an optional Windows guest, provisioned from a template, runs a Full Agent for fat-client sessions against Citrix, Horizon and AVD at the client versions the template pins, plus an Insight Agent for UX timing. Test control and results for the Full Agent are bi-directional on TCP 4840. Every connection is outbound from the appliance to the platform; nothing dials in.
What it is
A Packaged VM That Hosts Your Load Agents
The image ships as OVF, VHDX, or an Azure image. No Docker. No manual agent installs. The appliance downloads its updates, holds its version state, and reports its own health to the platform.
Every appliance runs at a known version. The platform tracks its build, its browsers, and its Windows guest configuration.
Appliance Agent
Enrolls the appliance, heartbeats about every 60 seconds, and handles management, updates, and the console. Runs on TCP 5050 with a certificate pinned at registration.
Linux Core Agent
Drives web and protocol load with Chrome, Edge, and Playwright (Firefox and WebKit). Joins agent pools automatically after approval. Test dispatch on TCP 4850, results on TCP 4851.
Windows guest
Provisioned from a Windows Template. Runs a Full Agent for fat-client sessions (Citrix Workspace, Horizon, AVD) at the client versions the template pins, plus an optional Insight Agent for UX timing.
Setup Flow
From Image to Load-Ready in Six Steps
A repeatable path from download to first test. No installers to run on shared hosts.
Deploy
Import the VM image into your hypervisor.
Enroll
Enter a one-time token on the appliance console. The appliance registers itself with the platform.
Approve
Approve the appliance in the UI. Keys are swapped, the trust relationship is established.
Configure
Pick browsers. Optionally provision a Windows guest from a template.
Assure
Preflight checks turn green: agent versions, browser installs, platform connectivity.
Run
Agents join your load pools and take load.
Fleet Operations
Manage the Fleet as One System
The platform holds the fleet's version graph, agent inventory, and readiness state. Appliance logs download from the UI. Day-to-day operations do not require SSH access to the appliance.
Launcher Appliances
Approve, manage, update, and monitor registered appliances and their agents: versions, browsers, the Windows guest cockpit, and the Update Center.
Windows Templates
Define a Windows guest once (edition, sizing, client software, KMS activation) and apply it to multiple appliances in one action.
Setup guide
A guided path from downloaded image to a load-ready agent: deploy, enroll, approve, add capabilities, verify.
Fleet Readiness
A single grid that shows agent presence, version alignment, and preflight state before a test campaign begins.
Session Canary
A scheduled probe session against a real logon chain. A broken broker is caught before the test window, not during it.
Run Assurance
Version gate policy, saturation thresholds, and live utilization spot-checks per generator.
Why It Matters
A Load Test Fails for Two Reasons
Either the system under test broke, or the test infrastructure did. A versioned, managed appliance rules out the second cause before the run starts.
For engineers
No manual agent installs. No dependency drift. Import the image, enroll it with a token, approve it in the UI.
For test reliability
Client versions are pinned per Windows template (Citrix Workspace, Horizon, AVD), so runs are reproducible. Preflight checks and Session Canary probes catch broken logon chains before the test window opens.
For the business
Time-to-first-test drops from days of manual infrastructure work to an afternoon of appliance setup.
See It in Your Environment
Enroll a Launcher Appliance against your platform and run your first load test from your own agent pools.
