LoginVSI – Random Web Content Using Google Chrome

Whilst on site at a customer who are using LoginVSI to load-test their EUC environment I put together the functionality to use Google Chrome in workloads as a replacement for Internet Explorer.

LoginVSI has built-in functionality for providing random web content and video content through Internet Explorer from a set of downloaded web sites which are held on the VSI Share.  Using the built-in Web_Start and Web_Start_Random functions users within a workload can open a random page from the web sites held on the VSI Share with a simple command.

Emulating this functionality using Google Chrome launched using the built-in App_Start function instead was not easily or elegantly achieved so I decided to write a script to perform this functionality.

The PowerShell script was then compiled in to an executable using PS2EXE-GUI, copied to the VSI_Share\_VSI_Binaries\Target\Lib folder and then called using the VSI_ShellExecuteWait function in the workloads.

The Chrome_Start_Random script mirrors the functionality of the built-in Web_Start_Random function by providing the following:

• Accepts the built-in LoginVSI Variable %VSI_WebLocation%.
• Provides the capability to open either random web content or video content from the downloaded VSI Share web sites.
•  Allows the type of video player to be selected from Auto, HTML5, or Flash.
• Allows the quality of the video to be selected from 240p, 360p, or 480p.
• Opens a new Google Chrome window as default each time the script is called.

The Chrome_Start_Random script also provides the following additional functionality:

• Allows the choice between launching a new window or a new tab when the script is called.
• Defaults to launching Google Chrome as a new window if the open method is not supplied to mirror the built-in Web_Start_Random function.
• Allows the usage of a CSV file holding web sites to provide randomisation of non LoginVSI downloaded web sites.

For further information including a copy of the script go to LoginVSI – Chrome_Start_Random Script .