Ramping VUs

Configure Ramping VUs

Select Ramping VUs from the dropdown menu, and configure Ramp-up, Hold, and/or Ramp-down stages.

Each stage has four parameters that determine the shape of the load curve:

• Type: Select Ramp-up, Hold, or Ramp-down
• Duration: Specify the duration of the stage
• Start VUs: Specify the number of VUs at the start of the stage
• Target VUs: Specify the number of VUs at the end of the stage
  You can add additional stages as per your test requirement.

For peak testing, set the Ramp-up duration to 0 seconds to jump straight to the peak, then add a Hold stage to sustain that load for the duration of the event.

Configure Ramping VUs

If you want to gradually increase or decrease VUs over time, use the loadProfile config instead of duration. This approach lets you model realistic traffic patterns such as ramp-ups, peak holds, and ramp-downs.

• Under the loadProfile block, set type to ramping to enable staged traffic changes.
• Under stages, add one or more steps:
  • type: ramp increases or decreases VUs from from to to over duration. Result: VUs change linearly until they reach the target.
  • type: hold keeps VUs constant for duration. Result: VUs stay at the specified level without change.
• Keep stage durations realistic. Very short ramps can cause bursty load that is hard to analyze.
• Ensure your total vus is high enough to cover the largest stage to value. If not, the test cannot reach the target VUs.

Validation rules:

• Each stage must include type, from, to, and duration.
• Use valid time units (Xs, Xm, Xh). Example: 45s, 10m, 1h5m.
• from and to must be non-negative integers and must not exceed the global vus limit.
• Avoid overlapping or contradictory stages (for example, alternating rapid up/down ramps) unless you are testing resilience to bursty traffic.

For peak testing, set a ramp stage duration as low as 0s to jump straight to the peak, then add a hold stage to sustain that load for the duration of the event.

loadProfile:
  type: ramping
  stages:
  # Stage 1: Ramp-up from 0 to 20 VUs
  - type: ramp-up
    from: 0
    to: 20
    duration: 2m
  # Stage 2: Hold peak load
  - type: hold
    from: 20
    to: 20
    duration: 5m
  # Stage 3: Ramp-down to 0 VUs
  - type: ramp-down
    from: 20
    to: 0
    duration: 1m