A validation allows you to check if your scenario is really doing what you expect. NeoLoad automatically detects requests containing errors, especially with the HTTP return code.
For instance, a request that returns '500 Internal Error' is marked as an error by NeoLoad. However, many web applications do not return an appropriate HTTP error code when managing their errors.
This means that NeoLoad cannot automatically detect the problem. Consequently, error management is on a case by case basis. You have to verify the validity of the content returned by the server at key points in the application.
For example, you may want to look for an expected text line like "The operation was successfully completed" or check that the response does not contain the word "Error".
To validate the content of a server response:
1. In the "Virtual Users" tab, click on the request whose response needs to be validated.
2. Click on the "Validation..." button bottom right.
3. Add a validation for the content.
4. Select a validation mode: launch a search on a simple text line, or use a regular expression.
At the end of the test, you can select the requests containing errors or for which the validation failed in the Errors panel. Then you analyze the content of the corresponding server's response to work out the reason for the problem.
You can also add other validation types, such as the size of the response or its duration.
For more information, see "Validation" under "Design" section in the NeoLoad documentation.
