How does LoadRunner handle cache (Run Time Settings->Browser Emulation)?

The "Simulate browser cache" option tells LoadRunner to pretend that it has a cache and to keep track of the resources it has alread downloaded. If a resource is in the cache and it is requested again, LoadRunner will not ask the server for this resource. This is how a browser with a cache behaves.

The "Simulate a new user each iteration" option tells Loadrunner when to clear the cache. If the option it checked, LoadRunner will pretend that each iteration is a new user, and so a new cache. If the option is not checked, then the cache is kept between iterations.

1. With "Simulate browser cache" and without "Simulate a new user each iteration," LoadRunner will not download the resources on second iteration onwards if it is in the cache.

2. With "Simulate browser cache" and "Simulate a new user each iteration," LoadRunner will reload the resources each iteration, but only load them once per iteration if they are in the cache.

3. With "Simulate browser cache" and without "Simulate a new user each iteration," but with web_cache_cleanup (a LoadRunner function to empty the cache), web_cache_cleanup will override the setting and, as such, it will clear the cache when the function is called, just like if the "Simulate a new user" was checked.