This guide describes the installation of the tool_moodleload tool on the Moodle site to be tested, the preparation of the technical account used by the MoodleLoad engine and the connection to the MoodleLoad front end.

The component is at alpha maturity. Do not install it on a production site: it exposes system metrics, authorises load tests and creates a technical account with extended rights.

• Moodle 4.3 or higher (tested on 4.5).
• PHP 8.1 or higher.
• A Linux server with a readable /proc file system, for CPU and memory measurements. On Windows, only some measurements are available (no load average).
• Web services enabled in Moodle, with the REST protocol.
• A MoodleLoad front end reachable from the site (URL, and service token supplied by MoodleLoad) for the status view and for launching tests.

1. Copy the moodleload folder into the admin/tool directory of your Moodle installation (final path: admin/tool/moodleload).
2. Log in as administrator and go to Site administration / Notifications to complete the installation.
3. Enable web services if they are not: Site administration / Advanced features / Enable web services.
4. Enable the REST protocol: Site administration / Server / Web services / Manage protocols.
5. Clear the caches (Site administration / Development / Purge caches).

Steps 3 and 4 are not done by the plugin: without them, the technical account's token is refused.

The installation automatically prepares the account used by the MoodleLoad engine. It is replayed at upgrade on sites installed before this feature, and can be re-run safely.

The moodleload account has management rights: do not assign it any other role and monitor its use.

The token is read in Site administration / Server / Web services / Manage tokens, on the line of the moodleload user and the Moodle Load Monitor service. It is to be given to the MoodleLoad front end, never published nor sent by unencrypted email.

The token is not renewed automatically. After three months, create a new one for the same user and the same service, and update the front end.

The engine status view (view.php) is reserved for site administrators (moodle/site:config).

Path: Site administration / Plugins / Administration tools / Moodle Load Monitor settings.

• CPU measurement cache lifetime (cache_ttl, 5 seconds by default): how long the CPU measurement is kept in Moodle's universal cache. A shorter value gives more precise gaps but reads /proc more often.

MoodleLoad only launches a test on this site after a signed handshake with the plugin (web service tool_moodleload_authorize_load). These settings limit the site's exposure:

• Allow load tests (allowload): unticked, MoodleLoad refuses any new test and stops those in progress at their next check.
• Maximum load (maxload): maximum number of simultaneous user sessions. 0 for no limit.
• Allowed hours (allowedhours): time ranges, in server time, for example 20-6 or 12-14,20-23. A range that ends before it starts crosses midnight. Empty for any hour.

• MoodleLoad front end URL (frontendurl): base URL without trailing slash, for example https://load.example.com.
• Web service token (token): token supplied by MoodleLoad to query the status of the engine and jobs. It must be generated for the front end's Moodle Load Monitoring API service: a token of the Moodle Load Collector API service is refused. Do not confuse it with the token of the moodleload account of this site.
• Maximum request timeout (timeout, 10 seconds by default): how long to wait for the front end's response.

To be filled in only if the front end is itself protected by HTTP authentication (a pre-production behind a .htpasswd, for example). Leave the user empty otherwise.

• HTTP user and HTTP password.
• Method: Basic (default), Digest or Automatic (negotiated by curl, at the cost of an extra request).

If the front end is on an internal network, allow its host and port in Moodle's security settings (curlsecurityblockedhosts and curlsecurityallowedport).

1. Dashboard: open the tool page (Site administration / Server or plugin link): the host metrics are displayed and refreshed. The first CPU reading is empty (value −1): two measurements about 5 seconds apart are needed.
2. Web service: with the moodleload account's token, call the measurement function. The response contains the timestamp, the CPU, the memory and the load average.

GET /webservice/rest/server.php?wstoken=<TOKEN>&wsfunction=tool_moodleload_get_metrics&moodlewsrestformat=json

1. Status view: Site administration / Development / MoodleLoad load tester: engine and injector status: the engine status and the token owner's jobs are displayed if the front end URL and token are correct.

After each update of the folder, go through the administration notifications then purge the caches. Updates that modify the service definition (addition of functions, file upload) require it.

At uninstallation, the plugin removes the tokens, the service authorisation, the role assignments, the dedicated role, the Load Tests category if it is empty, the uploaded test files and the moodleload account if it created it itself. A pre-existing account is not deleted: only what the plugin added to it is removed.

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