What is the difference between Socket level data and Wininet level data in Loadrunner recording options

The 2 capture levels available in the recording options in loadrunner - socket level data and wininet level data, specifies the tool, where to hook and capture the communication packets from.

Most of the application though communicate at the socket level and the events get recorded by loadrunner using socket level data capture. But sometimes the applications are designed to interact using wininet API and in such cases we should use wininet level capture in loadrunner to capture the events successfully. So the use of socket level/wininet level capture depends on how the application communicates.

Note: The requests might get duplicated if you are using socket level and wininet level data capture and you can comment the duplicated requests in the script.

HTTP Status-Code=401 (Unauthorized) error during script replay - HTTP/HTML protocol in Loadrunner

Try below options to rectify the error:

• Option 1: Add web_set_user(username,password,host:port );

• Option 2: Record the script after changing the capture level to Wininet level data in Recording option> Network > Port mapping > capture level

• Option 3: Run the script after enabling Wininet replay instead of sockets option in Run time settings > Internet Protocol > Preferences> Advanced

• Option 4 : If none of the above option works, record the business flow with fiddler and compare the requests in LoadRunner and fiddler. Identify if any request/header/cookie is missing in the load runner script and creating the issue.