If you have spent any time working with DevOps Test Performance (DTP) — formerly known as Rational Performance Tester (RPT) — you're probably familiar with the "New Test From Recording" dialog. Most of us just pick a browser and click Next without thinking twice about the other options.

In this blog, we’ll explore the Unmanaged Application option—one that’s often overlooked but extremely helpful when standard browser-based recording isn’t working, particularly due to restricted proxy settings or security constraints.

How Does the DTP Recording Works:

1. Understanding Browser-to-Server Traffic Flow
Before diving into DTP recording, it's important to understand how browser traffic typically reaches the server—with or without a proxy.

2. Where the DTP Recorder Fits In
DTP acts as a proxy during recording. To function correctly, it must intercept and forward browser traffic while preserving the original request flow.

Browser Traffic Without DTP

Though Mozilla Firefox is used in the examples below, the same concepts apply to other browsers. It’s up to the user to locate the proxy-related settings in their browser of choice.

In the simplest case, a browser connects to a server, sends requests, and receives responses.

Typically, the server listens for unsecure traffic on port 80 and secure traffic on port 443. As requests come in on those ports, the application server processes them and sends back a response.

In more secure environments, firewalls may restrict direct access, and a proxy server is used to handle requests.

The browser is preconfigured (usually by the IT department) to send all its traffic through this proxy server.
In Firefox, this setting is found under:
Setting > General > Network Settings

Clicking the Settings button opens a configuration window like this:

All Firefox traffic is now routed to proxy.domain.com:1080, which forwards the requests to the intended destination. Responses from the server follow the same path in reverse—back to the proxy, then to the browser. This process continues for the entire browser session.

Traffic with the DTP Recorder in the Mix

The DTP Recorder functions as a proxy itself. Based on the previous setup, here’s where DTP fits into the picture:

The DTP recorder listens on a specific port. At the start of the recording process, it tries to automatically update the browser’s proxy settings so that all requests go through the DTP Recorder Proxy. This step is essential—DTP must be allowed to update the browser’s settings.

Once the browser is configured to send all traffic to the DTP Recorder, the recorder then needs to know where to forward those requests.

• If the browser was originally connecting directly to the internet, DTP can forward the traffic straight to the destination.
  
  
  
• If the browser was originally using an existing proxy, then DTP must be configured to send requests through that same proxy.
  
  
  

In summary, the DTP Recorder behaves just like any other proxy. The browser must be configured to send traffic to it (which DTP handles automatically, assuming it has the necessary permissions). The DTP Recorder, in turn, must be properly configured to forward that traffic onward.

If communication fails at any point—whether from the browser to DTP, DTP to the proxy/web, or in reverse—recording will not work properly.

Non-Browser Applications:

A common question we receive is: “Can I record a desktop application using DTP?”
The answer is: Yes — but only if certain conditions are met.

For a desktop (non-browser) application to be recordable by DTP, two key requirements must be fulfilled:

1. The desktop application must have configurable proxy settings.
The exact mechanics of this cannot be discussed here because such details would be application specific. This means the application should let you manually set a network proxy — specifically, the host and port through which its traffic is routed.
Since DTP’s recorder listens on a specific port (e.g., 1080), the application must be able to send its network traffic to that same port.
If the application doesn't support proxy configuration, DTP will not be able to capture any traffic, and recording won’t work.

2. The desktop application’s traffic must be of a protocol that DTP recognizes
DTP will record any traffic that reaches the specified port, but it can only generate a test script from protocols it understands— commonly it would be HTTP.
If the application communicates using unsupported or custom protocols, DTP won’t be able to generate a usable test script, even if traffic is captured.

The Unmanaged Application option in DTP is designed for exactly these scenarios. It allows you to set up the recorder manually and then configure the desktop app to send traffic through the recorder’s proxy port.

The How-To Record Using the Unmanaged Application Option in DTP section walks you through exactly how to configure this setup and start recording your desktop application.

Security Changes

You have been using DTP (or RPT) to record HTTP tests for a while, and everything has worked smoothly — until one day, it suddenly doesn’t. You launch the recorder, open your browser, start navigating your application… and nothing happens. The packet count in the recorder doesn’t increase.

What changed?

As discussed earlier, the DTP Recorder works by temporarily modifying your browser’s proxy settings. This allows browser traffic to be rerouted through the recorder’s listening port. While this setup is completely harmless and necessary for recording, it resembles how a man-in-the-middle attack operates — intercepting and modifying traffic in real time.

Because of this similarity, IT security teams may block such behaviour as a precaution. Most likely, some new security policy or update has restricted DTP’s ability to change proxy settings, which breaks the recording process.

In some cases, you may be able to resolve this by working with your IT security team. They might grant an exception or whitelist the DTP recorder, allowing you to resume recording as usual.

But if such exceptions aren’t possible, there’s a workaround:
Use the Unmanaged Application mode. This lets you manually configure the traffic routing, bypassing the browser proxy auto-configuration that DTP normally attempts to do.

How-To Record Using the Unmanaged Application Option in DTP:

1. Open DTP and go to File > New > Test From Recording to start a new recording session.
   
   
2. Choose HTTP Test and click Next.
   
   
3. Enter a name for your test, then click Next.
   
   
   
4. Select Unmanaged Application and click Next.
   
   
   
5. Note the Proxy port number (default is 1080). You can keep this default, choose a different port, or click Find Available to locate a free port. Click Next.
   
   
   
6. Check the Accept box and then click Finish.
   
   
   

Now the DTP recorder is running without a browser. It’s listening on the proxy port you noted (usually 1080). Wait a moment for the Recording console to appear.

• The console has icons to control recording actions and shows the number of packets recorded so far.
  
  
• If the console disappears immediately, stop here and open a support ticket — this indicates an issue that won’t be fixed by using the unmanaged application option.

If the recorder stays active, open your browser (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, etc.). Browsers differ in how they handle proxy settings, but here’s how to set it up in Firefox:

7. In Firefox, go to about:preferences (or about:settings)
   
   
   
8. Scroll down to Network Settings.
   
   
   
9. Click the Settings… button.
   
   
10. Choose Manual proxy configuration. Enter localhost as the HTTP Proxy and 1080 (or your chosen port) as the Port. Check the box for Also use this proxy for HTTPS. Click OK.
    
    
    

Your browser will now send all traffic through the DTP recorder proxy.

11. Navigate to your application under test and perform a few actions to record. This can be a simple test—you don’t need to cover everything.
    
    
    
12. When finished, do not close the browser. Instead, click the Stop Recording Session button in DTP.
    
    

If recording is successful, you’ll be taken to the Domain Selection dialog. From there, continue through the wizard to generate your test script.

13. Finally, revert your browser’s proxy settings:

• Go back to about:preferences > Network Settings in Firefox.
• Remove localhost:1080 and uncheck the proxy box you selected earlier.
• Save the settings.

Hopefully, everything went smoothly, but if you ran into any issues, please contact the support team with details about the step where the problem occurred and any error messages or symptoms you noticed.