JMeter Workshop

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JMeter Workshop Friday 1 December 2006 Anthony
Colebourne IT Services The University of
Manchester
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What is JMeter

• Apache JMeter is a GUI desktop application
  designed to load test functional behavior and
  measure performance. It was originally designed
  for testing Web Applications but has since
  expanded to other test functions.
• Has a rich graphical interface
• Built in Java
• Part of Apache Jakarta project
• Can be distributed
• It can be used to simulate a heavy load on a
  server, network or object to test its strength or
  to analyze overall performance under different
  load types.

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Features of JMeter

• Graphical Analysis / Exporting Test Results
• Remote Distributed Execution
• If you want to generate load using multiple test
  servers. You can run multiple server components
  of JMeter remotely. And you can control it by a
  single JMeter GUI to gather results.
• http//jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/usermanual/remote
  -test.html
• Highly Extensible
• Custom Additions (Write your own samplers /
  listeners)
• PlugIns
• Test plans stored in XML and can be version
  controlled.

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What Can You Do With It?

• JMeter lets you set up test plans that simulate
  logging into a web site, filling out forms,
  clicking buttons, links, etc.
• You can simulate the number of users doing this,
  the rate that they do it.

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Setting Up and Running JMeter

• Download the binary from Jakarta
• http//jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/
• Its platform independent, so the same download
  will run on Windows, Linux, Mac.
• You need Java, with the JAVA_HOME environment
  variable set.
• Uncomment SSL settings in jmeter.properties
• Unpack the zip or tar.gz and execute jmeter.bat
  or jmeter.sh

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JMeter Control Panel
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Test Plan

• A complete test plan will consist of one or more
  Thread Groups, logic controllers, samplers,
  listeners, timers, assertions, and configuration
  elements.
• Test Plans are represented as an Ordered Tree.

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Scoping Rules

• Some elements are primarily ordered (e.g.
  controllers and samplers).
• Other elements are hierarchical. An Assertion,
  for example, is hierarchical in the test tree. If
  its parent is a request, then it is applied to
  that request. If its parent is a Controller, then
  it affects all requests that are descendants of
  that Controller.

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Elements of a Test Plan
http//jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/usermanual/compon
ent_reference.html

• ThreadGroup
• Set the number of threads
• Set the ramp-up period
• Set the number of times to execute the test
• Samplers
• HTTP Request
• JDBC Request
• LDAP Request
• WebService (SOAP) Request
• Logic Controllers
• Simple Controller - The Simple Logic Controller
  lets you organize your Samplers and other Logic
  Controllers
• Loop Controller
• Once Only Controller
• Interleave Controller
• Throughput Controller
• Others (e.g. Transaction Controller)
• Listeners
• Simple Data Writer
• Graph Results

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Elements of a Test Plan
http//jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/usermanual/compon
ent_reference.html

• Timers
• The timer will cause a delay between each request
  that a thread makes.
• Assertions
• The test of the response from the server
• Configuration Elements
• Sets default
• Pre-Processor / Post-Processor Elements

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Execution order

• Timers
• Pre-Processors
• Sampler
• Post-Processors
• Assertions
• Listeners

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JMeter User Interface
The Test Plan
Login Sequence
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View results summary
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View results as graph
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Portal Test Plans

• Performance testing
• Real life usage
• Stress testing
• Increasing number of users
• Soak testing
• Varying how long test runs for, e.g. use loops
• System level testing
• Using assertions

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Simplest web test

• Thread Group
• HTTP Request - Sampler
• View Results in Table - Listener
• Demo workshop_demo1.jmx

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Simplest web test

• User Defined Variables Configuration Element
• Constant Timer - Timer
• View Results in Tree Listener - Listener
• Demo workshop_demo2.jmx

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Simplest web test

• HTTP Header Manager Configuration Element
• Simple Controller - Controller
• Response Assertion - Assertion
• Demo workshop_demo3.jmx

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Test Fragments for Portal

• Saved fragments of Test Plans
• Login sequence
• Response assertions
• User agents
• Load cluster settings

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Portal Performance Test A
Load cluster host names
Load test users
Do Login
Test Login
Generate next url based on tabs

• Loop
• Visit tab 1
• Visit tab 2
• Visit tab 1
• Visit tab 3

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HTTP Proxy Recorder

• Workbench -gt HTTP Proxy Server
• Cannot be used with over SSL

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HTTP Proxy Recorder

• Configuring FireFox to use the Proxy
• Demo workshop_demo_proxy.jmx

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Using JMeter with Ant

• JMeter build.xml
• Single JMeter target with 2 arguments
• script
• Paramter list
• Portal testing build.xml
• One target for each scenario
• Parameter Environment
• Parameters for e.g. number of users or running
  time
• Build.properties
• List of server to use
• List of users
• http//ant.apache.org

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Tips

• Use timers to avoid hammering the server
• Limit the Number of Threads
• Hardware will limit the number of threads you can
  effectively run. A faster machine makes JMeter
  work harder since it returns request quicker.
• User variables
• Create a text file containing the user names and
  passwords.
• Add a CSV DataSet configuration element. Name the
  variables USER and PASS. Use USER and PASS
  within samplers.
• Reducing resource requirements
• Use non-GUI mode.
• Use as few Listeners as possible.
• Reduce samplers by looping (by thread and by
  controller), and use variables (CSV Data Set) to
  vary the sample.
• Use CSV output rather than XML.

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Resources

• Apache JMeter Home
• http//jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/
• Useful Tutorials and Articles
• http//javaboutique.internet.com/tutorials/JMeter/
  
• http//venus.cs.depaul.edu/se591/JMeter11.ppt
• http//wiki.manchester.ac.uk/portal/
• See articles in the Testing category
• anthony.colebourne_at_manchester.ac.uk