JMeter Tutorial
jMeter is an Open Source testing software. It is 100% pure Java application for load and
performance testing.
jMeter is designed to cover categories of tests like load, functional, performance,
regression, etc., and it requires JDK 5 or higher.
This tutorial will give you great understanding on jMeter framework needed to test an
enterprise level application to deliver it with robustness and reliability.
Audience
This tutorial is designed for Software Professionals, who are willing to learn jMeter
Framework in simple and easy steps. This tutorial will give you great understanding on
jMeter Framework concepts, and after completing this tutorial, you will be at intermediate
level of expertise from where you can take yourself to higher level of expertise.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Java
programming language, text editor and execution of programs, etc., because you are going
to use jMeter to handle all levels of Java project testing (regression, functional, load,
performance, etc.,), so it will be good if you have knowledge of software development and
software testing processes.
Table of Content
Overview ............................................................................................................................. 5
What is JMeter? .............................................................................................................. 5
JMeter Features .............................................................................................................. 6
How JMeter Works? ........................................................................................................ 6
Environment ........................................................................................................................ 7
System Requirements ..................................................................................................... 7
Step 1 - verify Java installation in your machine ............................................................. 7
Step 2: Set JAVA environment ........................................................................................ 8
Step 3: Download JMeter ................................................................................................ 8
Step 4: Run JMeter .......................................................................................................... 9
Build Test Plan ................................................................................................................... 10
What is a Test Plan? ...................................................................................................... 10
Start the JMeter Window .............................................................................................. 10
Add/Remove Elements.................................................................................................. 11
Loading and Saving Elements ........................................................................................ 12
Configuring Tree Elements ............................................................................................ 13
Saving the Test Plan ...................................................................................................... 13
Running a Test Plan ....................................................................................................... 14
Stopping a Test .............................................................................................................. 14
Test Plan Elements ............................................................................................................ 15
ThreadGroup ................................................................................................................. 15
Controllers ..................................................................................................................... 16
Samplers ........................................................................................................................ 16
Logic Controllers............................................................................................................ 17
Test Fragments .............................................................................................................. 19
Listeners ........................................................................................................................ 19
Timers ............................................................................................................................ 19
Assertions ...................................................................................................................... 20
Configuration Elements................................................................................................. 21
Pre-Processor Elements ................................................................................................ 22
Post-Processor Elements............................................................................................... 23
Execution order of Test Elements ................................................................................. 23
Listeners ............................................................................................................................ 25
Default Configuration .................................................................................................... 25
CSV Log format .............................................................................................................. 26
Saving response data .................................................................................................... 27
Loading (reading) response data................................................................................... 27
Saving Listener GUI data ............................................................................................... 27
Overview
B efore digging into the JMeter, let us first understand few jargons mostly associated with the testing of any
application.
Performance Test: This test sets the „best possible‟ performan infrastructure. It also highlights early in the testing process if
changes need to be made before application
goes into production.
Load Test: This test is basically used for exercising\discovering the system under the top load it was
designed to operate under.
Stress Test: This test is an attempt to break the system by overwhelming its resources.
What is JMeter?
JMeter is a software allowing to load test or performance oriented business (functional) test on different protocols
or technologies. Stefano Mazzocchi of the Apache Software Foundation was the original developer of JMeter. He
wrote it primarily to test the performance of Apache JServ (Now called as Apache Tomcat project). Apache later
redesigned JMeter to enhance the GUI and to add functional-testing capabilities.
This is a Java desktop application with a graphical interface using the Swing graphical API, can therefore run on
any environment / workstation accepting a Java virtual machine, for example: Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.
The protocols supported by JMeter are:
Web: HTTP, HTTPS sites 'web 1.0' web 2.0 (ajax, flex and flex-ws-amf)
Web Services: SOAP / XML-RPC
Database via JDBC drivers
Directory: LDAP
Messaging Oriented service via JMS
Service: POP3, IMAP, SMTP
FTP Service
JMeter Features
Following are some of the features of JMeter:
Its free. Its an open source software.
It has simple and intuitive GUI.
JMeter can load and performance test many different server types: Web - HTTP, HTTPS, SOAP, Database via
JDBC, LDAP, JMS, Mail - POP3
It is platform-independent tool. On Linux/Unix, JMeter can be invoked by clicking on JMeter shell script. On
Windows it can be invoked by starting the [Link] file.
It has full Swing and lightweight component support (precompiled JAR uses packages [Link].* ).
JMeter store its test plans in XML format. This means you can generate a test plan using a text editor.
It's full multi-threading framework allows concurrent sampling by many threads and simultaneous sampling of
different functions by separate thread groups.
It is highly Extensible.
Can also be used to perform automated and functional testing of your application.
How JMeter Works?
JMeter simulates a group of users sending requests to a target server, and return statistics that show the
performance/functionality of the target server / application via tables, graphs etc. The figure below depicts this process:
Environment
J Meter is a framework for Java, so the very first requirement is to have JDK installed in your machine.
System Requirements
JDK 1.6 or above.
Memory no minimum requirement.
Disk Space no minimum requirement.
Operating System no minimum requirement.
Step 1 - verify Java installation in your machine
Now, open console and execute the following java command.
OS Task Command
Windows Open Command Console c:\> java -version
Linux Open Command Terminal $ java -version
Mac Open Terminal machine:~ joseph$ java -version
Let's verify the output for all the operating systems:
OS Output
java version "1.7.0_25"
Windows Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_25-b15)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.25-b01, mixed mode)
java version "1.7.0_25"
Linux Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_25-b15)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.25-b01, mixed mode)
java version "1.7.0_25"
Mac Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_25-b15)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.25-b01, mixed mode)
If you do not have Java installed, install the Java Software Development Kit (SDK)
from[Link] We are assuming Java 1.7.0_25 as
installed version for this tutorial.
Step 2: Set JAVA environment
Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to the base directory location, where Java is installed on
your machine. For example;
OS Output
Windows Set the environment variable JAVA_HOME to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_25
Linux export JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/java-current
Mac export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/Home
Append Java compiler location to System Path.
OS Output
Append the string; C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_25\bin to the end of the system variable,
Windows
Path.
Linux export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin/
Mac not required
Verify Java Installation using java -version command explained above.
Step 3: Download JMeter
Download latest version of JMeter from [Link] At the time of writing this
tutorial, I downloaded apache-jmeter-2.9 and copied it into C:\>JMeter folder.
The directory structure should look like as below:
apache-jmeter-2.9
apache-jmeter-2.9\bin
apache-jmeter-2.9\docs
apache-jmeter-2.9\extras
apache-jmeter-2.9\lib\
apache-jmeter-2.9\lib\ext
apache-jmeter-2.9\lib\junit
apache-jmeter-2.9\printable_docs
You can rename the parent directory (i.e. apache-jmeter-2.9) if you want, but do not change any of the sub-
directory names.
Step 4: Run JMeter
Once the you download the JMeter, goto to the bin directory. In our case it would be/home/manisha/apache-
jmeter-2.9/bin. Now click on the following:
OS Output
Windows [Link]
Linux [Link]
Mac [Link]
Once clicked on the above file, after a short pause, the JMeter GUI should appear which is a Swing application
as seen in the image below:
This is the main page and default page of the tool.
Build Test Plan
What is a Test Plan?
A Test Plan defines and provides a layout of how and what to test. For example the web application as
well as the client server application. It can be viewed as a container for running tests. A complete test plan will
consist of one or more elements such as thread groups, logic controllers, sample-generating controllers, listeners,
timers, assertions, and configuration elements. A test plan must have at least one thread group. We shall discuss
these elements in detail in the next chapter Test Plan Elements.
Follow the below steps to write a test plan:
Start the JMeter Window
Open the JMeter window by clicking on /home/manisha/apache-jmeter-2.9/bin/[Link]. The JMeter window
will appear as below:
This is a JMeter window having nothing added yet. Details of the above window are:
Test Plan node is where the real test plan is kept.
Workbench node simply provides a place to temporarily store test elements while not in use, for copy/paste
purposes. When you save your test plan, WorkBench items are not saved with it.
Add/Remove Elements
Elements (which will be discussed in the next chapter Test Plan Elements) of a test plan can be added by right
clicking on the Test Plan node and choosing a new element from the "add" list.
Alternatively, elements can be loaded from file and added by choosing the "merge" or "open" option.
For example let's add a Thread Group element to a Test Plan as shown below:
To remove an element, make sure the element is selected, right-click on the element, and choose the "remove"
option.
Loading and Saving Elements
To load an element from file, right click on the existing tree element to which you want to add the loaded element,
and select the "merge" option. Choose the file where your elements are saved. JMeter will merge the elements into
the tree.
To save tree elements, right click on an element and choose the Save Selection As ... option. JMeter will save
the element selected, plus all child elements beneath it. By default JMeter doesn't save the elements, you need
to explicitly save it as mentioned earlier.
Configuring Tree Elements
Any element in the Test Plan can be configured in the controls present in JMeter's right-hand frame. These
controls allow you to configure the behavior of that particular test element. For example the Thread Group can be
configured for number of users, ramp up period etc as below:
Saving the Test Plan
You can save an entire Test Plan either by using Save or "Save Test Plan As ..." from the File menu.
Running a Test Plan
You can run your Test Plan choosing Start (Control + r) from the Run menu item. When JMeter is running, it
shows a small green box at the right hand end of the section just under the menu bar.
The numbers to the left of the green box are the number of active threads / total number of threads. These only
apply to a locally run test; they do not include any threads started on remote systems when using client-server
mode.
Stopping a Test
You can stop your test in two ways:
Using Stop (Control + '.'). This stops the threads immediately if possible.
Using Shutdown (Control + ','). This requests the threads to stop at the end of any current work.
Test Plan Elements
A JMeter Test Plan comprises of test elements which are discussed below. A Test Plan would comprise
at least one Thread Group. Within each Thread Group we may place a combination of one or more of other
elements: Sampler, Logic Controller, Configuration Element, Listener, and Timer. Each Sampler can be preceded
by one or more Pre-processor element, followed by Post-processor element, and/or Assertion element. Let's see
each of these elements in detail:
ThreadGroup
Thread Group elements are the beginning points of your test plan. As the name suggests, the thread group
elements control the number of threads JMeter will use during the test. We can also control the following via the
Thread Group:
By setting the number of Threads.
By setting the Ramp Up Time
By setting the number of test iterations.
The Thread Group Control Panel looks like this:
Details of each component on the above panel are:
Action to be taken after a Sampler error: In case any error occurs during test execution you may let the
test either:
o Continue to the next element in the test o
Stop Thread to stop the current Thread.
o Stop Test completely, in case you want to inspect the error before continue running.
Number of Threads: Simulates the number of user(s) or connection(s) to your server application.
Ramp-Up Period: Defines how long it will take JMeter to get all threads running.
Loop Count: Defines the number of times to execute the test.
Scheduler checkbox Once selected, the Scheduler Configuration section will appear at the bottom of the
control panel.
Scheduler Configuration You can configure the start and end time of running the test.
Controllers
JMeter has two types of Controllers: Samplers and Logic Controllers.
Samplers
Samplers allow JMeter to send specific types of requests to a server. They simulate a user's request for a page
from the target server. For example, you can add a HTTP Request sampler if you need to perform a POST, GET,
DELETE on a HTTP service
Some useful samplers are:
HTTP Request
FTP Request
JDBC Request
Java Request
SOAP/XML Request
RPC Requests
An HTTP Request Sampler Control Panel looks like the following figure:
Logic Controllers
Logic Controllers let you control order of processing of Samplers in a Thread. Logic Controllers can change the
order of request coming from any of their child elements. Some examples are: ForEach Controller, While
Controller, Loop Controller, IF Controller, Run Time Controller, Interleave Controller, Throughput Controller, Run
Once Controller.
A Loop Controller Control Panel looks like the following figure:
The following list consists of all the Logic Controllers JMeter provides:
Simple Controller
Loop Controller
Once Only Controller
Interleave Controller
Random Controller
Random Order Controller
Throughput Controller
Runtime Controller
If Controller
While Controller
Switch Controller
ForEach Controller
Module Controller
Include Controller
Transaction Controller
Recording Controller
Test Fragments
Test Fragments is a special type of element placed at the same level as Thread Group element. It is distinguished
from a Thread Group in that it is not executed unless it is referenced by either a Module Controller or an
Include_Controller. This element is purely for code re-use within Test Plans.
Listeners
Listeners let you view the results of Samplers in the form of tables, graphs, trees or simple text in some log files.
They provide visual access to the data gathered by JMeter about the test cases as a Sampler component of
JMeter is executed.
Listeners can be added anywhere in the test, including directly under the test plan. They will collect data only from
elements at or below their level. The following list consists of all the Listeners JMeter provides:
Sample Result Save Configuration
Graph Full Results
Graph Results
Spline Visualizer
Assertion Results
View Results Tree
Aggregate Report
View Results in Table
Simple Data Writer
Monitor Results
Distribution Graph (alpha)
Aggregate Graph
Mailer Visualizer
BeanShell Listener
Summary Report
Timers
By default, a JMeter thread will send requests without pausing between each sampler. This may not be what you
want. We can add a timer element which will allow us to define a period to wait between each request.
The following list consists of all the Timers JMeter provides:
Constant Timer
Gaussian Random Timer
Uniform Random Timer
Constant Throughput Timer
Synchronizing Timer
JSR223 Time
BeanShell Time
BSF Time
Poisson Random Time
As an example, the Constant Timer Control Panel looks like this:
Assertions
Assertions allow you to include some validation test on the response of your request made using a Sampler. Using
assertions you can prove that your application is returning the correct data. JMeter will highlight when an assertion
fails.
The following list consists of all the Assertions JMeter provides:
Beanshell Assertion
BSF Assertion
Compare Assertion
JSR223 Assertion
Response Assertion
Duration Assertion
Size Assertion
XML Assertion
BeanShell Assertion
MD5Hex Assertion
HTML Assertion
XPath Assertion
XML Schema Assertion
As an example, the Response Assertion Control Panel looks like this:
Configuration Elements
Configuration Elements allow you to create defaults and variables to be used by Samplers. They are used to add
or modify requests made by Samplers.
They are executed at the start of the scope of which they are part, before any Samplers that are located in the
same scope. Therefore, a Configuration Element is accessed only from inside the branch where it is placed.
The following list consists of all the Configuration Elements JMeter provides:
Counter
CSV Data Set Config
FTP Request Defaults
HTTP Authorization Manager
HTTP Cache Manager
HTTP Cookie Manager
HTTP Proxy Server
HTTP Request Defaults
HTTP Header Manager
Java Request Defaults
Keystore Configuration
JDBC Connection Configuration
Login Config Element
LDAP Request Defaults
LDAP Extended Request Defaults
TCP Sampler Config
User Defined Variables
Simple Config Element
Random Variable
Pre-Processor Elements
A Pre-Procesor is something that will happen before a sampler executes. They are often used to modify the
settings of a Sample Request just before it runs, or to update variables that are not extracted from response text.
The following list consists of all the Pre-Processor Elements JMeter provides:
HTML Link Parser
HTTP URL Re-writing Modifier
HTTP User Parameter Modifier
User Parameters
JDBC PreProcessor
JSR223 PreProcessor
RegEx User Parameters
BeanShell PreProcessor
BSF PreProcessor
Post-Processor Elements
A Post Processor executes after a sampler finishes its execution. This element is most often used to process the
response data, for example, to retrieve particular value for later use.
The following list consists of all the Post-Processor Elements JMeter provides:
Regular Expression Extractor
XPath Extractor
Result Status Action Handler
JSR223 PostProcessor
JDBC PostProcessor
BSF PostProcessor
CSS/JQuery Extractor
BeanShell PostProcessor
Debug PostProcessor
Execution order of Test Elements
Following is the execution order of the test plan elements:
1. Configuration elements
2. Pre-Processors
3. Timers
4. Sampler
5. Post-Processors (unless SampleResult is null)
6. Assertions (unless SampleResult is null)
7. Listeners (unless SampleResult is null)
Listeners
L isteners provide access to the information JMeter gathers about the test cases while JMeter runs. The
results or information gathered by listeners can be shown in the form of:
tree
tables
graphs
log file
All listeners write the same raw data to the output file when one is specified.
Default Configuration
The default items to be saved can be defined:
in the [Link] (or [Link]) file. This file is present in the /bin folder of [Link] change the
default format, find the following line in [Link]:
[Link].output_format=
or by using the Config popup as shown in the image below:
JMeter creates results of a test run as JTL (JMeter Text Logs). These are normally called JTL files, as that is the
default extension - but any extension can be used.
If multiple tests are run using the same output file name, then JMeter automatically appends new data to the end of
the file.
The listener can record results to a file but not to the UI. It is meant to provide an efficient means of recording data
by eliminating GUI overhead.
When running in:
GUI mode: use the listener Simple Data Writer
non-GUI mode: the -l flag can be used to create a data file.
Listeners can use a lot of memory if there are a lot of samples. To minimise the amount of memory needed, use
the Simple Data Writer, and use the CSV format.
CSV Log format
The CSV log format depends on which data items are selected in the configuration. Only the specified data items
are recorded in the file. The order of appearance of columns is fixed, and is as follows:
Field Description Value Example
timeStamp in milliseconds since 1/1/1970 1354223881017
elapsed in milliseconds 1858
label sampler label HTTP Request
responseCode e.g. 200, 404 200
responseMessage e.g. OK OK
threadName Thread Group 1-1
dataType e.g. text text
success true or false true
failureMessage if any
bytes number of bytes in the sample 34908
grpThreads number of active threads in this thread group 1
allThreads total number of active threads in all groups 1
URL [Link]
Filename if Save Response to File was used
latency time to first response 132
encoding utf-8
SampleCount number of samples (1, unless multiple samples are aggregated) 1
ErrorCount number of errors (0 or 1, unless multiple samples are aggregated) 0
Hostname where the sample was generated LaptopManisha
IdleTime number of milliseconds of 'Idle' time (normally 0)
Variables if specified
Saving response data
The response data can be saved in the XML log file if required. But it has constraints, when the file is large and
also images cannot be included. In such cases use the Post-Processor Save_Responses_to_a_file . This
generates a new file for each sample, and saves the file name with the sample. The file name can then be included
in the sample log output. The data will be retrieved from the file if necessary when the sample log file is reloaded.
Loading (reading) response data
To view an existing results file, you can use the File "Browse..." button to select a file. If necessary, just create a
dummy testplan with the appropriate Listener in it.
Saving Listener GUI data
JMeter is capable of saving any listener as a PNG file. To do so, select the listener in the left panel,
Edit > Save As Image.
A file dialog will appear. Enter the desired name and save the listener.
Apache JMeter HTTP(S) Test Script
Recorder
This tutorial attempts to explain the exact steps for recording HTTP/HTTPS. For those new
to JMeter, one easy way to create a test plan is to use the Recorder.
Jmeter configuration
Since JMeter 2.10, recording has been improved to better handle embedded resources
and creation of certificates on the fly.
To enable these features, JMeter uses keytool utility (available in JRE/JDK) so you need to
ensure your configuration is correct, read this wiki page before starting:
• [Link] Note that recording is more powerful
with a Java 7.
Basic Instructions
1. Go to JMETER_HOME/bin and start JMeter with [Link] on Windows and jmeter on
Linux/Unix
2. Select "Test Plan" on the tree
3. Right click on the "Test Plan" and add a new thread group: Add > Threads (Users) > Thread
Group
4. Select the Thread Group
5. Right click "Add -> Config Element -> HTTP Request Defaults"
6. In new HTTP Request Defaults element: Server name - enter "[Link]
7. Path - leave blank
8.