JMeter Page Data Extractor

Data collection is a key aspect of any load test. For most tests this data comes from request metrics such as response time, error rate, throughput, etc. However it is sometimes useful to capture data that is returned on the requested page itself. With JMeter, this is possible using the Page Data Extractor. This plugin can be used to directly plot data metrics returned from requests. Use cases include status monitoring, health checks, and other importantRead More →

JMeter AutoStop Plugin

Especially when running distributed tests, there are cases where we may wish to automatically terminate a JMeter test in progress based on certain in-test conditions. In a previous post we explored how to create a custom script that can terminate a load test upon evaluating a predetermined error condition. The JMeter AutoStop plugin allows us to take a different approach based on aggregate data. While nothing would prevent us from using either of these two approachesRead More →

Using the JMeter Weighted Switch Controller

When designing tests that mirror real-world behaviors, we may find the need to route more requests to one target test endpoint over another. The JMeter Weighted Switch Controller provides a method of asymmetrically routing requests to two or more target test endpoints. You can assign higher weights to samplers being run and proportionally more frequently than samplers with lower assigned weights. In this brief article, we will show you how to set up the Weighted SwitchRead More →

JMeter Best Practices

In the decades since the very first release of JMeter, there has been considerable collective experience gained not only in best practices for performance test design in general, but also in the specific methods for creating JMeter tests. In this article, we will summarize best practices for creating a JMeter test plan. For further reading, a more in-depth discussion about best practices can be found in the JMeter users manual. Targeting the Latest Version of JMeterRead More →

JMeter Local Tests and the Console Status Logger

Though cloud-based load testing services such as RedLine13 allow you to easily scale your load test, the majority of JMeter test plans begin on the local machine. The JMeter GUI is used to assemble the major components. First tests begin inside the GUI, usually monitored with a listener. When transitioning your test to the cloud however, the user interface is stood down to remove the overhead and achieve scale. Local Tests from the Console As anRead More →

Using the JMeter If Controller

JMeter contains a built-in component that can assist in controlling the logical flow of a load test based on internal conditions. Using the If Controller, conditional logic can be set up to either run once for a group of elements, or optionally for each element within a set. Only if the specified condition is “true” will items within the If Controller be executed. Once added to a test plan, the If Controller acts as a containerRead More →

Using the HTTP Form Manager in JMeter

Form submissions represent a common use case for performance tests. If your JMeter test needs to automatically fill out form fields from a data source, this is classically done with extractors and variable substitution.  Depending on the number of fields in your form and the structure of your web page, this can become complicated.  To simplify this process, we will show you how to use the HTTP Form Manager plugin.  This component allows you to intuitivelyRead More →

The JMeter Random Controller vs Random Order Controller

When it comes to introducing random variability within test plan execution, there are two similarly named plugins for JMeter which are up to the task.  Each of these applies randomization to your tests, but in different ways.  In this brief post, we will analyze the similarities and differences between the JMeter Random Controller and the Random Order Controller. The Random Controller is one of two built-in logical controllers for randomization. When you add an instance ofRead More →

Compare JMeter Test Results

A common approach to load testing often involves running a series of load tests to ascertain the performance of a target test application. The question that is sometimes asked is how to compare JMeter test results from two or more runs of a similar JMeter test on the same graph. In this article we will show you how to compare the results of two separate load tests using the Merge Results plugin. In a previous postRead More →

Overlooked JMeter Plugins You May Not Know About

We previously talked about the Top 10 JMeter Plugins and the versatility of JMeter through the use of plugins. We overviewed the top ten most popular plugins for JMeter that test designers are using today. In this follow-on post we’ll overview some overlooked JMeter plugins – some of which you may want to know about. Results and Reporting Synthesis Report – Using this plugin, you can create a separate *.JTL file that contains filtered results from yourRead More →