{"id":10973,"date":"2023-12-13T16:42:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T21:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redline13.com\/blog\/?p=10973"},"modified":"2023-12-13T16:42:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T21:42:39","slug":"getting-started-with-k6-load-tests-on-redline13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redline13.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/getting-started-with-k6-load-tests-on-redline13\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with k6 Load Tests on RedLine13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Getting<\/p>\n

As one of the five major test types supported on our platform, RedLine13 offers the ability to run your k6<\/a> load tests in the cloud. Tests are defined in k6 using the JavaScript<\/a> syntax, centered around simplicity and extensibility. It is a developer-centric performance testing tool that affords scalability to test designers for scripting, execution, and analysis of load tests. Since it was introduced, k6 has steadily risen in popularity to become one of the de facto<\/em> standards in performance testing alongside JMeter<\/a>. With RedLine13, you can run cost-effective k6 load tests that scale in the cloud.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Running a k6 Load Test on RedLine13<\/h3>\n

On the \u201cStart Test\u201d page, you will find a \u201ck6\u201d tab as one of the available test types:<\/p>\n

\"Select
Select \u201ck6\u201d from the available test types.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From there, you will need to have your k6 test plan<\/a>, which is typically a JavaScript file. In this article, we will show some examples of k6 plans and how to create your own. Once you have prepared your test plan file, you can then configure your test on RedLine13:<\/p>\n

\"Basic
Basic options when uploading your k6 test plan.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can find the complete details about creating a k6 test plan (including all available options) in the RedLine13 Owner\u2019s Manual<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>How to Create a k6 Test Plan<\/h3>\n

You can find many examples of k6 tests within the official k6 documentation<\/a>. This is a good starting point if you are new to k6. Here is one example from that illustrates making a basic web request from k6:<\/p>\n

import http from “k6\/http”;
\n<\/strong>
\nexport const options = {
\n<\/strong>    iterations: 1,
\n<\/strong>};<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/strong>export default function () {
\n<\/strong>    const response = http.get(“https:\/\/test-api.k6.io\/public\/crocodiles\/”);
\n<\/strong>}<\/strong><\/p>\n

This example makes a single HTTP request to the specified endpoint using the http.get()<\/code> method. Comparing this with JMeter<\/a>, this is equivalent to a single HTTP Request<\/em> sampler inside a basic thread group running one iteration. While JMeter uses a GUI to create test plans, k6 uses a code-based approach. Though code-based scripts are preferred, there is a graphical Test Builder<\/a> tool available which can assist with test plan creation.<\/p>\n

Once your test plan is created, it should be saved as a JavaScript file (*.js<\/code>). From there, it can be uploaded to RedLine13 using the steps outlined above.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Accelerate Prototyping your k6 Tests<\/h3>\n

As mentioned above, the k6 documentation pages<\/a> have many examples of both basic tests, and common real-world test scenarios. If your test needs to incorporate any of these common tasks, you can use these templates as building blocks to accelerate the creation of your own tests. Here are some examples of common test cases that can you can utilize:<\/p>\n