JMeter Tutorial: An Easy Guide For 2021

Introduction

Welcome to the JMeter tutorial. Software testing is an important step in the software development life cycle. It is critical to ensure that software applications perform well, and software testing is required to ensure that the program runs without errors. Jmeter is one of the preferred performance testing tools available. This JMeter tutorial for beginners shows you the fundamentals of JMeter as well as advanced concepts to help you become a testing pro.

In this article about Jmeter tutorial, let us look at:

1. What is performance testing?
2. What is JMeter?
3. Advantages of JMeter
4. Jmeter Tutorial
5. Elements of Jmeter

1. What is performance testing?

Performance testing is a type of non-functional testing that is used to evaluate application performance parameters such as responsiveness and stability under various workloads. Performance testing also evaluates the software’s quality attributes, such as scalability, efficiency, and resource utilization. Performance testing’s main goal is to find and remove performance bottlenecks in software applications. Without performance testing, the software is more likely to have problems including slowness while many people are using it at the same time, discrepancies across various operating systems, and weak usability. 

There are several performance testing tools available such as Apache Jmeter, Load Runner, WebLoad, LoadUI, Loadview, etc.

2. What is JMeter?

Apache Jmeter is a popular java-based open source performance testing tool developed by Stefano Mazzocchi of the Apache Software Foundation. JMeter is a tool for analyzing and measuring the efficiency of web applications and other services. Initially, Jmeter was used for testing FTP or web applications but now it is also used for database server testing, functional testing, websites, LDAP servers, etc.

A proper JMeter tutorial would be remiss if it didn’t discuss the merits of JMeter:

3. Advantages of JMeter

• Jmeter has zero licensing cost as it is an open-source product.
• It can be used to test varied applications ranging from web services, databases, shell scripts, LDAP, etc.
• Being a Java-based product, it can run on multiple platforms.
• It has a user-friendly GUI with a drag and drop feature and also has a record/playback option.
• Being open-source, it can be customizable as per user requirements.
• Jmeter provides comprehensive documentation.       
• It has very strong community support to help users learn and ramp up.
• JMeter allows you to create dashboard reports. JMeter generates a plethora of reports that assist the user in comprehending Performance tests.
• It also supports distributed load testing to carry out load tests on multiple machines.

4. Jmeter Tutorial

In this Jmeter tutorial, you will learn about the Jmeter installation process and elements of Jmeter.

The basic workflow of Jmeter is 

Jmeter Installation process

• Install Java: A fully compliant JVM 6 or higher version is required as Jmeter is a pure Java application. Download and install the Java SE development kit.

You can check the output at the command prompt to verify the success of the installation.

• Download the latest version 5.1 of Jmeter. You can download any binary depending on your system configuration.

• Install Jmeter following the installation instructions in the directory of your choice. For Windows run the file /bin/jmeter.bat to start JMeter in GUI mode.

5. Elements of Jmeter 

The different elements or components of Jmeter are designed for a specific function. Some of these components are:

• Thread Group: These are the collection of threads executing the same scenario and are the base element of the Jmeter test plan. Several thread groups can be configured to simulate how users communicate with the software, how the load is managed, and for how long.

• Samplers: JMeter can submit unique types of requests to a server using samplers. Thread Groups act as a substitute for a user’s request to the server. Samplers assist the Thread Group in determining which requests (HTTP, FTP, etc.) are needed. Some useful samplers are −
• HTTP Request
• FTP Request
• JDBC Request
• Java Request
• SOAP/XML Request
• RPC Requests

• Listeners: These elements allow the user to display the results of Samplers in log files as tables, graphs, trees, or plain text. As a Sampler portion of JMeter is performed, they provide visual access to the data gathered by JMeter about the test cases. Some examples are:

• Sample Result Save Configuration
• Graph Full Results
• Graph Results
• Spline Visualizer
• Assertion Results
• View Results Tree

• Configuration: These elements allows user to define defaults and variables that Samplers may use. They’re used to add to or change Sampler requests. They are run at the beginning of the scope in which they are used, before any Samplers in the same scope.

• CSV Data Set Config: It lets you read various parameters from a text file. It reads lines from a file and divides them into variables.
• HTTP Cookie Manager: It has the same feature as a web browser. It automatically stores the cookie from the response of an HTTP for future use.
• HTTP request default:  This element can be used to set default values for your HTTP Request controllers.
• Login Config Element: It allows the user to add or change the username and password settings in samplers.

Conclusion

To end this JMeter tutorial, we’d like to add that the choice of automation tool is primarily determined by the requirement, cost-effectiveness, and other factors. We believe that since JMeter is license-free, it will continue to grow in popularity among organizations, especially small and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford license fees.

Big data analysts are at the vanguard of the journey towards an ever more data-centric world. Being powerful intellectual resources, companies are going the extra mile to hire and retain them. You too can come on board and take this journey with our Big Data Specialization course.

ALSO READ

• React Tutorial: An Easy Guide To Learn ReactJS in 7 Points
• Top Performance Testing Tools: A Simple Overview (2021)