JMeter

JMeter

About the Tutorial

jMeter is an open source testing software. It is 100% pure Java application for load
and performance testing.
jMeter is designed to cover various categories of tests such as load testing, functional
testing, performance testing, regression testing, etc., and it requires JDK 5 or higher.
This tutorial provides an in-depth coverage of jMeter framework including its test
plans, listeners, functions, and regular expressions.

Audience
This tutorial is designed for software professionals in the domain of Testing who are
required to test enterprise-level applications for robustness and reliability.

Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Java
programming language. As you are going to use jMeter to perform all types of testing
(regression, functional, load, performance, etc.) at different stages of a Java project,
it is recommended that you have a good grip over software development and software
testing processes.

Copyright & Disclaimer

Copyright 2015 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.
All the content and graphics published in this e-book are the property of Tutorials
Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy, distribute
or republish any contents or a part of contents of this e-book in any manner without
written consent of the publisher.
We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and as precisely
as possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors. Tutorials Point
(I) Pvt. Ltd. provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy, timeliness or completeness
of our website or its contents including this tutorial. If you discover any errors on our
website or in this tutorial, please notify us at contact@tutorialspoint.com

JMeter

Table of Contents
About the Tutorial ............................................................................................................................................. i
Audience ............................................................................................................................................................ i
Prerequisites ...................................................................................................................................................... i
Copyright & Disclaimer ...................................................................................................................................... i
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................. ii

1. OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 1
What is JMeter? ................................................................................................................................................ 1
JMeter Features ................................................................................................................................................ 2
How JMeter Works?.......................................................................................................................................... 2

2. JMETER ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................... 4

System Requirements ....................................................................................................................................... 4

3. TEST PLAN .................................................................................................................................... 8

What is a Test Plan? .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Writing a Test Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 8

4. TEST PLAN ELEMENTS ................................................................................................................ 14

Thread Group .................................................................................................................................................. 14
Controllers ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
Listeners ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Timers ............................................................................................................................................................. 18
Assertions ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
Configuration Elements .................................................................................................................................. 20
Pre-processor Elements .................................................................................................................................. 21
Post-processor Elements ................................................................................................................................. 22
Execution Order of Test Elements ................................................................................................................... 22

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5. WEB TEST PLAN ......................................................................................................................... 23

Start JMeter .................................................................................................................................................... 23
Rename the Test Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 23
Add Thread Group .......................................................................................................................................... 24
Add Sampler ................................................................................................................................................... 25
Add Listener .................................................................................................................................................... 27
Run the Test Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 28
View the Output ............................................................................................................................................. 28

6. DATABASE TEST PLAN ................................................................................................................ 31

Create JMeter Test Plan .................................................................................................................................. 32
Adding JDBC Requests .................................................................................................................................... 32
Create Listener ................................................................................................................................................ 34
Save and Execute Test Plan ............................................................................................................................. 35
Verify the Output ............................................................................................................................................ 35

7. FTP TEST PLAN ........................................................................................................................... 37

Rename Test Plan ........................................................................................................................................... 37
Add Thread Group .......................................................................................................................................... 37
Add Sampler FTP Request ............................................................................................................................ 38
Add Listener .................................................................................................................................................... 40
Run the Test Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 41
View the Output ............................................................................................................................................. 41

8. WEBSITE TEST PLAN ................................................................................................................... 44

Create Webservice Project .............................................................................................................................. 44
Create JMeter Test plan .................................................................................................................................. 47

9. JMS TEST PLAN........................................................................................................................... 53

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JMeter

Building a JMS Point-to-Point Test Plan .......................................................................................................... 54

Building a JMS Topic Test Plan ........................................................................................................................ 59

10. MONITOR TEST PLAN ................................................................................................................. 69

Setup Tomcat Server ....................................................................................................................................... 69
Write JMeter Test Plan ................................................................................................................................... 71

11. LISTENERS .................................................................................................................................. 78

Default Configuration ..................................................................................................................................... 78
CSV Log format ............................................................................................................................................... 79
Saving Response Data ..................................................................................................................................... 80
Loading (Reading) Response Data ................................................................................................................... 81
Saving the Listener GUI Data ........................................................................................................................... 81

12. JMETER FUNCTIONS................................................................................................................... 82

JMeter Functions and User Variables .............................................................................................................. 82
List of Functions .............................................................................................................................................. 82
Where to Use Functions and Variables? .......................................................................................................... 85
Referencing Variables and Functions .............................................................................................................. 85
The Function Helper Dialog ............................................................................................................................. 86
Pre-defined Variables ..................................................................................................................................... 86
Pre-defined Properties .................................................................................................................................... 86

13. JMETER REGULAR EXPRESSIONS ................................................................................................ 87

14. JMETER BEST PRACTICES............................................................................................................ 93

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1. OVERVIEW

JMeter

Before going into the details of JMeter, let us first understand a few jargons associated
with the testing of any application.

Performance Test: This test sets the best possible performance expectation
under a given configuration of infrastructure. It also highlights early in the
testing process if any changes need to be made before the application goes into
production.

Load Test: This test is basically used for testing 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 that can perform load test, performance-oriented business
(functional) test, regression test, etc., 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.
JMeter is a Java desktop application with a graphical interface that uses the Swing
graphical API. It can therefore run on any environment / workstation that accepts 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

JMeter Features
Following are some of the features of JMeter:

Being an open source software, it is freely available.

It has a simple and intuitive GUI.

JMeter can conduct load and performance test for many different server types:
Web - HTTP, HTTPS, SOAP, Database via JDBC, LDAP, JMS, Mail - POP3, etc.

It is a 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
jmeter.bat file.

It has full Swing and lightweight component support (precompiled JAR uses
packages javax.swing.* ).

JMeter stores its test plans in XML format. It means you can generate a test
plan using a text editor.

Its full multi-threading framework allows concurrent sampling by many threads

and simultaneous sampling of different functions by separate thread groups.

It is highly extensible.

It can also be used to perform automated and functional testing of the

applications.

How JMeter Works?

JMeter simulates a group of users sending requests to a target server, and returns
statistics that show the performance/functionality of the target server/application via
tables, graphs, etc.
Take a look at the following figure that depicts how JMeter works:

JMeter

2. JMETER ENVIRONMENT

JMeter

JMeter 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

First of all, verify whether you have Java installed in your system. Open your console
and execute one of the following java commands based on the operating system you
are working on.
OS

Task

Command

Windows

Open Command Console

c:\> java -version

Linux

Open Command Terminal

$ java -version

Mac

Open Terminal

machine:~ joseph$ java -version

If you have Java installed in your system, you would get an appropriate output based
on the OS you are working on.
OS
Windows

Output
java version "1.7.0_25"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_25-b15)
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Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.25-b01, mixed mode)

Linux

java version "1.7.0_25"

Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_25-b15)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.25-b01, mixed mode)

Mac

java version "1.7.0_25"

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 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html. We are assuming
Java 1.7.0_25 as the 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

Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_25

Linux

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/java-current

Mac

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/Home

variable

JAVA_HOME

to

C:\Program

Append Java compiler location to System Path.

OS

Output

Windows

Append the string; C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_25\bin to the

end of the system variable, Path.

Linux

export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin/

JMeter

Mac

not required

Verify Java Installation using java -version command as explained above.

Step 3: Download JMeter

Download the latest version of JMeter from http://jmeter.apache.org/download_jmeter.cgi. For
this tutorial, we downloaded apache-jmeter-2.9 and copied it into C:\>JMeter folder.
The directory structure should look like as shown 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

After downloading JMeter, go to the bin directory. In this case,
/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-2.9/bin. Now click on the following:
OS

it

is

Output

Windows

jmeter.bat

Linux

jmeter.sh

Mac

jmeter.sh

JMeter

After a short pause, the JMeter GUI should appear, which is a Swing application, as
seen in the following screenshot:

This is the main page and the default page of the tool.

3. TEST PLAN

JMeter

What is a Test Plan?

A Test Plan can be viewed as a container for running tests. It defines what to test and
how to go about it. A complete test plan consists 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.

Writing a Test Plan

Follow the steps given below to write a test plan:

Step 1: Start the JMeter Window

Open the JMeter window by clicking /home/manisha/apache-jmeter2.9/bin/jmeter.sh. The JMeter window will appear as shown below:

JMeter

This is a plain and blank JMeter window without any additional elements added to it.
It contains two nodes:

Test Plan node:

It is where the real test plan is kept.

Workbench node:
It 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.

Step 2: Add/Remove Elements

Elements (which will be discussed in the next chapter Test Plan Elements) can be added
to a test plan by right-clicking on the Test Plan node and choosing a new element from
the "add" list.
Alternatively, you can load an element from a file and add it by choosing the "merge"
or "open" option.
For example, let us 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.

JMeter

Step 3: Load and Save the Elements

To load an element from file:

Right-click on the existing tree element to which you want to add the loaded
element.

Select Merge.

Choose the file where you saved the elements.

JMeter will merge the elements into the tree.

By default, JMeter does not save the element, you need to explicitly save it.

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To save a tree element:

Right-click on the element.

Choose the Save Selection As ... option.

JMeter will save the element selected, plus all the child elements beneath it. By
default, JMeter doesn't save the elements, you need to explicitly save it as mentioned
earlier.

Step 4: Configure the Tree Elements

Any element in the Test Plan can be configured using the controls present in JMeter's
right-hand side frame. These controls allow you to configure the behavior of that
particular test element. For example, the Thread Group can be configured for a
number of users, ramp up periods, etc., as shown below:

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Step 5: Save the Test Plan

You can save an entire Test Plan by using either Save or "Save Test Plan As ..." from
the File menu.

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Step 6: Run the Test Plan

You can run the Test Plan by clicking Start (Control + r) from the Run menu item.
When JMeter starts running, it shows a small green box at the right-hand end of the
section just under the menubar.

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.

Step 7: Stop the Test Plan

You can stop your test in two ways:

Using Stop (Control + '.'). It stops the threads immediately if possible.

Using Shutdown (Control + ','). It requests the threads to stop at the end of
any current work.

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4. TEST PLAN ELEMENTS

JMeter

A JMeter Test Plan comprises of test elements discussed below. A Test Plan comprises
of 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 us see
each of these elements in detail:

Thread Group
Thread Group elements are the beginning pointsof 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:

Setting the number of threads

Setting the ramp-up time

Setting the number of test iterations

The Thread Group Control Panel looks like this:

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The Thread Group Panel holds the following components:

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

Stop Thread to stop the current Thread.

Stop Test completely, in case you want to inspect the error before it
continues running.

Number of Threads: Simulates the number of users or connections 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

appears 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 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, or DELETE on a HTTP service.
Some useful samplers are:

HTTP Request

FTP Request

JDBC Request

Java Request

SOAP/XML Request

RPC Requests

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The following screenshot shows an HTTP Request Sampler Control Panel: :

Logic Controllers
Logic Controllers let you control the order of processing of Samplers in a Thread. Logic
controllers can change the order of a 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, and Run
Once Controller.
The following screenshot shows a Loop Controller Control Panel: :

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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

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Test Fragments
A Test Fragment is a special type of element placed at the same level as the 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 sends requests without pausing between each sampler.
This may not be what you want. You can add a timer element which allows you to
define a period to wait between each request.
The following list shows all the timers that JMeter provides:

Constant Timer
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JMeter

Gaussian Random Timer

Uniform Random Timer

Constant Throughput Timer

Synchronizing Timer

JSR223 Time

BeanShell Time

BSF Time

Poisson Random Time

The following screenshot shows a Constant Timer Control Panel:

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 highlights when an assertion fails.
The following list consists of all the assertions JMeter provides:

Beanshell Assertion

BSF Assertion

Compare Assertion

JSR223 Assertion

Response Assertion
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JMeter

Duration Assertion

Size Assertion

XML Assertion

BeanShell Assertion

MD5Hex Assertion

HTML Assertion

XPath Assertion

XML Schema Assertion

The following screenshot shows a Response Assertion Control Panel:

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 that JMeter provides:

Counter

CSV Data Set Config

FTP Request Defaults

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JMeter

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-processor element is something that runs just 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 that JMeter provides:

HTML Link Parser

HTTP URL Re-writing Modifier

HTTP User Parameter Modifier

User Parameters

JDBC Pre-processor

JSR223 Pre-processor

RegEx User Parameters

BeanShell Pre-processor

BSF Pre-processor

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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 a particular value
for later use.
The following list consists of all the post-processor elements that JMeter provides:

Regular Expression Extractor

XPath Extractor

Result Status Action Handler

JSR223 Post-processor

JDBC Post-processor

BSF Post-processor

CSS/JQuery Extractor

BeanShell Post-processor

Debug Post-processor

Execution Order of Test Elements

Following is the execution order of the test plan elements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Configuration elements
Pre-Processors
Timers
Sampler
Post-Processors (unless SampleResult is null)
Assertions (unless SampleResult is null)
Listeners (unless SampleResult is null)

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5. WEB TEST PLAN

JMeter

Let us build a simple test plan which tests a web page. We write a test plan in Apache
JMeter so that we can test the performance of the web page shown by the
URL:http://www.tutorialspoint.com/.

Start JMeter
Open the JMeter window by clicking on /home/manisha/apache-jmeter2.9/bin/jmeter.sh. The JMeter window appears as shown below:

Rename the Test Plan

Change the name of test plan node to Sample Test in the Name text box. You need to
change the focus to workbench node and back to the Test Plan node to see the name
getting reflected.

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JMeter

Add Thread Group

Now we add our first element in the window. We add one Thread Group, which is a
placeholder for all other elements like Samplers, Controllers, and Listeners. We need
one so we can configure number of users to simulate.
In JMeter, all the node elements are added by using the context menu.
1. Right-click the element where you want to add a child element node.
2. Choose the appropriate option to add.
3. Right-click on the Sample Test (our Test Plan) > Add > Threads (Users) >
Thread Group. Thus, the Thread Group gets added under the Test Plan (Sample
Test) node.

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JMeter

4. Name the Thread Group as Users. For us, this element means users visiting the
TutorialsPoint Home Page.

Add Sampler
We need to add one Sampler in our Thread Group (Users). As done earlier for adding
Thread group, this time we will open the context menu of the Thread Group (Users)
node by right-clicking and we will add HTTP Request Sampler by choosing Add >
Sampler> HTTP request option.
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JMeter

It will add one empty HTTP Request Sampler under the Thread Group (Users) node.
Let us configure this node element:

Name: We will change the name to reflect the action what we want to achieve.
We will name it as Visit TutorialsPoint Home Page.

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Server Name or IP: Here, we have to type the web server name. In our case,
it is www.tutorialspoint.com. (http:// part is not written this is only the name
of the server or its IP).

Protocol: We will keep this blank, which means we want HTTP as the protocol.

Path: We will type path as / (slash). It means we want the root page of the
server.

Add Listener
We will now add a listener. Let us add View Results Tree Listener under the Thread
Group (User) node. It will ensure that the results of the Sampler will be available to
view in this Listener node element.
To add a listener:

Open the context menu

Right-click the Thread Group (Users)

Choose Add > Listener > View Results Tree option

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Run the Test Plan

Now with all the setup, let us execute the test plan. With the configuration of the
Thread Group (Users), we keep all the default values. It means JMeter will execute
the sampler only once. It is similar to a single user, only once.
This is similar to a user visiting a web page through browser, with JMeter sampler. To
execute the test plan, Select Run from the menu and select Start option.
Apache JMeter asks us to save the test plan in a disk file before actually starting the
test. This is important if you want to run the test plan multiple times. You can opt for
running it without saving too.

View the Output

We have kept the setting of the thread group as single thread (one user only) and
loop for 1 time (run only one time), hence we will get the result of one single
transaction in the View Result Tree Listener.

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Details of the above result are:

Green color against the name Visit TutorialsPoint Home Page indicates success.

JMeter has stored all the headers and the responses sent by the web server
and ready to show us the result in many ways.

The first tab is Sampler Results. It shows JMeter data as well as data returned
by the web server.

The second tab is Request, which shows all the data sent to the web server as
part of the request.

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JMeter

The last tab is Response data. In this tab, the listener shows the data received from
server in text format.

This is just a simple test plan which executes only one request. But JMeter's real
strength is in sending the same request, as if many users are sending it. To test the
web servers with multiple users, we need to change the Thread Group (Users)
settings.

30

6. DATABASE TEST PLAN

JMeter

In this chapter, we will see how to create a simple test plan to test the database
server. For our test purpose we use the MYSQL database server. You can use any
other database for testing. For installation and table creation in MYSQ please
refer MYSQL Tutorial.
Once MYSQL is installed, follow the steps below to setup the database:

Create a database with name "tutorial".

Create a table named tutorials_tbl.

Insert records into tutorials_tbl as shown below:

mysql> use TUTORIALS;

Database changed
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("Learn PHP", "John Poul", NOW());
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("Learn MySQL", "Abdul S", NOW());
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("JAVA Tutorial", "Sanjay", '2007-05-06');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql>

Copy the appropriate JDBC driver to /home/manisha/apache-jmeter2.9/lib.

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Create JMeter Test Plan

Let us start the JMeter from /home/manisha/apache-jmeter-2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

Add Users
To create a Thread group,
1.
2.
3.
4.

Right-click on Test Plan.

Select Add > Threads (Users) > Thread Group.
Thus, thread group gets added under the Test Plan node.
Rename this Thread Group as JDBC Users.

We will not change the default properties of the Thread Group.

Adding JDBC Requests

Now that we defined our users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing. In this section, specify the JDBC requests to perform.
1. Right-click on the JDBC Users element.

2. Select Add > Config Element > JDBC Connection Configuration.

3. Set up the following fields (we are using MySQL database called tutorial):
o

Variable name bound to pool. This needs to identify the configuration

uniquely. It is used by the JDBC Sampler to identify the configuration to
be used. We have named it as test.

Database URL: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/tutorial.

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JDBC Driver class: com.mysql.jdbc.Driver.

Username: root.

Password: password for root.

The other fields on the screen are left as defaults as shown below:

Now add a JDBC Request which refers to the JDBC Configuration pool defined above.
Select JDBC Users element
1. Click your right mouse button to get the Add menu
2. Select Add > Sampler > JDBC Request.
3. Select this new element to view its Control Panel.
4. Edit the properties as shown below:
o

Variable name bound to pool. This needs to uniquely identify the

configuration. It is used by the JDBC Sampler to identify the configuration
to be used. Named it as test.

Name: Learn.

Enter the Pool Name: test (same as in the configuration element).

Query Type: Select statement.

Enter the SQL Query String field.

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JMeter

Create Listener
Now add the Listener element. This element is responsible for storing all of the results
of your JDBC requests in a file and presenting a visual model of the data.
1. Select the JDBC Users element
2. Add a View Results Tree listener (Add > Listener > View Results Tree).

34

JMeter

Save and Execute Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as db_test.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run >
Start option.

Verify the Output

35

JMeter

In the last image, you can see that two records are selected.

36

7. FTP TEST PLAN

JMeter

In this chapter, we will see how to test a FTP site using JMeter. Let us create a Test
Plan to test the FTP site.

Rename Test Plan

1. Open the JMeter
2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

window

by

clicking

/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-

2. Click the Test Plan node.

3. Rename this Test Plan node as TestFTPSite.

Add Thread Group

Add one Thread Group, which is placeholder for all other elements like Samplers,
Controllers, and Listeners.
1. Right click on TestFTPSite (our Test Plan)
2. Select Add > Threads(Users) > Thread Group. Thread Group will get added
under the Test Plan (TestFTPSite) node.
3. Modify the default properties of the Thread Group to suit our testing as follows:
o

Name: FTPusers

Number of Threads (Users): 4

Ramp-Up Period: leave the the default value of 0 seconds.

Loop Count:1

37

JMeter

Add Sampler FTP Request

Now that we have defined our users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing. Add FTP Request elements. We add two FTP request elements, one which
retrieves a file and the other which puts a file on the ftp site.
1. Select the FTPusers element.
2. Right-click the mouse button to get the Add menu
3. Select Add > Sampler > FTP Request.
4. Select the FTP Request element in the tree.
5. Edit the following properties as shown below:

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JMeter

The following details are entered in this element:

Name: FTP Request Get

Server Name or IP: 184.168.74.29

Remote File: /home/manisha/sample_ftp.txt

Local File: sample_ftp.txt

Select get(RETR)

Username: manisha

Password:manisha123

Now add another FTP request as above and edit the properties as shown in the
following screenshot:

39

JMeter

The following details are entered in this element:

Name: FTP Request Put

Server Name or IP: 184.168.74.29

Remote File: /home/manisha/examplefile.txt

Local File: /home/manisha/work/examplefile.txt

Select put(STOR)

Username: manisha

Password: manisha123

Add Listener
The final element you need to add to your Test Plan is a Listener. This element is
responsible for storing all of the results of your FTP requests in a file and presenting
a visual model of the data.
1. Select the FTPusers element.
2. Add a View Results Tree listener by selecting Add > Listener > View Results
Tree.

40

JMeter

Run the Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as ftpsite_test.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run >
Start option.

View the Output

The following output can be seen in the listener.

41

JMeter

42

JMeter

You can see that four requests are made for each FTP request and the test is
successful. The retrieved file for GET request is stored in the /bin folder. In our case,
it is /home/manisha/apache-jmeter-2.9/bin/. For PUT request, the file is
uploaded at the path /home/manisha/.

43

8. WEBSITE TEST PLAN

JMeter

In this chapter, we will learn how to create a Test Plan to test a WebService. For our
test purpose, we have created a simple webservice project and deployed it on the
Tomcat server locally.

Create Webservice Project

To create a webservice project, we have used Eclipse IDE. First write the Service
Endpoint Interface HelloWorld under the package com.tutorialspoint.ws. The
contents of the HelloWorld.java are as follows:
package com.tutorialspoint.ws;

import javax.jws.WebMethod;
import javax.jws.WebService;
import javax.jws.soap.SOAPBinding;
import javax.jws.soap.SOAPBinding.Style;

//Service Endpoint Interface

@WebService
@SOAPBinding(style = Style.RPC)
public interface HelloWorld{

@WebMethod String getHelloWorldMessage(String string);

}
This service has a method getHelloWorldMessage which takes a String parameter.
Next, create the implementation class HelloWorldImpl.java under the package
com.tutorialspoint.ws.
package com.tutorialspoint.ws;

import javax.jws.WebService;

44

JMeter

@WebService(endpointInterface="com.tutorialspoint.ws.HelloWorld")
public class HelloWorldImpl

implements HelloWorld

@Override
public String getHelloWorldMessage(String myName){
return("Hello "+myName+" to JAX WS world");
}

}
Let us now publish this web service locally by creating the Endpoint publisher and
expose the service on the server.
The publish method takes two parameters:

Endpoint URL String.

Implementor object, in this case the HelloWorld implementation class, which is

exposed as a Web Service at the endpoint identified by the URL mentioned in
the parameter above.

The contents of HelloWorldPublisher.java are as follows:

package com.tutorialspoint.endpoint;

import javax.xml.ws.Endpoint;

import com.tutorialspoint.ws.HelloWorldImpl;

public class HelloWorldPublisher {

public static void main(String[] args){

Endpoint.publish("http://localhost:9000/ws/hello", new
HelloWorldImpl());
}
}
Modify the web.xml contents as shown below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE web-app PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems,

45

JMeter

Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.3//EN"

"http://java.sun.com/j2ee/dtds/web-app_2_3.dtd">
<web-app>
<listener>
<listener-class>
com.sun.xml.ws.transport.http.servlet.WSServletContextListener
</listener-class>
</listener>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>hello</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
com.sun.xml.ws.transport.http.servlet.WSServlet
</servlet-class>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>hello</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/hello</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<session-config>
<session-timeout>120</session-timeout>
</session-config>
</web-app>
To deploy this application as a webservice, we would need another configuration
file sun-jaxws.xml. The contents of this file are as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<endpoints
xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jax-ws/ri/runtime"
version="2.0">
<endpoint
name="HelloWorld"
implementation="com.tutorialspoint.ws.HelloWorldImpl"
url-pattern="/hello"/>
46

JMeter

</endpoints>
Now that all the files are ready, the directory structure would look as shown in the
following screenshot:

1. Now create a WAR file of this application.

2. Choose the project > right click > Export > WAR file.
3. Save this as hello.war file under the webapps folder of Tomcat server.
4. Now start the Tomcat server.
5. Once the server is started, you should be able to access the webservice with
the URL: http://localhost:8080/hello/hello

Create JMeter Test plan

Now let us create a test plan to test the above webservice.

Rename the Test Plan

1. Open the JMeter
2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

window

by

clicking

/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-

2. Click the Test Plan node.

3. Rename this Test Plan node as WebserviceTest.
47

JMeter

Add Thread Group

Add one Thread Group, which is placeholder for all other elements like Samplers,
Controllers, and Listeners.
1. Right click on WebserviceTest (our Test Plan) > Add > Threads (Users) >
Thread Group. Thread Group will get added under the Test Plan
(WebserviceTest) node.
2. Next, let us modify the default properties of the Thread Group to suit our
testing. Following properties are changed:
o

Name: webservice user

Number of Threads (Users): 2

Ramp-Up Period: leave the default value of 0 seconds.

Loop Count: 2

48

JMeter

Add Sampler SOAP/XML -RPC Request

Now that we have defined the users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing.
We will add SOAP/XML-RPC Request element:
1. Right-click mouse button to get the Add menu.
2. Select Add > Sampler > SOAP/XML-RPC Request.
3. Select the SOAP/XML-RPC Request element in the tree
4. Edit the following properties as in the image below:
5. The following details are entered in this element:
o

Name: SOAP/XML-RPC Request

URL: http://localhost:8080/hello/hello?wsdl

Soap/XML-RPC Data: Enter the below contents

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
xmlns:web="http://ws.tutorialspoint.com/">
<soapenv:Header/>
<soapenv:Body>
<web:getHelloWorldMessage>
49

JMeter

<arg0>Manisha</arg0>

</web:getHelloWorldMessage>
</soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

Add Listener
The final element you need to add to your Test Plan is a Listener. This element is
responsible for storing all of the results of your HTTP requests in a file and presenting
a visual model of the data.
1. Select the webservice user element.
2. Add a View Results Tree listener by selecting Add > Listener > View Results
Tree.

50

JMeter

Run the Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as test_webservice.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run
> Start option.

View the Output

The following output can be seen in the listener.

51

JMeter

In the last image, you can see the response message "Hello Manisha to JAX WS world".

52

9. JMS TEST PLAN

JMeter

In this chapter, we will learn how to write a simple test plan to test Java Messaging
Service (JMS). JMS supports two types of messaging:

Point-to-Point messaging: Queue messaging is generally used for

transactions where the sender expects a response. Messaging systems are quite
different from normal HTTP requests. In HTTP, a single user sends a request
and gets a response.

Topic messaging: Topic messages are commonly known as pub/sub

messaging. Topic messaging is generally used in cases where a message is
published by a producer and consumed by multiple subscribers.

Let us see a test example for each of these. The pre-requisites for testing JMS are:

We use Apache ActiveMQ in the example. There are various JMS servers like
IBM WebSphere MQ (formerly MQSeries), Tibco, etc. Download it from the
binaries from the Apache ActiveMQ website.

Unzip the archive, go to the decompressed directory, and run the following
command from the command console to start the ActiveMQ server:

.\bin\activemq

start

You can verify if the ActiveMQ server has started by visiting the admin interface at
the following address http://localhost:8161/admin/. If it asks for authentication, then
enter the userid and password as admin. The screen is similar as shown below:

53

JMeter

Now copy the activemq-all-x.x.x.jar (XXX depending on the version) from the
ActiveMQ unzipped directory to /home/manisha/apache-jmeter-2.9/lib.

With the above setup, let us build the test plan for:

JMS Point-to-Point Test Plan

JMS Topic Test Plan

Building a JMS Point-to-Point Test Plan

Now let us write a JMeter test plan to test a JMS Point-to-Point messaging solution.
The setup of the test is one threadgroup with one thread or user sending 2 messages
each through a request queue.
Let
us
start
the
2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

JMeter

from

/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-

Add Users
1. Create a Thread group.
2. Right-click the Test Plan node.
3. Select Add > Threads (Users) > Thread Group. Thread Group gets added under
the Test Plan node.
4. Rename this Thread Group as JMSTestPlan-PointtoPoint.

54

JMeter

We will change the Loop Count to two. Rest of the default properties of the Thread
Group are retained. It means one thread group with one thread or one user sends two
messages each through a request queue.

Add JMS Point-to-Point Sampler

Now that we have defined the users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing. Start by adding the sampler JMS Point-to-Point to the Point-to-Point
element.

Select Add > Sampler > JMS Point-to-Point.

Select the JMS Point-to-Point sampler element in the tree.

The following property changes are made to the JMS Point-to-Point sampler element:
Property

Value

Description

QueueuConnectionFa
ctory

ConnectionFactory

This is the default JNDI entry for the

connection factory within active MQ.

JNDI Name Request

Queue

Q.REQ

The JNDI name for JMeter to make the

connection between the connection
factory and queue.

JNDI Name Receive

Queue

Q.REQ

The JNDI name for JMeter to make the

connection between the connection
factory and queue. We are using the
same queue for response.

Communication Style

Request Response

It means you need at least a service

running outside of JMeter, which will
respond to the requests. This service
must listen to the Request Queue and
send
messages
to
the
queue
referenced
by
the
message.getJMSReplyTo()

Use Request
message ID

checked

You can leave JMeter to use the

message ID Request (deposit) to the
correlation between the incoming
message and the recovered.

Use Response
message ID

checked

You can leave JMeter use the message

identifier Response (recovery) for the
55

JMeter

correlation between the

message and recovered.

incoming

Time(milliseconds)

2000

This timeout is used when the

message is received by JMeter if
nothing is recovered in time (here 2
sec), then the item is marked in error.

Content

Testing point to
point

This is just
message.

InitialContextFactory

org.apache.active
mq.jndi

The standard InitialContextFactory for

Active MQ

the

content

of

the

ActiveMQInitialCon
textFactory
queue.Q.REQ

example.A

Correspondence between the JNDI

name of the queue (Q.REQ) and the
real name of the queue in ActiveMQ
(example.A).

Provider URL

tcp://localhost:61
616

The address
ActiveMQ.

and

port

to

attack

The following screenshot shows the above configurations:

56

JMeter

Create Listener
Now add the Listener element. This element is responsible for storing all of the results
of your JMS requests in a file and presenting a visual model of the data.
1. Select the Thread Group element.
2. Add a View Results Tree listener by selecting Add > Listener > View Results
Tree.

57

JMeter

Save and Execute the Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as jmsptp_test.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run >
Start option.

Verify the Output

58

JMeter

Return to the admin console of ActiveMQ. Here we can see the message status in the
queue.

Building a JMS Topic Test Plan

Now let us write a JMeter test plan to test a JMS Provider. We will create one subscriber
and one publisher. We will create one thread group and set each one to two iterations.
59

JMeter

First let us start

2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

the

JMeter

from

/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-

Add Users
Now create a Thread group as follows:
1. Right-click the Test Plan
2. Select Add > Threads (Users) > Thread Group. Thread Group will get added
under the Test Plan node.
3. Rename this Thread Group as JMS pub-sub user.

We will change the Loop Count to two. Rest of the default properties of the Thread
Group are retained. It means one thread group with one thread or one user sends two
messages each through a request queue.

Adding JMS Subscriber and Publisher

Let us see how to add subscribers and publishers:

Add Publisher
1. Add the sampler JMS Publisher to the Publisher element by selecting Add >
Sampler > JMS Publisher.
2. Select the JMS Publisher element in the tree.
3. Edit the following properties:
60

JMeter

Property

Value

Description

Name

Sample Publisher

Descriptive name for this element that

is shown in the tree.

If the JMS provider

uses the
jndi.properties file

check the box

Use jndi.properties. Note that the file

must be on the classpath - e.g. by
updating the user.classpath JMeter
property. If this option is not selected,
JMeter uses the "JNDI Initial Context
Factory" and "Provider URL" fields to
create the connection.

InitialContextFactory

org apache
activemq jndi
Active MQInitial
Context Factory

Name of the context factory.

Provider URL

tcp://localhost:616
16

The URL for the JMS provider.

Connection Factory

ConnectionFactory

The URL for the JMS provider.

Destination

dynamicTopics/MyS
taticTopic1

The name of the message topic. For

ActiveMQ Dynamic Topics (create
topics dynamically).

Number of samples
to aggregate

Number of samples to aggregate.

Message source

Textarea

Where to obtain the message:

From File: means the referenced file
will be read and reused by all samples.
Random File from folder: means a
random file will be selected from the
folder specified, this folder must
contain either files with extension .dat
for Bytes Messages, or files with
extension .txt or .obj for Object or Text
messages

61

JMeter

Text area: The Message to use either

for Text or Object message
Message type

Text

Text, Map, Object message or Bytes

Message

Rest of the properties are retained with the default values. The following screenshot
shows the above configurations:

Add Subscriber
Now that we have defined our users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing.
1. Add the sampler JMS Subscriber to the Subscribers element by selecting Add >
Sampler > JMS Subscriber.
2. Select the JMS Subscriber element in the tree
3. Edit the following properties:

62

JMeter

Property

Value

Description

Name

Sample Subscriber

Descriptive
name
for
this
element that is shown in the
tree.

If the JMS provider

uses
the
jndi.properties file

check the box

Use jndi.properties. Note that

the file must be on the classpath
e.g.
by
updating
the
user.classpath JMeter property.
If this option is not selected,
JMeter uses the "JNDI Initial
Context Factory" and "Provider
URL" fields to create the
connection.

InitialContextFactory

org apache activemq

jndi Active MQInitial
Context Factory

Name of the context factory.

Provider URL

tcp://localhost:61616

The URL for the JMS provider.

Connection Factory

ConnectionFactory

The URL for the JMS provider.

Destination

dynamicTopics/MyStatic
Topic1

The name of the message topic.

For ActiveMQ Dynamic Topics
(create topics dynamically).

Read response

Check Box

The sampler should read the

response. If not, only the
response length is returned.

Timeout

2000

The timeout to be applied, in

milliseconds. 0=none. This is the
overall aggregate timeout, not
per sample.

63

JMeter

Rest of the properties are retained with the default values. The following screenshot
shows the above configurations:

Create Listener
Now add the Listener element. This element is responsible for storing all the results
of your JMS requests in a file and presenting a visual model of the data.
1. Select the Thread Group element.
2. Add a View Results Tree listener by selecting Add > Listener > View Results
Tree.

64

JMeter

Save and Execute the Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as jms_pub_sub.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run
> Start option.

Verify the Output

Output for Publisher

65

JMeter

Output for Subscriber

66

JMeter

Return to the admin console of ActiveMQ. Here we can see the message status in the
topics.

67

JMeter

68

10. MONITOR TEST PLAN

JMeter

In this chapter, we will discuss how to create a Test Plan using JMeter to monitor
webservers. The uses of monitor tests are as follows:

Monitors are useful for a stress testing and system management.

Used with stress testing, the monitor provides additional information about
server performance.

Monitors make it easier to see the relationship between server performance and
response time on the client side.

As a system administration tool, the monitor provides an easy way to monitor

multiple servers from one console.

We need Tomcat 5 or above for monitoring. For our test purpose, we will monitor
Tomcat 7.0.42 server. You can test any servlet container that supports Java
Management Extension (JMX). Let us write a test case to monitor the Tomcat server.
Let us first set up our tomcat server.

Setup Tomcat Server

We start with opening the Tomcat service status. To do this, edit the configuration file
for users, <TOMCAT_HOME>/conf/tomcat-users.xml. This file contains a
tomcat-users section (commented) as shown:
<tomcat-users>

<!-<role rolename="tomcat"/>
<role rolename="role1"/>
<user username="tomcat" password="tomcat" roles="tomcat"/>
<user username="both" password="tomcat" roles="tomcat,role1"/>
<user username="role1" password="tomcat" roles="role1"/>
-->
</tomcat-users>

We need to change this section to add the admin roles, manager, manager-gui and
assign the user "admin". The revised file is as follows:
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JMeter

<tomcat-users>

<role rolename="manager-gui"/>
<role rolename="manager-script"/>
<role rolename="manager-jmx"/>
<role rolename="manager-status"/>
<user username="admin" password="admin" roles="manager-gui,managerscript,manager-jmx,manager-status"/>

</tomcat-users>
Now start the tomcat server <TOMCAT_HOME>/bin/startup.sh for Linux and
<TOMCAT_HOME>/bin/startup.bat for windows. Once started, check that the Tomcat
supervision works by entering the following link in your browser:
http://localhost:8080/manager/status?XML=true
An authentication window appears in the browser. Enter the tomcat login and
password associated (in our case it is admin). Then, the browser shows the execution
status of Tomcat as below:

From the above screenshot, we can note a few things:

In the URL, note that XML = true (note the case sensitivity) allows a clean
display of the supervisory Tomcat necessary for the JMeter functioning.
Also note that there are default two connectors. The AJP connector used in
general coupled with the mod_jk Apache HTTPD front module and the HTTP
connector which is commonly used connector for direct access to Tomcat via
port 8080.
70

JMeter

Write JMeter Test Plan

Let us monitor the Tomcat server by writing a test plan:

Rename Test Plan

1. Open the JMeter
2.9/bin/jmeter.sh.

window

by

clicking

/home/manisha/apache-jmeter-

2. Click the Test Plan node.

3. Add a thread group as explained in the next step.

Add Thread Group

1. Right-click on Test Plan > Add > Threads(Users) > Thread Group. Thread
Group will get added under the Test Plan node.
2. Change the loop count to forever (or some large number) so that enough
samples are generated.

HTTP Authorization Manager

1. Add HTTP Authorization Manager to the Thread Group element by selecting Add
> Config element > HTTP Authorization Manager. This element manages
authentication requested by the browser to see the Tomcat server status.
2. Select the HTTP Authorization Manager.

71

JMeter

3. Edit the following details:

o

Username: admin (depending on the configuration in tomcat-users.xml

file)

Password: admin (depending on the configuration in the tomcatusers.xml file)

The other fields are left empty.

Add Sampler-HTTP Request

Now that we have defined our users, it is time to define the tasks that they will be
performing. We add HTTP Request element.
1. Right click the mouse button to get the Add menu.
2. Select Add > Sampler > HTTP Request.
3. Then, select the HTTP Request element in the tree.
4. Edit the following properties as in the image below:
5. The following details are entered in this element:
o

Name: Server Status

Server Name or IP: localhost

Port: 8080
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JMeter

Path: /manager/status

Parameters: Add a request parameter named "XML" in uppercase. Give

it a value of "true" in lowercase.

Optional Tasks: Check "Use as Monitor" at the bottom of the sampler.

Add a Constant Timer

To request the status of the server periodically, add a Constant Timer which will allow
a time interval between each request. Add a timer to this thread group by selecting
Add > Timer > Constant Timer.
Enter 5000 milliseconds in the Thread Delay box. In general, using intervals shorter
than 5 seconds may add stress to your server. Find out what is an acceptable interval
before you deploy the monitor in your production environment.

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JMeter

Add Listener
The final element you need to add to your Test Plan is a Listener. We add two types
of listeners. One that stores results in a file and second that shows the graphical view
of the results.
1. Select the thread group element.
2. Add a Simple Data Writer listener Add > Listener > Simple Data Writer.
3. Specify a directory and filename of the output file (in our case, it is
/home/manisha/work/sample.csv)

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JMeter

Let us add another listener by selecting the test plan element Add > Listener > Monitor
Results.

Run the Test Plan

Now save the above test plan as monitor_test.jmx. Execute this test plan using Run
> Start option.

75

JMeter

View the Output

Results will be saved in /home/manisha/work/sample.csv file. You can also see a
graphical result in the Monitor result listener as in the image below.

Note the graph has captions on both sides of the graph. On the left is percent and the
right is dead/healthy. If the memory line spikes up and down rapidly, it could indicate
memory thrashing. In those situations, it is a good idea to profile the application with
Borland OptimizeIt or JProbe. What you want to see is a regular pattern for load,
76

JMeter

memory and threads. Any erratic behavior usually indicates poor performance or a
bug of some sort.

77

11. LISTENERS

JMeter

Listeners 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 one of the following two ways:

In the jmeter.properties (or user.properties) file. This file is present in

the /bin folder of JMeter. To change the default format, find the following line
in jmeter.properties:
jmeter.save.saveservice.output_format=

By using the Config popup as shown in the following screenshot:

78

JMeter

JMeter creates results of a test run as JMeter Text Logs (JTL). 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 at 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 minimize the amount
of memory needed, use the Simple Data Writer with 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

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JMeter

bytes

number of bytes in the sample

34908

grpThreads

number of active threads in this

thread group

allThreads

total number of active threads in

all groups

URL

http://tutorialspoint.com

Filename

if Save Response to File was

used

latency

time to first response

encoding

132
utf-8

SampleCount

number of samples (1, unless

multiple samples are
aggregated)

ErrorCount

number of errors (0 or 1,
unless multiple samples are
aggregated)

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. However it does not
allow to save large files and images. 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
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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 the Listener GUI Data

JMeter is capable of saving any listener as a PNG file. To do so,

Select the listener in the left panel by selecting Edit > Save As Image. A file
dialog appears.

Enter the desired name.

Save the listener.

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12. JMETER FUNCTIONS

JMeter Functions and User Variables

JMeter functions are special values that can populate fields of any Sampler or other
element in a test tree.

A function call looks like this:

${__functionName(var1,var2,var3)}

_functionName matches
${__threadNum}.

the

name

of

function.

For

example,

If a function parameter contains a comma, then make sure you escape this with
"\" as shown below:
${__time(EEE\, d MMM yyyy)}

Variables are referenced as:

${VARIABLE}

List of Functions
Following table lists a group of functions loosely grouped into types:
Name

Function
Type

Comment

Information

threadNum

Get thread number.

Information

samplerName

Get the sampler name (label).

Information

machineIP

Get the local machine IP address.

Information

machineName

Get the local machine name.

Information

time

Return current time in various formats.

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Information

log

Log (or display) a message (and return

the value).

Information

logn

Log (or display) a message (empty return

value).

Input

StringFromFile

Read a line from a file.

Input

FileToString

Read an entire file.

Input

CSVRead

Read from CSV delimited file.

Input

XPath

Use an XPath expression to read from a

file.

Calculation

counter

Generate an incrementing number.

Calculation

intSum

Add int numbers.

Calculation

longSum

Add long numbers.

Calculation

Random

Generate a random number.

Calculation

RandomString

Generate a random string.

Calculation

UUID

Generate a random type 4 UUID.

Scripting

BeanShell

Run a BeanShell script.

Scripting

javaScript

Process JavaScript (Mozilla Rhino).

Scripting

jexl, jexl2

Evaluate a Commons Jexl expression.

Properties

property

Read a property.

Properties

Read a property (shorthand method).

Properties

setProperty

Set a JMeter property.

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Variables

split

Split a string into variables.

Variables

Evaluate a variable name.

Variables

eval

Evaluate a variable expression.

Variables

evalVar

Evaluate
variable.

String

regexFunction

Parse previous response using a regular

expression.

String

escapeOroRegexpChars

Quote meta chars used by ORO regular

expression.

String

char

Generate Unicode char values from a list

of numbers.

String

unescape

Process strings containing Java escapes

(e.g. \n & \t).

String

unescapeHtml

Decode HTML-encoded strings.

String

escapeHtml

Encode strings using HTML encoding.

String

TestPlanName

Return name of current test plan.

an

expression

stored

in

There are two kinds of functions:

o

User-defined static values (or variables)

Built-in functions

User-defined static values allow the user to define variables to be replaced with
their static value when a test tree is compiled and submitted to be run.

The variables cannot be nested; i.e ${Var${N}} does not work.

The __V (variable) function (versions after 2.2) can be used to do this:
${__V(Var${N})}.

This type of replacement is possible without functions, but it is less convenient

and less intuitive.
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Where to Use Functions and Variables?

Functions and variables can be written into any field of any test component.
The following functions should work well in a test plan:
o

intSum

longSum

machineName

BeanShell

javaScript

jexl

random

time

property functions

log functions

Functions which are used on the Test Plan have some restrictions. JMeter thread
variables will have not been fully set up when the functions are processed, so variable
names passed as parameters will not be set up and variable references will not work.
Hence, split() and regex() and the variable evaluation functions will not work. The
threadNum() function will not work and it does not make sense at test plan level.

Referencing Variables and Functions

Referencing a variable in a test element is done by bracketing the variable name

with '${' and '}'.

Functions are referenced in the same manner, but by convention, the names of
functions begin with "__" to avoid conflict with user value names.

Some functions take arguments to configure them, and these go in

parentheses, comma-delimited. If the function takes no arguments, the
parentheses can be omitted. For example:
${__BeanShell(vars.put("name"\,"value"))}

Alternatively, you can define your script as a variable, e.g. on the Test Plan:
SCRIPT

vars.put("name","value")

The script can then be referenced as follows:

${__BeanShell(${SCRIPT})}
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The Function Helper Dialog

The Function Helper Dialog is available from JMeter's Options tab.

Using the Function Helper, you can select a function from the pull down, and
assign values for its arguments. The left column in the table provides a brief
description of the argument, and the right column is where you write the value
for that argument. Different functions take different arguments.

Once you have done this, click the Generate" button, and the appropriate
string is generated, which you can copy-paste into the test plan wherever you
need to.

Pre-defined Variables
Some variables are defined internally by JMeter. They are:

COOKIE_cookiename - contains the cookie value.

JMeterThread.last_sample_ok - whether or not the last sample was OK true/false. Note: this is updated after PostProcessors and Assertions have been
run.

START variables.

Pre-defined Properties
Some built-in properties are defined by JMeter. These are listed below. For
convenience, the START properties are also copied to variables with the same names.

START.MS - JMeter start time in milliseconds.

START.YMD - JMeter start time as yyyyMMdd.

START.HMS - JMeter start time as HHmmss.

TESTSTART.MS - test start time in milliseconds.

Note that the START variables / properties represent JMeter startup time, not the test
start time. They are mainly intended for use in file names etc.

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13. JMETER REGULAR EXPRESSIONS

Regular expressions are used to search and manipulate text, based on patterns.
JMeter interprets forms of regular expressions or patterns being used throughout a
JMeter test plan, by including the pattern matching software Apache Jakarta ORO.
With the use of regular expressions, we can certainly save a lot of time and achieve
greater flexibility as we create or enhance a Test Plan. Regular expressions provide a
simple method to get information from pages when it is impossible or very hard to
predict an outcome.
A standard usage example of using expressions is to get a session ID from
the server response. If the server returns a unique session key we can
easily get it using expressions in our load script.
To use regular expressions in your test plan, you need to use the Regular Expression
Extractor of JMeter. You can place regular expressions in any component in a Test
Plan.
It is worth stressing the difference between contains and matches, as used on the
Response Assertion test element:

contains means that the regular expression matched at least some part of the
target, so 'alphabet' "contains" 'ph.b.' because the regular expression matches
the substring 'phabe'.

matches means that the regular expression matched the whole target. Hence
the 'alphabet' is "matched" by 'al.*t'.

Suppose you want to match the following portion of a web-page:

name="file" value="readme.txt"
And you want to extract readme.txt. A suitable regular expression would be:
name="file" value="(.+?)">
The special characters above are:

( and ) - these enclose the portion of the match string to be returned

. - match any character

+ - one or more times

? - stop when first match succeeds

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Create JMeter Test Plan

Let us understand the use of Regular expressions in the Regular Expression
Extractora Post-Processor Element by writing a test plan. This element extracts text
from the current page using a Regular Expression to identify the text pattern that a
desired element conforms with.
First we write an HTML page which a list of people and their email IDs. We deploy it
to our tomcat server. The contents of html (index.html) are as follows:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<table style="border: 1px solid #000000;">
<th style="border: 1px solid #000000;">ID</th><th style="border: 1px solid
#000000;">name</th><th style="border: 1px solid #000000;">Email</th>
<tr><td id="ID" style="border: 1px solid #000000;">3</td><td id="Name"
style="border: 1px solid #000000;">Manisha</td><td id="Email"
style="border: 1px solid #000000;">manisha@domain.com</td></tr>
<tr><td id="ID" style="border: 1px solid #000000;">4</td><td id="Name"
style="border: 1px solid #000000;">joe</td><td id="Email" style="border:
1px solid #000000;">joe@domain.com</td></tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
On deploying it on the tomcat server, this page would appear as shown in the following
screenshot:

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JMeter

In our test plan, we will select the person in the first row of the person table seen in
the person list page above. To capture the ID of this person, let us first determine the
pattern where we will find the person in the second row.
As can be seen in the following snapshot, the ID of the second person is surrounded
by <td id="ID"> and </td >, and it is the second row of data having this pattern. We
can use this to match the exact pattern that we want to extract information from. As
we want to extract two pieces of information from this page, the person ID and the
person name, the fields are defined as follows:

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Start JMeter, add a Thread group Test Plan > Add> Threads(Users)> Thread Group.
Next add a sampler HTTP Request, select the test plan, right click Add > Sampler >
HTTP Request and enter the details as shown below:
o

Name: Manage

Server Name or IP: localhost

Port Number: 8080

Protocol: We will keep this blank, which means we want HTTP as the protocol.

Path: jmeter/index.html

Next, add a Regular Expression Extractor. Select the HTTP Request Sampler (Manage),
right-click Add > Post Processor > Regular Expression Extractor.

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The following table provides a description of the fields used in the above screenshot:
Field

Description

Reference Name

The name of the variable in which the extracted test will be

stored (refname).

Regular Expression

The pattern against which the text to be extracted will be

matched. The text groups that will extracted are enclosed by
the characters '(' and ')'. We use '.+?' to indicate a single
instance of the text enclosed by the <td..>..</td> tags. In
our
example
the
expression
is:
<td
id="ID">(+?)</td>\s*<td id="Name">(+?)</td>\s*

Template

Each group of extracted text placed as a member of the

variable Person, following the order of each group of pattern
enclosed by '(' and ')'. Each group is stored as refname_g#,
where refname is the string you entered as the reference
name, and # is the group number. $1$ to refers to group 1,
$2$ to refers to group 2, etc. $0$ refers to whatever the
entire expression matches. In this example, the ID we extract
is maintained in Person_g1, while the Name value is stored
in Person_g2.

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Match No.

Since we plan to extract only the second occurrence of this

pattern, matching the second volunteer, we use value 2.
Value 0 would make a random matching, while a negative
value needs to be used with the ForEach Controller.

Default

If the item is not found, this will be the default value. This is
an optional field. You may leave it blank.

Add a listener to capture the result of this Test Plan. Right-click the Thread Group and
select Add > Listener > View Results Tree option to add the listener.
Save the test plan as reg_express_test.jmx and run the test. The output would be a
success as shown in the following screenshot:

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14. JMETER BEST PRACTICES

JMeter

JMeter has some limitations especially when it is run in a distributed environment.

Following these guidelines will assist in creating a real and continuous load:

Use multiple instances of JMeter in case, the number of threads are more.

Check the Scoping Rules and design accordingly.

Use naming conventions always for all elements.

Check the default browser Connectivity settings, before executing scripts.

Add Listeners appropriately.

Here are some suggestion to reduce resource requirements:

o

Use non-GUI mode: jmeter -n -t test.jmx -l test.jtl.

Use as few Listeners as possible; if using the -l flag as above, they can
all be deleted or disabled.

Disable the View Result Tree listener as it consumes a lot of memory

and can result in the console freezing or JMeter running out of memory.
It is, however, safe to use the View Result Tree listener with only
Errors checked.

Rather than using lots of similar samplers, use the same sampler in a
loop, and use variables (CSV Data Set) to vary the sample. Or perhaps
use the Access Log Sampler.

Do not use functional mode.

Use CSV output rather than XML.

Only save the data that you need.

Use as few Assertions as possible.

Disable all JMeter graphs as they consume a lot of memory. You can view
all of the real time graphs using the JTLs tab in your web interface.

Do not forget to erase the local path from CSV Data Set Config if used.

Clean the Files tab prior to every test run.

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