JMeter for Performance Testing
We now live in a digital era where we don’t like to wait. We need everything fast. People are busy, impatient. So no chance for delays. Especially in software applications that we use to ease our work and save more time.
Did you know that a delay in page loading just by 1 second can cause huge chaos at the end of the day? Yes, It does. It results in fewer conversations, fewer page views, and overall reduces customer satisfaction. This can be translated into a loss in real dollars. Now it is clear that performance is crucial. So does the performance testing. This article is about a popular performance testing tool called JMeter.
Apache JMeter is an open-source tool designed in pure java. Its initial intention was to perform load testing for web applications. But now, we can use JMeter to perform load and stress testing on web applications, web pages, databases, the REST web services, and more. Also, it is being widely used in optimizing the UI and functional testing of your application.
JMeter has several features that caused its popularity among the performance testers. I first started using JMeter, when I was working in a startup. We know that budget is a limitation when it comes to a startup or a small-scale company. JMeter is the tool that I used to do load testing for the first time. Here are the features that made me choose JMeter, over many other testing tools.
- JMeter is pure Java platform software. Therefore it is platform-independent and suitable for all environments. Also, it is free and open-source software. This makes it accessible even for small-scale companies like startups.
- Easy installation and setup make it easy to use. Furthermore, it provides a GUI which is simple and easy to learn. By making it even more user-friendly compared to other performance testing tools.
- There are many tutorials, reading materials, and resources to learn. JMeter does not require extensive knowledge in programming. So even if you are a beginner in automation testing or even a beginner to programming, you can still use JMeter.
- You can easily use JMeter for load testing, stress testing. It stimulates multiple users by creating virtual users. Apart from load and stress testing, this is used for functional testing, regression testing, and endurance testing as well.
- JMeter provides visualized test results. Which can be viewed in graphs, trees, tables, etc. It allows test reports in XML and CSV formats.
- Furthermore, it provides record and playback options when performing a test. These features make it easy to understand the test results and keep track of the progress in performance optimization.
How to set up JMeter?
As mentioned, JMeter requires only a couple of steps to install. Since it is has built on the java platform, you need to install Java on your machine. If Java is already there, you can Download Apache JMeter to your system. Then you can run JMeter in GUI mode and start testing. Simple as that. But you have to check the version of the Java SDK and confirm it works with the JMeter version that you download.
To start with, launch JMeter using these two simple steps.
- Go to the file you downloaded and open the bin folder
- Select the JMeter.bat if you use Windows or JMeter.sh if you use MAC
You can even use the command prompt and select the file.
- open command prompt.
- Windows:<File path>\apache-JMeter-5.4.3\bin\JMeter.bat
- MAC:<File path>\apache-JMeter-5.4.3\bin\JMeter.sh
How does JMeter work?
JMeter Stimulates several virtual users to create a load. It then sends requests to the targeted server. The server starts responding to these requests as soon as they are received. These responses are collected and saved by the JMeter. Then used to calculate statistical information and then represented in the reports generated.
I hope you got some idea about the tool and when to use it. JMeter comes in handy even if you are a beginner in performance testing. It is easy to learn and easy to use. Do not hesitate to give it a try. Happy testing!
