Apache Jmeter: Everything you Need to Know

Apache JMeter is a free and open-source system for performance testing. It enables you to simulate workloads and users of your web applications to test how your applications will perform when used by real users.

What is Apache Jmeter?

Apache JMeter has been an open source platform for assessing the performance of websites and applications since 1999. JMeter was initially created as a load testing tool for the Apache HTTP Server. Still, over the past 20 years, it has expanded into a powerful performance testing platform used by engineers, developers, and DevOps worldwide.

JMeter is currently the world’s most well-liked performance testing tool, and many public and private enterprises utilize it. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook use JMeter to ensure their systems operate as efficiently as possible.

Small businesses, like e-commerce sites, also use JMeter to test their It provides an extensible framework that enables you to build highly scalable, versatile, and expressive tests. It can be used to load test web applications, measure the performance of web applications, validate web applications, and much more.

It was created to assist businesses in increasing performance and efficiency by locating and fixing issues with their websites and applications before their users even become aware of them.

It is a web-based software instrumentation platform used to identify regions of an application that need to be enhanced, areas where the program is functioning effectively, and locations where it is not. It can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of various performance improvement approaches by measuring how well they work.

Software engineers and performance testers use Apache JMeter to test the performance of web applications, web services, and other software.

What are the top features of Apache Jmeter?

Apache JMeter is an established product with more than a decade of development and millions of downloads. It has a wide range of features and a sizable user community that supports it.

• It is available in an open source platform and can be used for both load testing (multiple users access to the web services concurrently) and stress testing (maximum load the web server can handle).
• Apache Jmeter supports multithreading and offers a simple interface for organizing and creating performance test sequences.
• Supports a variety of servers and protocols: Able to do performance and load tests on a variety of servers and browsers, including Web – HTTP, HTTPS, SOAP, database via JDBC, LDAP, JMS, mail – POP3, SMTP, etc.
• Jmeter is also quite expandable and thus compatible with various plug-ins and third-party integrations.
• It tests the performance of static resources (JavaScript and HTML) and dynamic resources ( JSP, Servlets, and AJAX).
• System administrators can also use it to test the functionality of hardware, such as the server’s performance or the network’s speed.
• You can create personalized performance reports and export your performance information to CSV files.
• It allows you to collect and analyze performance statistics and a model and simulate complicated web interactions.
• It also aids in identifying, addressing, and avoiding performance issues with your web applications and services.

What are the advantages of learning Apache JMeter for a tester?

An effective tool for performance testing is Apache JMeter. It can be used to simulate user traffic, find issues, and keep track of outcomes. Learning JMeter will help testers to conduct advanced troubleshooting and analytical activities, test the functionality and defects of websites and web apps, and more. This will enable testers to offer their clients more excellent services and support.

Apache JMeter offers several benefits for a tester, such as the ability to test REST APIs, different browsers in a virtualized environment, and both functional and non-functional requirements. It may be used to test practically any web application or website because it offers many functions.

It gives testers various options, including assessing the functional capabilities of web services and apps and gauging load sturdiness and platform compatibility.

It is helpful for software testers to transfer testing tools for different servers and browsers since Apache JMeter offers comprehensive features for executing customized tests on protocols like HTTPS and HTTP for web, SOAP, POP3, JMS, and SMTP.

On the growth front, new data from Global Market Insights Inc. projects that by 2027, the market for software testing will have surpassed USD 60 billion. Therefore, undoubtedly, there will be a need for more software testers, given the enormous demand for this service.

How to download and install Apache JMeter?

The performance testing of websites and applications is the need of the hour for any organization. The performance testing tool is necessary because performing manual performance tests is not recommended in today’s growing space of usage and complexity.

The performance testing tool with the highest level of industry confidence is JMeter. This section may teach you how to download and install JMeter on your computer.

One of the prerequisites for installing Apache JMeter is Java. Java software must be installed on the machine before JMeter is installed.

How to check the Java installation on your system?

Run cmd from the command prompt and enter “java -version”.

If you have Java installed, it will show you the most recent version as shown below:

If you don’t have java software, you can download it from the Java site.

The second step is to install Apache JMeter.

Go to the JMeter website

Navigate to the binaries section as shown below and download the available zip file as shown below.

JMeter’s installation is straightforward. After you extract the downloaded zip file and expand the directory, you will notice a list of directories and other files.

Navigate to the bin folder and start the JMeter batch file to run the Jmeter console.

The JMeter GUI console will be opened as shown below: Now that you have understood the installation process, you can create your test plan in JMeter with the help of different elements.

This completes the installation of JMeter.

How to use Apache JMeter for load testing?

Before starting the testing of a website or web application few factors need to be checked, such as:

• The server is accessible to JMeter.
• Firewalls must be disabled or relevant ports must be opened.
• Nodes must be connected to the same subnet.
• Versions of JMeter and Java should be the same across all computers to ensure smooth testing.
• You have either enabled or disabled SSL for RMI.

How to do performance testing using Apache Jmeter?

Apache JMeter can assess the performance of dynamic Web applications and static resources. It can be used to simulate a significant load on a server, set of servers, network, or other objects to test an object’s load or assess overall performance under various load types.

Primarily there are three steps to accomplish performance testing including adding a thread, mentioning HTTP tasks, and adding a listener. These three are briefed in the below steps:

Thread

A Thread Group element should be added as the first step in each JMeter test plan. The Thread Group instructs JMeter on how many users to simulate, how many requests each user should send, and how frequently they should send them.

Open the JMeter console, select the Test Plan with the right click, rename it, and then navigate to Add -> Threads (Users) -> Thread Group.

After selecting Thread Group, three crucial choices need to be changed in this thread section, including

1. The number of threads (users): Represents how many real people you wish to emulate. Each thread will execute the test plan entirely and independently of other test threads. Multiple threads are used to simulate concurrent connections to your server application.
2. How frequently users should send queries during the ramp-up period (in seconds).
3. How many queries should these users submit in a loop?

HTTP requests

Now that the number of users completing the test is stated in the thread section, it is time to specify the tasks that they will be carrying out. You will describe the default options for your HTTP queries in this section. Navigate to Add → Sampler → HTTP Request.

The HTTP request section will appear as shown below:

In this section, the tester must provide the information for the website or server that has to be tested in the web server section. In some circumstances, providing the testing server’s server name or IP address alone would be sufficient, leaving the other protocol and port number fields’ default values in place.

Adding a Listener

The addition of a listener is the last component of testing. The function of the listener is to give a visual representation of the data and save all of the responses to your HTTP queries in a file. The option can be selected from the listener section depending on how the data is presented, such as in a graph, table, tree view, etc., as shown below.

Once every configuration step has been finished, it is time to run the test. To run the test plan, go to the toolbar, click the green button displayed below, or press Ctrl+R.

The test results will be presented in the manner that was chosen in the Listener section. The result can be shown in a table format, as in the example below.

Learn Apache JMeter

The free Apache JMeter course on Udemy covers the fundamentals of JMeter more straightforwardly, including how to do performance testing, and offers Jmeter hints and suggestions.

The course’s online videos cover the fundamentals of JMeter, recording in JMeter, and other HTTP requests. This complete course of 10 lectures might benefit test engineers.

JMeter Tutorial for Beginners

In-depth information about JMeter is provided in this Edureka tutorial. It covers the fundamentals, benefits of adopting an open source platform, and how to conduct performance testing, downloading, and installation.

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It also describes the various JMeter parts, such as Thread Group, Samplers, Listeners, and Configuration Elements, which are crucial for testing. There is no charge for this course.

JMeter: Performance and Load Testing

This course is available on the LinkedIn platform and covers how to develop and run load tests and identify performance issues using Apache JMeter in this course. The instructor walks you through setting up JMeter and the JRE on Windows before demonstrating how to construct and execute your first load test.

The course also highlights how to run your load test using the CLI, improve it by adding timers and assumptions, and visualize your findings in various ways by building an HTML dashboard while the CLI is running. This course is presented in the video tutorial, and the course is paid for.

JMeter Tutorial For Beginners

You will learn JMeter use cases, how to install and use it, load testing, performance testing, and API testing in this Simplilearn JMeter course. The course consists of four video lessons that last an hour in total.

Each video includes detailed explanations to assist newcomers in learning how to use JMeter for performance testing.

Learn Apache JMeter by QAInsights

QAInsights Academy’s JMeter course comprises 16 in-depth lessons covering everything from JMeter’s fundamentals to building blocks, recording, HTTP requests, data parameterization, Groovy scripting, and distributed load testing remotely topics.

Conclusion

Worldwide, web applications are created and developed on a large scale. With so many possibilities, customers only choose the software programs that deliver the most significant outcomes.

Apache JMeter is an open-source testing tool with no licensing fees. It is a desktop application built on the Java programming language that enables testing of client-server programs like databases, FTP servers, websites, online services, etc.  

Jmeter, a pioneer, would get vast recognition, so professionals adopting a carrier as a software or application tester would get good elevated prospects in the future.