JMeter Best Practices

In the decades since the very first release of JMeter, there has been considerable collective experience gained not only in best practices for performance test design in general, but also in the specific methods for creating JMeter tests. In this article, we will summarize best practices for creating a JMeter test plan. For further reading, a more in-depth discussion about best practices can be found in the JMeter users manual. Targeting the Latest Version of JMeterRead More →

JMeter Local Tests and the Console Status Logger

Though cloud-based load testing services such as RedLine13 allow you to easily scale your load test, the majority of JMeter test plans begin on the local machine. The JMeter GUI is used to assemble the major components. First tests begin inside the GUI, usually monitored with a listener. When transitioning your test to the cloud however, the user interface is stood down to remove the overhead and achieve scale. Local Tests from the Console As anRead More →

How to Regenerate JMeter Dashboard Report

The JMeter Dashboard Report is an HTML-based summary that can be generated from the results data of a JMeter test. When you run your load test with output files enabled on RedLine13, we automatically generate this report. However, this report can also be generated manually on your local machine using the JMeter GUI. Generating the Report Locally To generate the JMeter Dashboard Report on your local machine, begin by starting the JMeter GUI. Navigate to theRead More →

Running JMeter from the Local Command Line

JMeter can be run in two modes, with the more familiar GUI mode for designing tests. However, when running your load tests for production data gathering, it is recommended that it is run in non-GUI mode from a command line. This is in fact how load tests are run with RedLine13. But it is also possible to run JMeter in non-GUI mode on your local machine. There are instances where this is desirable, including debugging specializedRead More →

Using the JMeter If Controller

JMeter contains a built-in component that can assist in controlling the logical flow of a load test based on internal conditions. Using the If Controller, conditional logic can be set up to either run once for a group of elements, or optionally for each element within a set. Only if the specified condition is “true” will items within the If Controller be executed. Once added to a test plan, the If Controller acts as a containerRead More →

Using the HTTP Form Manager in JMeter

Form submissions represent a common use case for performance tests. If your JMeter test needs to automatically fill out form fields from a data source, this is classically done with extractors and variable substitution.  Depending on the number of fields in your form and the structure of your web page, this can become complicated.  To simplify this process, we will show you how to use the HTTP Form Manager plugin.  This component allows you to intuitivelyRead More →

Using the HTTP Form Manager in JMeter

It is not uncommon for network access rules to restrict traffic from undifferentiated traffic from major cloud providers. Such a practice for public-facing applications is a reasonable security measure. However, this can pose some challenges when performing load testing, especially with scale as these resources typically originate from within a large data center. In this brief article, we will show you how to set up X-Forwarded-For headers in JMeter to help navigate this issue and allow yourRead More →

JMeter 5.6.3

With the recent release of JMeter 5.6.3, you now have the option to select this version when running new JMeter tests on RedLine13. In addition to several bug fixes, there are a number of minor improvements and dependency upgrades as well. This release of JMeter is compiled with Java 17 and marks the beginning of the transition to that version of the platform. Future major releases of JMeter will require Java 17. Bug Fixes There areRead More →

k6 vs JMeter

When it comes to load testing, there are two platforms which must be mentioned.  k6 and JMeter have established themselves as the de facto standards in the performance testing space. In this article, we will compare and contrast the features of each, to help you better decide which technology is right for you. A Brief History JMeter was introduced more than 20 years ago, and in that time has become one of the most utilized performanceRead More →

Getting Started with k6 Load Tests on RedLine13

As one of the five major test types supported on our platform, RedLine13 offers the ability to run your k6 load tests in the cloud. Tests are defined in k6 using the JavaScript syntax, centered around simplicity and extensibility. It is a developer-centric performance testing tool that affords scalability to test designers for scripting, execution, and analysis of load tests. Since it was introduced, k6 has steadily risen in popularity to become one of the deRead More →