What is Jmeter?

JMeter from the Apache Software Foundation is a Java application tool designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since expanded to other test functions. JMeter can be used to simulate a heavy load on a server, network or object to test its strength or to analyze overall performance under different load types.

JMeter is not a browser

JMeter is not a browser. As far as web-services and remote services are concerned, JMeter looks like a browser (or rather, multiple browsers); however JMeter does not perform all the actions supported by browsers. In particular, JMeter does not execute the Javascript found in HTML pages.

Further Information About JMeter

The important functionalities of Jmeter is that a heavy load on a server can be stimulated by using it, not on a server but also a heavy load on a network or object to test its strength under different load types. A graphical analysis of performance can also be done by using Jmeter or the behavior of your server/script/object can also be tested under heavy concurrent load.

Before going any further lets see how to install it and required things.

Requirements

• JMeter requires a fully compliant JVM 1.5 or higher because JMeter uses only standard Java APIs, please do not file bug reports if your JRE fails to run JMeter because of JRE implementation issues.
• Operating Systems: JMeter is a 100% Java application and should run correctly on any system that has a compliant Java implementation. JMeter has been tested and works under:
  • Unix (Solaris, Linux, etc)
  • Windows (98, NT, XP, etc)
  • OpenVMS Alpha 7.3+

Installation: To install a release build, simply unzip the zip/tar file into the directory where you want JMeter to be installed. Provided that you have a JRE/JDK correctly installed and the JAVA_HOME environment variable set, there is nothing more for you to do.

Note: there can be problems (especially with client-server mode) if the directory path contains any spaces.

Running Jmeter: To run JMeter, run the jmeter.bat (for Windows) or jmeter (for Unix) file. These files are found in the bin directory. After a short pause, the JMeter GUI should appear.

There are some additional scripts in the bin directory that you may find useful. Windows script files (the .CMD files require Win2K or later):

• jmeter.bat - run JMeter (in GUI mode by default)
• jmeter-n.cmd - drop a JMX file on this to run a non-GUI test
• jmeter-n-r.cmd - drop a JMX file on this to run a non-GUI test remotely
• jmeter-t.cmd - drop a JMX file on this to load it in GUI mode
• jmeter-server.bat - start JMeter in server mode
• mirror-server.cmd - runs the JMeter Mirror Server in non-GUI mode
• shutdown.cmd - Run the Shutdown client to stop a non-GUI instance gracefully
• stoptest.cmd - Run the Shutdown client to stop a non-GUI instance abruptly

Unix script files; should work on most Linux/Unix systems:

• jmeter - run JMeter (in GUI mode by default). Defines some JVM settings which may not work for all JVMs.
• jmeter-server - start JMeter in server mode (calls jmeter script with appropriate parameters)
• jmeter.sh - very basic JMeter script with no JVM options specified.
• mirror-server.sh - runs the JMeter Mirror Server in non-GUI mode
• shutdown.sh - Run the Shutdown client to stop a non-GUI instance gracefully
• stoptest.sh - Run the Shutdown client to stop a non-GUI instance abruptly