What is our primary use case?
I use JMeter for concurrency and some backend services. We are also using JMeter to apply our tests within our framework by sending some requests to JMeter to assess our application's performance. My company is developing software based on data analytics that produces insights and graphs like Tableau or Power BI. We use JMeter to test the graphs, how the tables are rendered, and how long it takes to render some applications.
For instance, we have a problem with one of our clients that use some complex scenarios or queries that take too much time to retrieve from the application or render to the end user. We ran a couple of tests on the application using JMeter and spotted the service or request that was taking too much time.We alerted the developers about this, and they took the appropriate action to fix this problem. Afterward, we run another cycle of JMeter to ensure everything is working as expected.
There are two modules. The analytics module is the interface for the stakeholders and company decision-makers. The number of users isn't that big, unlike the retail applications websites. It's 500 users at most. The other module is deals with data volume. We are currently doing some POCs to check whether we will benefit from JMeter in this area because it's not a concurrency issue. It's a data volume issue.
We have a hybrid deployment because we are using JMeter to assess the performance of our products. If the product is deployed on the cloud, we use JMeter on the cloud. If it's on-prem, we are using it on-prem. At my previous company, we mainly used JMeter on-prem.
I expect that we will continue to rely more on JMeter, and we have multiple DevOps pipelines using JMeter to test another module in our application.
What is most valuable?
I use all the tools, but one feature that stands out is JMeter's ability to test when services are sending a particular kind of request. We are using specific ports to send queries, and assess the performance based on the time it takes these queries to respond. You can use it with stuff other than the web performance.
What needs improvement?
The UI needs some work. The first time I used JMeter, I couldn't record the full scenario to mimic the user experience. Since then, they have introduced some plugins and a third-party tool called BlazeMeter. It's working on this, actually.
It's an excellent plugin that you can use to record the scenario from Google Chrome, and it integrates easily into JMeter. They could also make it easier to generate the built-in report. Now, you run the tests and generate the charts in a separate column. The graphs and charts that display the test metrics could be better.
I worked with another tool called Web Performance Tester, and its interface is better than JMeter's. They have intuitive graphs while you are running the tests, so you can see how things are going. It shows you the number of concurrent users logged into the system, the number of failures, response times, etc.
For how long have I used the solution?
I worked in performance testing from 2011 until 2019. I was working with another tool, but in the last few years, I started using JMeter for a couple of projects.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's hard to say definitively. When there's something wrong with JMeter, we're unsure whether it's something in the device because there are lots of requests coming from the machine. Maybe we didn't use it that many times from our local server. There are some bottlenecks, but in many cases, we only need to restart JMeter, and it works fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
JMeter is scalable. I did a test using it in a distributed environment with more than one client. We used JMeter to load from the server and also the plugin tool. It works fairly well in a complex environment. I still need to research the maximum concurrent JMeter can handle. Is it 1 billion or 10 million?
In my work experience, I need to load maybe 1 million users. For example, most of my work is on the backend of e-commerce websites with a maximum of 1,000 users. We have many clients, but the load is not that big.
How are customer service and support?
I don't think JMeter has technical support because it's an open-source application, but there is support for third-party apps that use JMeter. For instance, BlazeMeter has good technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have more experience in a tool called Web Performance Tester, but it has some limitations. For example, it doesn't support some forms. A long time ago, their support was better, but lately, their support hasn't been so good. They always ask us to switch to the consultancy service and they don't give us the solution. If we face problems, they always tell us, "Okay. You can consult us." This is not a good practice, actually.
Also, Web Performance Tester isn't well-known, so some of our clients aren't confident in it because it doesn't have a reputation. They were more familiar with JMeter, and it's something I've used. However, I have no problem with Web Performance Tester. It's hard to compare the two tools because it's not apples to apples.
I joined this company in October, and they had just started using JMeter. Previously, they were using a tool that they had developed in-house. They found that JMeter has more capabilities and specificity than the tools they were using.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up JMeter is straightforward. It doesn't need an installation like other tools. There is a batch file for Windows. Around four people in my organization are responsible for maintaining and managing JMeter.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
JMeter is a free open-source tool. There are some third-party tools built on top of JMeter that have a license or something like BlazeMeter. I think you can also purchase some additional services.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Apache JMeter eight out of 10. Before using JMeter, you should find some tutorials because you need to be trained to use it. It's not a plug-and-play tool. This is what I did. Spend some time researching JMeter's capabilities. We met a lot of people who knew about JMeter, but when you tell them that it can do something, they're not aware of it.
For instance, through taking some courses, we learned that JMeter has distributed performance capabilities. Some people still know that you can't make these recordable scenarios. This information hasn't reached everyone in the IT market.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.