What is our primary use case?
We're primarily using the solution for its performance. It's on our data center.
How has it helped my organization?
The tool has been a great help to our organization, which is focused more on quality testing as opposed to performance testing. It's provided a lot of insights. With the digital transformation that is currently happening, the need for that shift was rather critical.
What is most valuable?
The performance of the solution is excellent.
They have designed the product so that it is very easy to configure.
You can basically do anything you like with the product. It's not very restrictive.
We like the fact that the technology is open-source.
What needs improvement?
The user interface could be improved. If they had better UI, it might make it easier to use.
You really need a technical team in order to really utilize the product.
The scalability could be better, or the process of scaling itself could be a bit more clear.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for a couple of years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is quite good. There haven't been any issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash of freeze. It's very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Nobody ever has used any tool to its full capacity, including this one. Half of the time it's how you set up and how your environment is. We can easily scale on cloud. So far, we're worried about its ability to scale. Our setup is basically a hybrid cloud where we can have private data centers and we can know exactly where each is located. However, the scaling is a big concern for me. I'm looking at BlazeMeter as well, and, although I've only really read about it, it looks like it scales quite well. With scaling, I'm sure I'll find more complexities, especially if I look into kiosk testing. I'll want to explore further test cases.
Currently, those that are on the product are mostly testing communities approaching it from a performance aspect. Every project is different and therefore the number of users goes up and down.
How are customer service and technical support?
There isn't really a need for tech support with JMeter. There is a vibrant community, which is a good way for a lot of users or developers to go on and post a question and get an answer. The team prefers it this way. It's a positive aspect of JMeter.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have some experience LoadRunner, however, it is expensive for what it offers. This product is open-source which makes it affordable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. My team was very hands-on. They didn't struggle with the UI at all and it wasn't too complex for them. That said, if a person with lesser skill levels, maybe someone who has a lower skillset, may struggle a bit with the implementation. It's geared slightly towards more technical users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is an open-source solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I understand the Apache also has something called BlazeMeter, which is something I recently looked into.
What other advice do I have?
I'm not quite sure which version of the solution our team is using right now. It's likely the latest version. We did the upgrade on our tools in 2019. It's open-source, and therefore everybody picks up the latest one.
As an open-source tool, there's a good community surrounding it. If you have automation frameworks or a DevOps pipeline, you can connect that and easily configure everything to streamline processes. Due to the fact that it's open-source, you don't have to wait to get the approvals and the budgets in order. That part alone can take months to sometimes years. If your company has the time, they should review the tools. If it seems to fit your organization, I'd recommend trying it out.
Overall, I would rate the solution seven out of ten. It's a good open-source tool that you can configure easily, and it's very competitive in the market in terms of usability
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.