What are JMeter Plugins And How to Install Plugins Manager
Apache JMeter is one of the most potent tools for load testing. By default, JMeter has many features, but one of the best features is that it is open-source software. Therefore any interested party could develop additions that go to extend its capabilities and insert functions.
These additions are named plugins. Developers have already created a massive variety of many useful plugins which is cool and shows Jmeter plugin manager communities' strength. Jmeter has listed a lot of available Jmeter plugin managers.
We can search through the 71 available plugins on the website and hopefully find the one that fits our requirements. The website also has much more useful information such as guides, descriptions, uses statistics, and a support forum.
This user statistics page contains valuable information like graphs showing the percentage of known Jmeter plugins version installations over time. There is also a list of available plugins managers sorted by the number of general users.
What are the 10 Jmeter Plugin Managers?
As Jmeter plugins are a potent tool for building load tests let us take a look at the ten most popular available JMeter plugins:
1. Three Basic Graphs
Three essential graph plugin extenders extend Jmeter plugins with three listeners, namely active threads over time, response times over time and transactions per second. This listener is going to provide us with information and KPI is about our load testing results in a graphic form enabling us in analysing our performance best success and making it easier for deciding on future steps for our website or app. The plugin could be installed by using the plugins manager as the three basic graphs plugin or as a part of jpgc standard set of plugins.
2. JSON Plugins
Installing the JSON login provides one more sample and post processors for the JSON to XML converter sampler as the JSON format post-processor and the JSON path extractor. These elements have a set of tools that enable us to work comfortably with data in JSON format. The plugin manager could install the plugin as a JSON plugin.
3. Inter Thread Communication
Installing the inter-thread communication plugin will extend Jenkins Jmeter plugin functionality with an inter-thread communication post-processor, inter-thread communication pre processor and many functions.
Inter thread communication indicates that we could put a string value into the queue from one thread group and then obtain that value in another thread group. This feature helps us in synchronising separate thread groups. The plugin could be installed by using the plugin manager as inter-thread communication for or as a part of jpgc standard set plugin.
4. Flexible File Writer
This plugin is used for extending Jmetre with the flexible file writer listener. This site is designed for writing test results into the file in a flexible format, which we could specify by using the Jenkins Jmeter plugin GUI. The plugin could be installed by using the plugin manager as a loose file writer or as a part of the jpgc standard plugins set.
5. Throughput Shaping Timer
This plugin adds Jmeter’s functionalities, namely the throughput shaping timer, particular property processing and schedule feedback function, as these elements enable limiting the test throughput and ensure that we fail our required throughput value.
The plugin could be installed by using the plugin manager as throughput shaping timer or as part of jpgc standard set of plugins. This exciting time area was designed for controlling requests per second for server during the test run.
6. Custom Jmeter docker functions
This custom Jmeter functions plugin is used for extending the number of useful Jmeter functionality functions and here is a list of them:
- Choose randomly: use for choosing a random value from the list of arguments.
- Double sum: use for calculating the sum of floating-point values.
- Env: decision environment variable value
- Isdefined: it determines if the variable has already been defined
- MD65: computes the MD5 hash of string or variable value
- Base64encode: encode string variable value with base64 algorithm
- Base64decode: use for decoding a string variable value with base64 algorithm
- Strlen: calculate the length of constant string and variable value
- Substring: returns a substring of a particular string
- strReplace: used for replacing a part of the string with another string
- strReplaceRegex: used for replacing all the substances that satisfy the regular expression with this replacement string.
7. Dummy Sampler
The term is employed for emulating the work of requests and responses without running the actual right. Request and response data is defined using the sample as field, as it is a very convenient way for debugging post-processor and extractors. The plugin could be installed by using the plugin manager as a dummy sampler or as part of the jpgc standard set plugin.
8. Custom Thread Groups
The custom thread group plugin is used for adding five thread group types, namely stepping thread group, ultimate thread group, concurrency thread group, arrival thread group and free form arrival thread group. These five thread groups are used for opening his possibilities for creating required schedules for test runs.
These plugins could be installed by using the plugin manager as custom thread groups or as a part of jpgc standard set plugin. The stepping thread group also adds convenient ways for creating non-linear thread scheduling. More of the scheduling scenario is in the form of stairs.
9. Perfmon Servers Performance Monitoring
This JMeter docker plugin is used for extending Jmeter with the performance service monitoring listener. This listener allows us for monitoring CPU, memory, swap, discs input-output and networks input-output of the service load. This plugin could also be installed by using the plugin manager as per servers performance monitoring or as a part of jpgc standard set plugin.
10. Plugins Manager
One of the most popular plugins is the plugins manager and for an excellent reason. Generally, a user is required to install the plugin manager before installing other plugins. The plugin manager is one of the most convenient ways of managing Jmeter plugins. Below instructions for installing the plugin manager:
This Jmeter plugin manager has three primary tabs, namely installed plugins, available plugins and upgrades. The tab named install plugin contains a sequence of installed plugins, add description area on the left and review changes area at the bottom.
Available plugin tab consists of a list of available plugins, add description area on the left and review changes area at the bottom. We can use the search for finding all the plugins for fitting our needs.