Load Testing Made Easy: Harnessing Microsoft Azure’s Strength

Load testing made easy with Azure integration

Securing the performance and scalability of online applications is crucial in the fast-paced digital environment. Azure Load Testing appears as a crucial tool in this endeavor when used in conjunction with JMeter scripts.

This blog post will discuss the value of Azure Load Testing with JMeter scripts and how it enables businesses and developers to evaluate, improve, and ensure the dependability of their apps under varied loads. Let’s explore the world of load testing and learn why it is so important in the current software development environment.

Here are a few advantages of using JMeter scripts with Azure Load Testing:

1. Scalability Assessment: Quickly evaluate how your application handles varying levels of user traffic.
2. Cost-Efficiency: Pay only for the resources you use during load testing, optimizing costs.
3. Realistic Testing: Mimic real user interactions for more accurate performance insights.
4. Seamless Integration: Integrate with Azure services for comprehensive monitoring and analysis.
5. Continuous Improvement: Identify trends and improvements in application performance over time.

Azure Load Testing with JMeter scripts streamlines the process, saves costs, and ensures a smooth user experience, making it a valuable tool in application development.

You want your application to be quick when you design it. Even when a large number of users are utilizing it, users should still perceive it as quick and effective. Additionally, even when your program is under load, it should continue to function correctly.

Knowing how your program will operate when it has numerous concurrent users can be challenging. Azure Load Testing can assist by applying a load to your application and evaluating how it responds.

In this article, we’ll use Azure Load Testing to evaluate the functionality of an existing web application.

Load testing with Azure involves using various Azure services and tools to simulate user traffic and assess the performance of your application. In this example, we’ll use Azure Load Test, Azure Virtual Machines, and Apache JMeter for load testing.

Step 1: Create a Load Test Azure

1. Log in to your Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com/).
2. Click on “Create a resource,” then search for “Load Test Azure” in the Azure Marketplace.

Create a Resource

Create a resource for Azure Load Testing

Step 2: Add details

1. Select a Resource Group
2. Fill in a Name
3. Select a Location
4. Click Review + create and then Create

Create a load testing Resource fill up the details accordingly

Review the details and create

Step 3: Sit back and wait until the deployment gets completed.

Verify that the deployment is complete

Step 4: Design Your Load Test

1. Navigate to the Azure Load Testing resource in the Azure portal
2. Select the Tests menu
3. Click on Create new test
4. In the Basics tab, enter a Test name
5. Click Next: Test plan
6. Select the JMeter script that you created and click Upload

Open your Resource and create a JMeter script

Create a test after adding appropriate details

Check the status after creating the test

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<jmeterTestPlan version="1.2" properties="5.0" jmeter="5.6.2">
  <hashTree>
    <TestPlan guiclass="TestPlanGui" testclass="TestPlan" testname="Test Plan" enabled="true">
      <stringProp name="TestPlan.comments"></stringProp>
      <boolProp name="TestPlan.functional_mode">false</boolProp>
      <boolProp name="TestPlan.tearDown_on_shutdown">true</boolProp>
      <boolProp name="TestPlan.serialize_threadgroups">false</boolProp>
      <elementProp name="TestPlan.user_defined_variables" elementType="Arguments" guiclass="ArgumentsPanel" testclass="Arguments" testname="User Defined Variables" enabled="true">
        <collectionProp name="Arguments.arguments"/>
      </elementProp>
      <stringProp name="TestPlan.user_define_classpath"></stringProp>
    </TestPlan>
    <hashTree>
      <kg.apc.jmeter.threads.UltimateThreadGroup guiclass="kg.apc.jmeter.threads.UltimateThreadGroupGui" testclass="kg.apc.jmeter.threads.UltimateThreadGroup" testname="jp@gc - Ultimate Thread Group" enabled="true">
        <collectionProp name="ultimatethreadgroupdata">
          <collectionProp name="-315923326">
            <stringProp name="53">5</stringProp>
            <stringProp name="0">0</stringProp>
            <stringProp name="48873">30</stringProp>
            <stringProp name="1567">10</stringProp>
            <stringProp name="10">10</stringProp>
          </collectionProp>
        </collectionProp>
        <elementProp name="ThreadGroup.main_controller" elementType="LoopController" guiclass="LoopControlPanel" testclass="LoopController" testname="Loop Controller" enabled="true">
          <intProp name="LoopController.loops">-1</intProp>
          <boolProp name="LoopController.continue_forever">false</boolProp>
        </elementProp>
        <stringProp name="ThreadGroup.on_sample_error">continue</stringProp>
      </kg.apc.jmeter.threads.UltimateThreadGroup>
      <hashTree>
        <HTTPSamplerProxy guiclass="HttpTestSampleGui" testclass="HTTPSamplerProxy" testname="homepage" enabled="true">
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.postBodyRaw">false</boolProp>
          <elementProp name="HTTPsampler.Arguments" elementType="Arguments" guiclass="HTTPArgumentsPanel" testclass="Arguments" testname="User Defined Variables" enabled="true">
            <collectionProp name="Arguments.arguments"/>
          </elementProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.domain">microsoft.github.io</stringProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.protocol">https</stringProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.path">/AzureTipsAndTricks</stringProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.method">GET</stringProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.follow_redirects">true</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.auto_redirects">false</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.use_keepalive">true</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.DO_MULTIPART_POST">false</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.BROWSER_COMPATIBLE_MULTIPART">false</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.image_parser">false</boolProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.concurrentDwn">false</boolProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.concurrentPool">6</stringProp>
          <boolProp name="HTTPSampler.md5">false</boolProp>
          <intProp name="HTTPSampler.ipSourceType">0</intProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.implementation">HttpClient4</stringProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.connect_timeout">60000</stringProp>
          <stringProp name="HTTPSampler.response_timeout">60000</stringProp>
        </HTTPSamplerProxy>
        <hashTree/>
      </hashTree>
    </hashTree>
  </hashTree>
</jmeterTestPlan>

Above is the example for the Jmeter script

1. Click Next: Parameters (Here we can create failure criteria that state when the test fails.)
2. Click Next: Review + create and then Create to create the test. It will run automatically when it is created

Configure test criteria

Review and create the test after the test criteria is added

When the test is done, it will show the results in the overview. This includes the load, response time, error percentage and throughput.

Once the test result is complete you can download the results

Conclusion

In conclusion, Azure Load Testing provides an important tool for evaluating and improving application performance. It is an excellent option for load testing needs due to its Azure connection, scalability, and affordability.

However, your particular project requirements and skills should be taken into account while selecting a load testing instrument. You have a powerful tool to assist guarantee your applications function at their best with Azure Load Testing.

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