JMeter (Master/Slave)

Apache JMeter supports distributed testing through master/slave configuration, allowing load distribution across multiple servers. The setup can run via the graphical interface or in headless mode.

Installation Steps

Step 1: Java Installation

Download JDK 13.0.2 and install it via DEB package. Configuration includes:

• Installing the package with dpkg
• Updating system alternatives for java, jar, and javac commands
• Setting environment variables in /etc/profile.d/jdk.sh for JAVA_HOME, J2SDKDIR, and DERBY_HOME paths

# Install JDK package
sudo dpkg -i jdk-13.0.2_linux-x64_bin.deb

# Update alternatives
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2/bin/java 1
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/jar jar /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2/bin/jar 1
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2/bin/javac 1

Create the environment variables file:

# /etc/profile.d/jdk.sh
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2
export J2SDKDIR=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2
export DERBY_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk-13.0.2/db
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin

Step 2: JMeter Installation

Download Apache JMeter 5.3 and extract it:

wget https://mirrors.ukfast.co.uk/sites/ftp.apache.org//jmeter/binaries/apache-jmeter-5.3.zip
unzip apache-jmeter-5.3.zip

Step 3: Host Configuration

Configure network settings by identifying machine IP addresses and updating /etc/hosts with hostname-to-IP mappings on all machines (master and slaves).

# Example /etc/hosts entries
192.168.1.100 jmeter-master
192.168.1.101 jmeter-slave-1
192.168.1.102 jmeter-slave-2

Step 4: JMeter Properties Configuration

Edit jmeter.properties to specify slave IP addresses:

remote_hosts=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx,xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Step 5: Certificate Generation

Execute create-rmi-keystore.sh on the master server to generate encryption certificates. The resulting rmi_keystore.jks file must be distributed to all slave servers.

./create-rmi-keystore.sh

Step 6: Start Slave Servers

Launch JMeter server on each slave with jmeter-server, which initializes RMI connections with SSL encryption.

./jmeter-server

Step 7: Execute Master Test

Run distributed tests from the master:

jmeter -n -t examples/PerformanceTestPlanMemoryThread.jmx -r

The master orchestrates test execution across configured slave nodes and aggregates results.

Key Technical Details

• Java version requirement: JDK 13.0.2
• JMeter version: 5.3
• Operating system: Debian GNU/Linux 10 (Buster)
• Communication protocol: RMI with SSL encryption
• Execution mode: Headless/command-line

Further Reading

• Apache Remote Testing Documentation
• BlazeMeter Distributed Testing Guide