JMeter Parameterization: The Complete Guide

JMeter parameterization is an important process. But there are multiple approaches you can take. Learn about all of them in this blog.

Table of Contents:

• What Is JMeter Parameterization?
• 3 Approaches For JMeter Parameterization
• Final Thoughts on JMeter Parameterization

What Is JMeter Parameterization?

Parameterization in JMeter is the act of creating variables that will provide many different configuration options on a load testing script.

For example:

• Variables to login with different credentials on a web service
• Variables to use different environments (dev, master, etc.)
• Variables to search for a list of products in an e-commerce site

No wonder parametrization is one of the main aspects in performance tests creation.

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3 Approaches For JMeter Parameterization

Now we will talk about the different approaches to parameterization using JMeter.

1. Using External Files

In JMeter, one of the common ways to parametrize your performance scripts is to use a CSV file. Let’s see how this works using one of the examples that we explained earlier: login with different credentials. Let’s assume that we have a login request that works for one specific user:

Final Thoughts on JMeter Parameterization

Correlations operate side by side with parametrization. After parameterization, correlation is the process of capturing and storing the dynamic response from the server and passing them on correctly to subsequent requests.

You can learn more from this blog post: “How to Handle Correlation in JMeter”.

You can handle correlations manually, using extractors to save data in variables, or automatically, using a plugin called “Correlation Recorder”. This plugin enables you to easily load test applications with dynamic variables. The plugin records the dynamic variables and automatically correlates them during the recording time, instead of having to manually apply correlations to each request and response.

To learn more about the “Correlation Recorder” plugin visit this post.

That’s it! You now know a number of ways to parameterize your tests. To learn more tips and hacks for building your JMeter testing scripts, try out our free BlazeMeter University.

This blog was previously published and has since been updated for accuracy and relevance.

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