[GUI Functional testing] Browser image improvements

Number of improvements were implemented in latest Charmander image release (v 2.7.7):

• Reduced size from 2.44 to 1.32 Gb
• Reduced CPU and RAM consumption
• Improved start-up performance by ~50%
• Improved execution performance by ~25%
• Improved security - 4 times less vulnerabilities

[GUI Functional testing] Default browser version selection is now available for Public Locations

Previously, we released the default browser option for Private Locations. Now you can select the default browser version for a Public Location as well. The default version is set to be the latest BlazeGrid browser version (Currently chrome: 85, firefox: 80). When we release new browser versions in Blazemeter, your test will automatically switch to the latest available browser version, so, you don’t need to manually update the browser version for all your tests.

 

 

[Performance] Added information in test results email

Now you can view more information in your test result email subject! These include 

details on the workspace, project, test name and the test result as “failed” or “passed.” In case the failure criteria was not set or a test ended with no data, your test result will be listed as “completed.”

You can then use these to create relevant rules in your inbox and make your process even more efficient.

 

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions now available 

We’ve added new browser versions including Chrome version 88, and Firefox version 80 - these versions are set as default. 

[Mock Services] Introducing BlazeMeter Virtual Services Environments

Our latest addition to Mock Services is the introduction of BlazeMeter Virtual Service Environment (BlazeVSE) – the Service Virtualization/DevTest VSE is now available as a single-click on-demand provisioning option from BlazeMeter CT platform – available in form of Docker container and also ready for seamless deployment on Kubernetes.

Highlights of BlazeMeter Virtual Services Environments:

• Same old, time tested VSE in a new avatar with modern form factor (containerized)
• Born out of ideation from SV Enterprise customers with emphasis on CI/CD compatibility and API-first focus
• Avoids complexities with install/upgrades using flexible containerized approach with no dependency on any Service Virtualization/DevTest components
• Supports *almost* all protocols as the on-prem SV/DevTest VSE, except those that require Agent (Java, CICS, JDBC)

Find out more details about BlazeVSE in the recent blog article.

[Performance] Running a yaml test with Taurus pass/fail module in Blazemeter now supported

Up until now, the pass/fail module in the yaml script was ignored by BlazeMeter, and users had to redefine it in the Failure Criteria section in the test configuration UI. With this new feature, we are translating the majority of Taurus pass/fail capabilities into Blazemeter’s Failure Criteria, so that when a yaml script is uploaded to Blazemeter the pass/fail module in the script will automatically appear in the test UI. 

Now you can also execute a test from Taurus with cloud provisioning, and the pass/fail module will be recognized by BlazeMeter and displayed in the report.  

 

 

[Performance] Test Email Subscribers: Control and Define Multiple Recipients

Now you can control and define a list of multiple subscribers to receive the test results email once the test run ends. To add people, just search other users in the workspace by their name or email address. 

 

 

Your test configuration is still in progress and you don’t want all subscribers to receive the email of this specific run? No worries, before the test starts, you can choose to send the test only to yourself:

 

Ship Creation: Native and Kubernetes Commands

Similar to the docker run command, the agent (ship) creation now provides an option to select the Kubernetes templates for roles and deployments used in the Kubernetes setup or the command to run the native Windows (non-docker) environment. 

 

 

Note that the Kubernetes template will require input from the end-user to properly prepare the yaml for use.

Ship creation: API for Kubernetes

 

We’ve improved the Kubernetes onboarding by providing an API that returns the service YML needed to deploy BlazeMeter’s ship on Kubernetes. Simply fill in the needed parameters and run the below command:

 

Curl https://a.blazemeter.com/api/v4/private-locations/<private_location_id>/ships/<ship_id>/k8s-command -X POST --user <Access_key>:<Secret>'

 

Example output (YML):

---

apiVersion: apps/v1

kind: Deployment

name: bzm-crane-5f3109442eab0d38bf2e8003

metadata:

 labels:

   roles: crane

   harbor_id: 5dc2b88zc929302cc776d373

   ship_id: 5f3109442eeb3d38bf2e8003

 name: crane

spec:

 replicas: 1

 selector:

   matchLabels:

     role: crane

     harbor_id: 5dc2b88zc929302cc776d373

     ship_id: 5f3109442eeb3d38bf2e8003

 template:

   metadata:

     labels:

       role: crane

       harbor_id: 5dc2b88zc929302cc776d373

       ship_id: 5f3109442eeb3d38bf2e8003

 spec:

   containers:

   - env:

- name: AUTO_UPDATE

 value: true

- name: CONTAINER_MANAGER_TYPE

 value: KUBERNETES

- name: HARBOR_ID

 value: 5dc2b88zc929302cc776d373

- name: SHIP_ID

value: 5f3109442eeb3d38bf2e8003

- name: AUTH_TOKEN

 value: 37b1d0dbd888fb98ce826edqb5c73d9v4d8e5bd8d21e65bd6981178d7e71a425

- name: A_ENVIRONMENT

 value: https://a.blazemeter.net

     image: blazemeter/crane:latest

     imagePullPolicy: Always

     name: bzm-crane-5f3109442eab0d38bf2e8003

   restartPolicy: Always

---

kind: Role

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1

metadata:

 namespace: ***USER INPUT REQUIRED***

 name: bzm

rules: [

- apiGroups: [\"\"] # \"\" indicates the core API group

 resources: [\"pods\", \"services\", \"endpoints\", \"daemonsets\"]

 verbs: [\"get\", \"list\", \"watch\", \"create\", \"update\", \"patch\", \"delete\", \"deletecollection\", \"createcollection\"]

 

[General] Taurus-cloud image footprint reduced

We’ve reduced the size of the Taurus-cloud image from 15.8 to 6 GB and the size of the Taurus-cloud-slim from 10.3 to 4 GB.

 

[Performance] Disable or enable overrides to Arrivals or Ultimate thread groups in a test

Now you can disable or enable overrides to these thread groups with just one click. When Arrivals thread group or Ultimate thread group are being used in a script, the Load Configuration section will be grouped together under one toggle, allowing you to decide if you want the load configuration to be defined in the UI (overriding the original threat group used) or to keep the load configuration as defined in the script (using the Arrivals / Ultimate thread group used in the script).
 

[Performance] Improved display for Failure Criteria results

 

We have switched the places of “Actual” and “Threshold” columns in the Failure Criteria tab under the report, so that the results are more readable: 

Since responseTime.avg threshold 500 ms is smaller than the actual result of 717.71 ms, the test failed.

We have also added two new conditions, “<=” and “>=” to the available failure criteria conditions, and rounded all the Actual values to 2 decimal places.

 

 

Enhanced data on your Private Locations

 

Now you can get even more information about your private locations. We’ve added more data on the ships that can be displayed, and for each agent you can now see the free disk space (both in GB and in percentage) and the image versions installed on the agent. To see this additional data, hover on the Information icon (“i”) in the Description column under the Private location page.
 

 

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions now available 

We’ve added new browser versions including Chrome version 84, and Firefox version 78 - these versions are set as default. 

 

[GUI Functional testing] Default browser version selection is now available for OPLs

If your OPL functionalities are configured to have default browser versions, you can select the default option in the browser version dropdown. The default version is set to be the latest BlazeGrid browser version (Currently chrome: 84, firefox: 78). If auto-update is disabled for OPL and the latest version is not installed on Ship yet, then tests will be executed using the latest ship browser version
 

Additional view in usage report

For BlazeMeter account admins, we’ve added a new chart under the usage report displaying the maximum number of virtual users per day. This allows you to easily identify those days with  high user  activity in your BlazeMeter account. Currently, the report shows performance and functional test usage. 
 

Session Timeout support

 

Now users will be automatically logged out after a configured amount of time being idle. For the definition of ‘idle’, viewing an open Blazemeter tab, even if no action is performed, still counts as an activity. You can define the session timeout on an account level. The configuration is accessible on the  “Security” (previously “API Keys”) page in the Account settings and is accessible for admins and account owners:

 

 

Once session timeout expires, the user will be logged out of Blazemeter. In case there’s a Blazemeter tab open when logged out, the user will get the following message, allowing him to re-login or refresh the page:

 

 

[Performance] Who modified my test?

 

We added the information for you to see who in your workspace has modified a test.

 

 

[Performance] Edit YML directly from test’s configuration

 

Up until now, changing a yaml file in a performance test was a long process of downloading, deleting and editing a file before uploading it back to the test. Based on customer feature requests, we added the option to edit YML scripts directly inside the script editor. We have also added an option to duplicate YML files, allowing users to keep the original script as a backup.

 

[API Monitoring] Locations Migrated from AWS/Rackspace to GCP

 

We have transitioned 11 of our API Monitoring Cloud locations from AWS and 1 location from Rackspace, to their respective Google Cloud Platform (GCP) locations. They are: US Virginia, US California, US Oregon, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, India, Canada, and London. The region codes for those locations continue to be the same, and users should not see any impact to their tests. For the complete list of locations and their providers, please check out our docs.

 

[Scriptless Testing] Scriptless Testing 

Users can now create automated GUI Functional Tests without needing to code! Just drag and drop actions into place using our new Scriptless Editor. All tests recorded in the Blazemeter Chrome Extension can also be edited and enhanced this way. 

Blazemeter Scriptless Testing includes many other capabilities like components, loops, custom code, conditionals, and a built in debugging experience . You can read more about it here.

 

[GUI Functional testing] Test Suites and Multiple Iterations available to all users

 

Now all users have access to have multiple iterations of a test, based on test data provided. You will also notice a new design for a test report.

 

The Test Suites feature is available for users with a Pro or customized plan. The feature allows the user to group tests in a suite and launch the whole suite instead of running each test separately.

 

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions available

 

We’ve added new browser versions including Chrome version 81, and Firefox version 76. 

 

 

Enhanced Timeline report filter results

 

We enhanced the analyzing experience in the timeline report and made it easier to focus on a group of labels. We added the options to select all or unselect all results when filtering by a label. In addition, you can always reset to default to start over even if labels are not filtered. 

 

Display N/A for unknown test duration 

In some cases we can’t determine the test configuration, for example when the script includes an Ultimate Thread Group. Up until now, the test duration displayed in the test configuration showed the plan limit.. Now, we simple display “N/A” when the duration cannot be determined.