What’s new for May 2023? 

[Test Data] Test Data Management page in BlazeMeter menu

The Test Data Management screen is now accessible from the BlazeMeter menu bar to provide easy access to test data definitions stored within a workspace.

Additionally, the indicator of currently running tests got its own place and title to provide a quick overview of currently running tests. 

[Test Data] Extend CSV file functionality 

BlazeMeter Test Data supports the ability to add additional columns to already existing CSV files – making the content more dynamic via synthetic data generators. Now, it is possible to extend CSV files even “vertically” by generated content – i.e., to generate new rows in case the content of the original CSV is not long enough for the specific testing needs. 

[Test Data] Clone data entity parameter 

In cases when there is a need to create multiple similar data parameter definitions, the new functionality “clone data parameter” is extremely useful as it saves clicks and unnecessary typing and makes the process faster than before. 

[Test Data] Filter seedlist values 

BlazeMeter Test Data provides many built-in seedlists of values like sample first names, last names, cities, addresses, and so on. There are cases where a test scenario requires just a specific subset of these values – e.g., cities from a specific state only. The newly introduced data generator function randFromSeedlistFiltered() helps return only subset of seedlist values based on the provided filter. For more details, check the BlazeMeter Documentation. 

[Test Data] Display ID of entity 

Especially when using API to interact with BlazeMeter Test Data functionalities (for example, when integrating BlazeMeter Test Data with Perfecto tests), users commonly must deal with IDs of data entities. The BlazeMeter UI now provides an easy way to copy data entity IDs to your clipboard. 

[Test Data] Private values in Test Data Orchestration 

Test Data Orchestration provides a way to keep test data in sync with a test environment or external services. It relies on HTTP APIs and very often these APIs require some authentication in order to proceed. To avoid exposure of authentication secrets like passwords, tokens, API keys, etc., the Test Data Orchestration settings provide a way to define private properties that are never exposed in UI screens or logs. 

[API Monitoring] API updates for User management APIs 

The ability to invite users to API Monitoring via API calls has been extended by the option to provide the user group and role that the invited user will get upfront. This significantly simplifies automated flows as the invitation and role and group assignment happen as one request and not as a series of asynchronous steps that are difficult to automate. 

In addition, the user management API now returns the user role within the user details. 

The BlazeMeter API documentation provides more details and examples related to this enhancement. 

[API Monitoring] Swagger import improvements 

The ability to create API Monitoring tests based on Swagger and OpenAPI specifications has been improved to simplify test creation even more. 

• Users can now choose whether multiple paths defined in Swagger or OpenAPI should be merged into a single test with multiple steps, or into multiple tests for each path. 
• Swagger and OpenAPI specifications can now be imported in YAML format in addition to JSON format. 
• If the specification contains a “servers” declaration, API Monitoring will automatically create initial variables to capture various hostnames of the provided APIs, so users can easily switch between them. 

• Swagger and OpenAPI specification can be provided as URLs if they are hosted and not only by file upload. 
• If the responses in specifications use a specific Content-Type, users can optionally instruct API Monitoring to add an Accept header to the API requests to fully exercise the response media type contract during testing. 

[API Monitoring] Run data-driven API requests in sequential order 

By default, data-driven API tests are running data iterations in parallel. This parallelization speeds up test executions, but it could cause trouble for systems and test scenarios that expect sequential processing of data. There is a new mode that enables execution of data iterations in sequential order. 

[API Monitoring] Radar agent 1.13 

A new version 1.13 of the Radar Agent has been released. It improves compatibility, stability, and logging of  flows where trusted SSL/TLS certificates are used. For more details, check the Radar Agent changelog in the BlazeMeter documentation. 

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions now available 

We’ve added new browser versions including Chrome version 86, and Firefox version 81 - these versions are set as default.

[Performance / GUI Functional testing] Project filter is now available for Recent Test Runs list

Now it’s possible to filter recent test runs by project in the workspace dashboard.

[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.

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions now available

We’ve added new browser versions including Chrome version 87, and Firefox version 83 - these versions are set as default.

Executive Summary Reports now show logo by default 

Now the account logo will be shown as a default in the thumbnail of the Executive Summary reports. To upload a logo,  go to settings, click on the account name and add the logo URL:

Enhanced Password Security Policy 

To keep with our strong password policies, all new users will be required to choose a password with at least 1 special character. 

[Performance] Network Emulation - Now you can define bandwidth limit per engine

We’ve added a new option to the Network Emulation configuration in a test, allowing you to limit the bandwidth per engine.

[GUI Functional testing] Suggested CPU and RAM requirements for browser images reduced

Due to browser image improvements introduced in previous releases, we lowered the suggested CPU and RAM requirements by halfs to 1 CPU and 1024 RAM instead of 2 and 2048.

[GUI Functional testing] New browser versions now available 

We’ve added a new browser version - Firefox 84.

[GUI Functional testing] Project page updated

Choose only the useful columns you want to see for your tests in a project. We've also added the last 10 test run results and columns configurator to the project page. The new “Last Results” column allows you to see a bigger picture for your project and quickly navigate to a test run.

[GUI Functional testing] Infinity scroll added for browser sessions dropdown

Browser sessions dropdown in a GUI test report used to have a limitation of max 100 sessions. Now, you’ll be able to see all the sessions of your tests with high concurrency.

[Performance/GUI Functional testing] Search for "Show all reports" & "Show all tests" Tabs

You can now search all items beyond those currently available on screen when you search at “Show all reports” and “Show all tests” tabs.

[Taurus/GUI Functional testing] Automatic page load waiter added

Starting with Taurus-cloud version 1.20.121, there is an automatic page load waiter executed after each Taurus action. This was added to make Selenium tests execution more reliable with less false negative results. As well as to align with Chrome Extension debugger behavior.

What’s new for March 2023? 

[Mock Services] Client certificate support for all "live" execution modes – Outbound 

Mock Services now supports the ability to provide client certificates when calling external APIs. Client certificates can be added to the following when calling live endpoints -  

- Mock Services  

- Transactions level 

- Webhooks  

- HTTP processing actions  

In addition, a new functionality for storing and retrieving certificates has been added. Every uploaded certificate will be stored in the ‘Certificate store’ and can be reused later.

[Mock Services] New transaction priority level added 

By default, every transaction when created is set to priority level of 10. A new priority level of 20 has been added to Mock Services, which can be set on transactions that are required to be matched after the other ones with priority of 10.  Say on import of 100 transactions, 10 of them are ‘anything’ transactions that should be matched only after the specific 90 are matched. In this case, those 10 transactions can now be set to priority of 20 which would enable those transactions to be matched only after the ones with priority of 10.  

[Mock Services] XPath/JSONPath Enhancements 

Keep/Retain JSON/XML sample with transaction 

In the Request Matcher --> Selection Wizard --> when a sample payload is used to create XPath and JSON Path matchers, that sample payload is now saved and retained along with the transaction, so you can always go back and revisit the sample payload that created the request matchers.  

XPath/JSONPath wizard in sync with existing XPath/JSONPath matchers 

When XPath or JSON expressions are used to create their matchers, those matchers are kept in sync with the Selection Wizard so we can see the matchers that were created with the expressions.  

Add Regular expression option to Xpath/JSONPath wizard 

On the Selection Wizard for matchers, when the nodes are displayed, the Match Type is either specific or anything. A third option called 'RegEx' has been added which supports matching using Regular Expressions.

[Mock Services] Ignore Namespace option 

When matching, this option of ‘Ignore Namespace’ allows matching even when the namespace is different.  

[Mock Services] Failover mode - Transaction redirect to Live service, if failure then Mock Service responds 

With this option is enabled, when a transaction that makes a call to a Live System endpoint, if the endpoint errors out or fails, the transaction responds with it’s configured response instead.  

[General] taurus-cloud image update 

Here is a detailed description of all the UI-level and Application-level changes, divided into several categories:

JMeter Versions: 

• The new taurus-cloud image contains two JMeter versions 
• “Latest” which is set to 5.5 as of March 27, 2023 
• “Stable” which is set to 5.4.3 as of March 27, 2023  

• All (older) JMeter versions except for these two were completely removed from the new taurus cloud image. 
• “Latest” will be updated whenever JMeter releases a new version.  

• “Stable” will be updated only after the BlazeMeter team reviews a released JMeter version.  
  • The result of the review process must confirm that the candidate for a new “Stable” version doesn't introduce bugs or critical vulnerabilities. 
  • As JMeter does not support multiple versions in parallel, BlazeMeter’s labeling of a “Stable” JMeter version provides guidance to customers as to which version might be the best fit in different situations. 

• By default, all JMeter or Taurus YAML JMeter tests, regardless of the JMeter version that they were created with, will run with the “Stable” version of JMeter.  
  • From the dropdown in the test creation/configuration screen, users will have the option to select the “Latest” or the “Stable” version.

• The dropdown configuration of all the existing tests will be migrated with the following logic: 
  • The dropdown of all tests configured with auto-detect, or with a specific JMeter version that is lower or equal to 5.4.3, will be set to the “Stable” version (5.4.3). 
  • The dropdown of all tests configured with JMeter 5.5 won’t be changed. 

• A warning tool tip will be visible in the validation status section of the test creation/configuration screen whenever BlazeMeter detects that an uploaded JMeter script was created with a legacy JMeter version: 

• Tests created in legacy JMeter versions will run on the JMeter version selected in the dropdown (“Stable” or “Latest”). In addition, a warning message will be displayed in the test-run dialog box:
   

Java Versions: 

• The new taurus-cloud image will contain only supported Java versions. 
  • Only Java 8 & 11 as of March 27, 2023.  
  • NOT contained are Java 7 & 9, which are no longer supported.  

Private Locations & Cloud Engines: 

• This change is being rolled out to our customer base in cohorts.  
• Once an account is configured to use the new taurus-cloud image, all agents (engines) that are configured to automatically update (auto-update=true) of all Private Locations (OPLs) of said account will get the command to initiate the download of the new taurus-cloud image 
  • Depending on network connection speed it can take up to several hours for the image to download completely  
  • At this point (March 27, 2023), the major version of the new taurus-cloud image is set to “2” (e.g. 2.0.9) 
  • No user action needed  

• All tests set to run on cloud locations will use the new taurus-cloud image. 
  • No user action needed 

Vulnerabilities: 

• Maintenance of the new taurus-cloud image involves constant vulnerability reviews. As of March 27, 2023, the new taurus-cloud image has 0 critical vulnerabilities. 
• The BlazeMeter team is committed to continuously reduce the number of non-critical vulnerabilities as much as possible. 

JMeter Version Auto-Detect: 

• The JMeter Version Auto-Detect toggle enables BlazeMeter to detect the JMeter version used by a Taurus YAML JMeter or JMeter file.  
  • If the detected version is not available in BlazeMeter’s image, Taurus will attempt to download the specified JMeter version. 
  • This includes legacy JMeter versions. 

• Account Admins can decide to enable the JMeter Version Auto-Detect functionality (off by default). This can be done by going to Settings -> Account Settings -> Environment.

• It is recommended to only enable this option in situations where it is temporarily needed. 
• Once enabled, every newly-created test will be configured to run with “auto-detect”. Existing tests will maintain their original dropdown configuration. 

• The Test Booting Screen is now updated with more information for improving your testing experience.

We’ve added details about the test status, test name, script name, whether dedicated IPs are used and the status of each session - multi-location/multi-test. We’ve also enlarged the elapsed time indicator and moved links to learning resources to the bottom left.

• The New Private Location (On-premise Load) architecture enables easier installation.

Are you testing your system behind a firewall? You’ll be happy to hear that we’ve made the installation process of our on-prem testing much simpler.

• The Usage Report is refined with more information.

We’ve updated the Usage Report both in the UI and the CSV document. Six columns have been added:

• Charge Type
• Credits Used
• Plan Name
• Report Notes
• First Sample
• Last Sample

Note: You can enjoy the improved reporting abilities for data created as early as January 2017.

• The API Test Maker supports Open Authentication (OAuth).

​We’ve enabled adding OAuth tokens to your API tests.

• The API Test Maker supports model level test generation.

​We’ve added the ability to create tests for every operation in your API with the single click of button.

• The Quick Test in the API Test Maker supports Private Locations.

​We’ve enabled executing API Quick Tests by using Private Locations behind a firewall.

• The API Test Maker supports ad hoc changes to API Keys and Basic Auth.

​We’ve added the ability to make changes to the API Key or Basic Auth for your API tests without having to regenerate all of your tests. Your authentication changes are automatically applied to your tests the next time you execute them.

• BlazeMeter now supports JMeter 3.2!

• Manage your invoice details

Do you need to update your company or personal details in your invoice? Now you can make the changes by yourself.

In the Billing section of your Account Settings we added a section for “Billing Details”.

You can add your Name, Email, Company Name, Phone, Address details and VAT Number.

• Support for JMeter 3.3 - we’ve updated our engines to support the newest JMeter version

• Filtering of labels in Request Stats tab

When viewing the test report, you can now easily filter the labels in the requests stats tab. Select the ‘settings’ icon found in the top right corner. In the pop up, under the select labels tab, select the desired labels you wish to see.  Here’s a 25-second demo:

• Azure: 13 more locations for a total of 26

We have doubled the number of Azure locations, adding new locations in Korea, India, Australia, Canada, US and UK. Have a look at the locations drop-down to see them all.