Introduction to JMeter for Beginners
Apache JMeter is a powerful, open-source Java application for performance testing and measuring software services. It simulates a heavy load on servers, networks, or objects to test their strength or analyze overall performance under different load types. JMeter is versatile, supporting various protocols and services, including HTTP/HTTPS for web applications, SOAP/REST for web services, and JDBC for databases. Its intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) simplifies the process of creating and managing test elements, making it accessible for beginners and experienced users alike.
To get started with JMeter, you can download the application from the official Apache JMeter website. After downloading and extracting the binary files, you can launch JMeter by executing the jmeter.bat file (for Windows) or jmeter script (for Unix-based systems) located in the bin directory.
Understanding Different Types of Performance Testing
Performance testing is a broad field with several subcategories, each designed to assess specific aspects of an application’s performance. Here are the common types:
Load Testing
Load testing involves applying a consistent and expected load to an application to determine if it can sustain the anticipated demand. This helps identify performance bottlenecks before they become issues for real users.
Stress Testing
Stress testing pushes an application beyond its normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, to identify how it fails and what its maximum capacity is.
Spike Testing
Spike testing examines an application’s reaction to sudden and extreme variations in load. This type of testing is crucial for applications that may experience bursts of user activity.
Endurance Testing
Endurance testing, also known as soak testing, involves subjecting an application to a significant load over an extended period. This can reveal issues that might arise with prolonged system activity, such as memory leaks.
How to Load Test a Web Application with JMeter
Load testing a web application with JMeter involves simulating multiple users or HTTP requests to test the application’s performance under stress. JMeter’s GUI facilitates the creation of a test plan, which includes elements like Thread Groups, HTTP Request samplers, Listeners, and Assertions. While JMeter operates at the protocol level and cannot interact with web elements like a browser, it can record HTTP requests and their parameters during user interactions.
For more complex scenarios, such as those requiring user authentication, JMeter can record user actions with a “Recording Sampler.” This feature captures HTTP requests and parameters, which can then be edited and used to simulate realistic user behavior. Correlation techniques, such as the Regular Expression Extractor, allow dynamic handling of session IDs, cookies, and tokens for subsequent requests.
Before recording, it’s necessary to import JMeter’s SSL certificate into the browser and set the appropriate proxy settings to match the port specified in JMeter’s Recording Sampler.
Importing JMeter’s SSL Certificate and Setting the Proxy
To record user actions accurately, JMeter requires the browser to trust its SSL certificate. The steps to import the JMeter certificate into a browser like Chrome are as follows:
Access the browser’s settings.
Navigate to advanced settings and manage certificates.
Import the JMeter certificate located in the bin directory of the JMeter installation.
Setting the browser’s proxy to match JMeter’s Recording Sampler involves:
Accessing the browser’s proxy settings.
Disabling automatic proxy detection.
Enabling the use of a specific proxy server.
Entering “localhost” and the port number used by JMeter’s Recording Sampler.
Recording User Actions with JMeter’s Recording Sampler
To record user actions in JMeter:
Launch JMeter and select the “Recording” template.
Configure the recording parameters and create the template.
Start the recording, navigate through the application, and perform the desired actions.
Stop the recording and review the captured HTTP request samplers.
Copy the samplers into a Thread Group and remove the Recording Sampler.
Execute the test plan to simulate the recorded user actions.
Alternative Recording with Blazemeter Plugin
An alternative to JMeter’s built-in recording capabilities is the Blazemeter Chrome extension. This plugin simplifies the recording process by eliminating the need for proxy settings and certificate importation. After recording, the plugin generates a JMX file that can be imported into JMeter for further customization.
Key Performance Indicators in JMeter
JMeter provides several key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness of a test:
Throughput: Measures the number of requests per unit of time.
Latency: Represents the time delay between sending a request and receiving the first response.
For a deeper understanding of how to utilize JMeter’s capabilities, including advanced topics like correlation, you can explore further tutorials and resources, such as the next steps in JMeter correlation.
Digital signage such as LEDs has changed the way businesses advertise their products and services. LED display boards are bright, vivid, and help in advertising businesses in a fun and interactive way. Gone are the days when businesses used to put traditional banners that used to take days for the paint on them to dry completely. Now every second is precious; businesses want to use the time to promote their products and services. When we go out, how many times are we intrigued by a message (text, video, or image) on the LED panels? LED display boards make it easy to grab the attention of the audience. It is not always easy to come up with something that turns the heads of people. LED displays don’t disappoint; they attract new customers and help to retain the existing ones.
Where do you see digital panels? You must have seen them in shopping malls, restaurants, airports, hospitals, sports stadiums, etc. LED displays fulfil many purposes; they are not only great for businesses, but they also help viewers with the information. In train stations and airports, people who are boarding need flight information; LED panels to help them with the same. People want to know if the flight is on-time, are there any delays, etc. Also, in the food industry, LED panels are very popular as they help in attractive, delicious-looking pictures of food in hotels and restaurants that people can’t resist buying. Apart from that, restaurants change their menu with the change in season. It costs a lot to print the menu every season. LED displays save paper wastage and provide an economical solution to restaurants.
In sports stadiums, LED screens to help businesses reach their message to people who are watching in the stadium as well as those who are watching the live coverage at home. Many brands grab this opportunity to promote their products and services. Businesses pay for displaying their advertisement on the big screen. It’s a great way to build business credibility as well as brand recognition.
We see LED displays in hotels, where they provide information about the hotel, welcome messages to customers, and reduce the perceived waiting time. It is said that when people are busy watching something on the LED displays, the perceived waiting time decreases. When your guests are asked to wait, they feel irritated; LED displays are a great way to pass their time and, at the same time, promote the services that you provide at the hotel.
In retail showrooms, LED screens are a common sight. People get attracted to a store when they see product descriptions, discounts, and offers on the LED displays outside the store. They are a great way to attract customers and engage them. Attractive video or image on the LED displays entices customers, and they come to the shop to buy products. Shops that use LED displays see an increase in sales. Through LED displays in shops, customers get to know about the benefits of the product, and they develop trust and go on to buy the product. When there is less distance between the advertisement and the actual product, there are increased chances of customers buying the product. There have been many experiments that show that customers pay attention to LED signage. Customers get attracted to colourful videos, text, and images on the digital displays. Many customers don’t like shopkeepers convincing them to buy products; with the help of LED displays, salespeople don’t have to convince customers; LED displays can do that task without bothering customers. LED screens are a great way to convince people; businesses can post stats on them to convince customers.
One of the major advantages of LED screens is that they can be used outside as well as inside. Outside LED screens are sturdy; they work fine even in extreme weather conditions. Even in rain and thunderstorm, they don’t go out of order. Traditional billboards have this major problem that they can’t withstand harsh weather conditions, and it takes several days for the paint on them to dry completely. LED display boards save money as you don’t have to repaint them like traditional banners after heavy rain. Indoor LED panels are a great way to tell customers about your products in an interesting way. Outdoor and indoor LED panels help businesses save money and advertise in a cost-effective manner.
LED displays can be operated from anywhere, you need an internet connection, and you are good to go. With a wi-fi connection, they can be remotely operated. You can control them from anywhere with just a few clicks.
Final Words
LED display boards to provide perfect opportunities for businesses to advertise their products and services and engage customers. LED displays are used by a variety of industries, and if you are not using them yet, start using them and see the difference.
You know the wafer handlers can be integrated to generate a fully automated probe station. It is very challenging and contains a general understanding of the process.
Talking details into the wafer handling, it is the material handling portion of the probe system. It is usually integrated with the prober and comes with cassette holders, wafer handling end effector robot with a safe enclosure of the environment. The wafer handling technique is capable of handling different wafer sizes, which vary from 75mm to 300mm.
If we talk about its integration into a fully automated probe station, they are generally equipped with the wafer handler. Let us discuss its process in detail:
The fully automatic systems are used for the production, or whenever there are some needs like no human handling at all, thin wafers or a multi-purpose system to test the wafers, wafers mounted over the frames, wafers sawn, stretched on the frames or the trays of the die. Most manufacturers usually prefer fully automated probe systems to lessen the wafer handling, damage, and the relevant price attached to it. It is mainly in the case while producing wafers 200mm and larger than it.
Let us talk about the features of the wafer handling robot WFH series:
Proven reliability in the two decades of the semiconductor equipment wafer handler applications.
Real-time force sensing over entire axes for the operator and the water safety
The cleanliness surpassing Class 1, semiconductor equipment needs
The wafer handler robot with unmatched throughput, reliability as well as precision.
Easy in using high-level commands, self-teaching, and extensive fault and recovery intelligence.
The integral or off-axis pre-aligner or barcode reader.
The direct optical encoding of the entire axes yields wafer placement repeatability.
Availability of the 3 to 8 semiconductor wafer capability with not at all electromechanical changeovers.
It can be well-integrated with the Kensingtons’ extraordinary architecture of precision motion control equipment.
It is capable of building integrated and supportable automated wafer handling robot systems economically.
In fact, wafer handling end effectors hold a long history of semiconductor wafer fabrication operation. The Kensington end effectors innovations have advanced wafer processing capability. These indulge 300mm edge grip for narrowing the particle performance and through-beam technology for the wafer mapping.
While checking cleanliness and environmental control, the gushing manufacturing process is considered the wafer handling equipment. It has mounted from the semiconductor devices manufacturing, and that is also within the semiconductor wafer front end industry.
Kensington Laboratories suffice the clients’ significant requirements and perform its best to bestow the comprehensive and best scope of the items from ADOs, wafer handling end-effectors, and wafer handling robots at a very affordable rate.
Moreover, Kensington robot stage repair units are crafted to reduce downtime and improve productivity at a certain level. It can be further rapidly and easily installed on-site by the customers without any help of the particular tool or testing.
Kensington Laboratories is the leading supplier of wafer handling robots, precision motion control, linear stages, rotary stages as well as integrated stages that are made to meet the demanding needs. The system merges the nanometer scale precision and fine resolution capabilities with robust performance to meet the customer requirements for better reliability, long operational life, and low cost of ownership.
After the pandemic hit the world lot of businesses, have gone online, and the eCommerce industry is booming because of people shopping at their homes. Setting up an eCommerce website can be easy, but what’s more challenging is keeping it secured.
Hackers target eCommerce sites because it stores financial and personal information of their customer. Ensuring security in eCommerce sites is becoming crucial with the increase of cyber-attacks.
One single data breach can expose tons of vital personal and financial information that will result in loss of reputation and maybe the business’s end. If you want to maintain your business’ reputation and customer base, you must implement high-end security measures.
Don’t let hackers get the opportunity of attacking a website lacking security. You can take the help of the below safety measures to ensure complete protection to your e-commerce business.
Different ways to protect your e-commerce store
Use the right e-commerce platform & Hosting
If you want to secure your e-commerce site, you need to find the right platform and hosting. There are many e-commerce platforms available such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, etc., choose the one that offers better security features.
Also, when you’re going for hosting your business, make sure to use a dedicated hosting plan and server. It will add extra protection to prevent security breaches and cyber-attacks.
Create SSL certification
SSL certificates not only provide a high level of security but also helps your website in ranking high in search results. You will ensure not only your customer but also the search engine that your website is secure.
Hackers find it difficult when trying to buy the security if you add SSL certification to your site. With this, you can protect and acquire the trust of customers.
Data Encryption
Data transmission if not encrypted, is quickly intercepted by hackers and gets access to sensitive data. By using the SSL certificate, you can provide encryption to every transmission of data.
It would make it impossible for hackers to read any data, and that’s why encryption of the information is so important.
If there is an older database, delete them
According to PCI standards, an e-commerce site is never allowed to store customer’s information on servers such as credit card numbers, personal information, expiry dates, etc.
Most of the e-commerce platforms allow you to delete older data store in your server database. Keeping such data for too long can give attention to hackers to steal sensitive information.
So, if you want to protect critical information, you must delete any or old customer records from cookies or server.
Always follow PCI regulations
If your business accepts online or offline payment via debit cards or credit cards, then you must follow the PCI security standard rules. Companies that lack in obeying the regulations are the ones who can’t secure their stored data.
So, if you don’t want to put your business data at risk and face legal charges, then you must follow PCI regulations.
Implement Strong Firewall
When you implement a strong firewall such as Kaspersky Total Security, it helps your business to stay protected from dangerous viruses. Whenever there is any suspicious activity on the network, you will get instant alerts.
Also, make sure to keep the firewall updated to get extra security against cross-site scripting hacks and SQL injections.
If you have employees, train them
It’s not only you who needs to educate about e-commerce security but also your employees should. You should train and educate them about how to keep every data safe and deal with security threats.
From learning how to create strong passwords to identify spam emails, they should be trained about cybersecurity. Also, they should know-how plan for disasters such as hacking, cyber-breaches, etc.
Final Thoughts
We’re living in the 21st century where everything is getting technical. The fact that technology is advancing, there is no stop to it. When it comes to e-commerce, the owner must ensure an added level of security to enhance the customer experience.
If you’re able to provide complete security on your e-commerce store, the customer will stay secured and happy when doing shopping. Therefore, follow the safety measures provided in this article and build a secured e-commerce site.