JMeter - Adding HTTP Header Manager

Adding HTTP Header Manager

Another very useful default element is the HTTP Header Manager Configuration element. This element can either be added to the Test Plan and configured manually as an afterthought, or we can simply use the recorded Browser-derived headers element as included in the recording.

For convenience, we will choose the latter option. Once the Proxy Server records the homepage request, stop the recording. You will find a Header Manager for this page is being captured, as Browser-derived header. Simply click and drag this element to the top of the current scope of the HTTP Proxy Server. Notice that I have removed the Referer, since we want to create a default for the remaining HTTP Requests. Following is a snapshot of this change.

Now you may de-select the Capture HTTP Headers option in the Proxy Server element, since we have the default header.

Let the Recording Begin...

Let u s proceed with the recording following the test cases in the previous table as our guide. As you record each page, select the specific tags or page elements the correctness of which you want to validate and add them to the Patterns to Test section in the Response Assertion element of each sampler. This may take most of your recording time, since as you record, you need to decide carefully which page element(s) would be the most effective measure of correctness. There are plenty of developer tools available to help you in this possibly tedious task. My favorite is the Inspect Element feature in Firebug, a Firefox browser add-on by Mozilla. You may choose patterns that you would expect to see or otherwise by selecting or deselecting the Not option at Pattern Matching Rules section.

After recording is completed, you may rename and organize your samplers, as you move them to the Test Plan (refer to the following figure). You may want to add a few more Configuration elements in your Test Plan, as in my sample shown in the following snapshot:

• I have added User Defined Variables, two more Listeners, and a Constant Timer with a constant delay of 2 seconds after the request for each page was completed. The Assertion Results listener is used with the Response Assertion elements, to summarize the success or failure of a page in meeting the validation criteria defined in each Response Assertion.