JMeter - Using HTTP Proxy Server to Record Page Requests

Using HTTP Proxy Server to Record Page Requests

As in recording requests in Chapter 5, you will need to include the HTTP Proxy Server element in the WorkBench. Some configuration will be required, as shown in the following snapshot:

Configuring the Proxy Server

Simulating Create Account and Login User scenarios will require JMeter to make requests for the registration and login pages that are exposed via HTTPS. By default, HTTP Proxy Server is unable to record HTTP requests. However, we can override this by selecting (checking) the Attempt HTTPS Spoofing checkbox.

Selecting Add Assertion will be especially useful as we add specific patterns of the page that we want to evaluate as a later part of this exercise. The Capture HTTP Headers option is selected to capture the Header information as we begin recording. However, to make the recording neater, we will keep this option unchecked.

In addition, since we do not require images in our testing, in the URL Pattern to Exclude section, add these patterns: .*\.jpg, .*\.js, .*\.png, .*\.gif', .*\.ico, .*\.css, otherwise these image files, which are not necessary for our testing, will be recorded causing unnecessary clutter in our recording.

A useful addition to this element is the HTTP Request Default element, a type of Configuration element. Since this Test Plan will employ multiple HTTP request elements targeting the same server and port, this element will be very useful. The web server name will not be captured for each HTTP Request sampler record, since the Request Default element will retain this information. With a little configuration change in this element, it allows the Test Plan to run even when the application is the deployed to a different server and/or port. The following snapshot is the HTTP Request Default element that we will use for this exercise.

As we use this default element, our subsequent recording never needs to append the Server name. The result of our recording of the first page is shown in the following snapshot: