How to sort/get desired URLs properly in WorkBench and Run it in TestPlan of JMeter?

Question

I have to record and run Jmeter test using WorkBench so that I have recorded using Proxy[See the image]. Lists all the URLs

I know I can sort/get the urls by using 'URL Patterns to Include' option in HTTP(S) Test Script Recorder. When recording it lists out all the URLs including .gif, .png, .ico etc.

URL Patterns to Include

I have two doubts to clear.

1. When recording what is the criteria to give in 'URL Patterns to Include' - to record desired URLs only. (Desired URLs I meant is for example, if I am recording a website developed in PhP, I need all PhP links only. ie, home.com/index.php, home.com/contact.php, home.com/about.php). Now it records all the URLs where I cannot see the desired links. How to get .php or main link URLs(we see in browser URL)?

2. Regarding running a test in Test Plan contains the URLs that I have cut-paste from WorkBench(recorded using Proxy), do we need to add all the recorded URLs including .gif, .png, .ico etc or just add the specific URLs(say home.com/about.php) only? If I run using only the specific URLs, whether the result will be correct as we excluded other URLs like .gif, .png, .css etc ?

Answer 1

You don't need to record these .gif, .ico, etc. files separately as this is not how real browsers work.

Real browsers do main request to the HTTP endpoint followed by concurrent download of so called embedded resources: images, scripts, styles, etc. In order to make your JMeter test to behave more like a real browser you need to:

1. Exclude these requests from recording. Click "Add suggested excludes" button in the HTTP(S) Test Script Recorder (or even better re-record your test scenario using JMeter Recording Template feature)

   

   You can create a recording test plan by selecting File -> Templates -> Recording -> Create from JMeter's main menu.

2. When it comes to test execution add HTTP Request Defaults to your Test Plan, switch to the "Advanced" tab and tick Retrieve All Embedded Resources and Parallel Downloads boxes

   

   If there are images, banners, whatever coming from external servers you can filter them as well via URL(s) must match box in form of Perl-5 compatible regular expression.

See Web Testing with JMeter: How To Properly Handle Embedded Resources in HTML Responses article for more information on dealing with embedded resources in JMeter tests.