Setting Up JMeter PerfMon Plugins for GUI and Non-GUI Server Performance Monitoring

Prerequisite: install the required JMeter PerfMon plugins.

1. jpgc-perfmon-2.1.zip (for the local machine).

2. ServerAgent-2.2.1.zip (to be deployed on the target server).

The tutorial uses Apache JMeter 3.2.

GUI monitoring of server performance

Steps:

Unzip ServerAgent-2.2.1.zip on the server, then run startAgent.sh (Linux/macOS) or startAgent.bat (Windows) to start the PerfMon Server Agent.

Unzip jpgc-perfmon-2.1.zip, copy all JAR files from its lib directory into JMeter’s lib folder.

After restarting JMeter, the GUI shows a new Plugins Manager menu and the listener jp@gc - PerfMon Metrics Collector , allowing you to add the target server’s IP, port and desired metrics.

Non-GUI monitoring of server performance

Because the GUI consumes additional resources, it is recommended to run tests in non-GUI mode.

Create a test plan file (e.g., xxx.jmx) that includes the PerfMon Metrics Collector with the server’s IP, port and metric definitions. Also specify the output file for collected data, e.g., log.jtl.

Execute the test in non-GUI mode:

jmeter -n -t xxx.jmx -l log.jtl -JforcePerfmonFile=true

When the run finishes, the raw data are stored in log.jtl. You can generate a summarized result file ( result.jtl) and open it in the JMeter GUI to view charts and tables of CPU, memory and other metrics.