Visualizing tests in Grafana

Grafana is a tool integrated into PFLB Platform and used to visualize load test data. You can use Grafana to graphically represent time series and text data. For more information, see Grafana documentation.

The Grafana dashboard consists of panels with a visual representation of the running test.

PFLB Platform has three dashboards:

• the main dashboard with test run metrics

• the dashboard for comparing the results of two test runs

• the dashboard with system metrics

View test run metrics

To view test metrics in the Test Runs page, use one of the following methods:

• During the test execution:

  1. In the Test runs in progress pane, click Test Details.

  2. Click Detailed stats:

     

• After completing the test, open the test run and click Detailed stats.

The main Grafana dashboard then opens:

View system metrics

You can configure system metrics when creating a set of settings.

To view system metrics of the test run in the Test Runs page, use one of the methods:

• During the test execution:

  1. In the Test runs in progress pane, click Test Details.

  2. Click Detailed system metrics:

     

• After completing the test, open the test run and click Detailed system metrics.

The dashboard with system metrics then opens:

Metrics

PFLB Platform collects and analyzes the following metrics:

Metrics	Unit of measurement	The main dashboard	The comparison dashboard
Total Requests	Piece	Yes	Yes
Failed Requests	Piece	Yes	Yes
Received Bytes	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Sent Bytes	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Error Rate	%	Yes	No
Total Throughput	RPS	Yes	Yes
Active Threads	Piece	Yes	Yes
Errors per second	RPS	Yes	Yes
Transactions Response Times (95th pct)	ms, s	Yes	Yes
Response Time per Individual Request	ms, s	Yes	Yes
Sent Bytes per Transaction	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Received Bytes per Transaction	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Sent Bytes per Individual Request	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Received Bytes per Individual Request	B, KiB, MiB	Yes	No
Errors per Transaction	Piece	Yes	No
Error Info	Piece	Yes	No
CPU Usage	%	Yes	No
Mem Usage	%	Yes	No
Disk IO Read	B/s, KiB/s, MiB/s	Yes	No
Disk IO Write	B/s, KiB/s, MiB/s	Yes	No

Note

The metric unit of measurement changes automatically depending on the value of the maxima for the metric on the dashboard.

You can filter any metrics in the context of various load generators. Metrics aggregation is available for the following periods: 1, 5 or 10 seconds.

You can analyze metrics with preset SLA using trend reports.

You can configure system metrics when creating a set of settings.

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Names of requests and transactions in Grafana dashboards

Tests created in PFLB Platform editor

For the tests created in PFLB Platform editor, the request name in Grafana dashboards consists of:

• The use case name

• The request URL

• The transaction name

• The test run ID

Example of requests names in Grafana:

• “Use case 1 https://ecommerce.pflb.us/ 302”

• “Use case 1 https://example.com/ [ Transaction 1 ] 302”

JMX tests

In JMX file-based tests, the request name in Grafana dashboards is composed of:

• The thread group type

• The http sampler name

• The transaction controller, if the request is contained within it

• The test run ID

Example of requests names of the JMX test in Grafana:

• jp@gc - Ultimate Thread Group Outside request 304

• jp@gc - Ultimate Thread Group Some request [ Some transaction ] 304