Basic Tools for Performance Optimization

Attached to this wiki page is a zip file containing examples of configuration files and test resources to aid in iterating through cycles of running simple load tests and collecting performance information.  There is also an example of a simple 2 node cluster using Apache's mod_jk software load balancer.  The recorded demonstration within the attachment follows these steps:

• Load Test:
  1. Run test against local Tomcat instance on port 8080 using JMeter.
  2. Review downloaded report sample and generated CSV file.

• Capture Performance Snapshot and HeapDump:
  1. Connect to server using VisualVM.
  2. Start sampling, execute report, stop sampling.
  3. Review result- search for postgres.
  4. Capture heap dump and review within Visual VM.

• Load two Heap dumps and compare deltas:
  1. Open using Eclipse with Memory Analyzer plugin.

• Connect to Apache running Mod JK load balancer with sticky sessions:
  1. view 2x virtual machines running with one instance of tomcat each with different IP addresses.
  2. invoke a report against same Apache instance from two different user sessions; observe load on alternating virtual machines.

File Descriptions:

• perfRecording.avi - desktop recording of steps used in demo.
• jMeterTest.jmx - load this test after opening jMeter to run the same tests against the sample database which may be installed with the JasperServer installation.
• modified_apache_v_modjk_loadBalancer folder- files modified within the Apache front end with load balancer.
• modified_tomcat_node folder- modified file for each tomcat node with standard JasperServer installation.

Related wiki article with more detail on capturing performance snapshots and heap dumps:
https://community.jaspersoft.com/wiki/capturing-detailed-middle-tier-performance-and-state-information

General wiki article about Performance Tips and Tricks:
https://community.jaspersoft.com/wiki/tibco-jasperreports-server-performance-tips-and-tricks

Links to resources used:

• http://www.eclipse.org - Java IDE used to load heap files.
• https://www.eclipse.org/mat/ - Memory analyzer plug in for Eclipse.
• https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/visualvm/index.html - information about Visual VM.  This utility is bundled with Oracle JDKs.
• http://jmeter.apache.org/ - Apache Jmeter used for load testing.
• https://httpd.apache.org/ - Apache web server used to host software load balancing using mod_jk extension for Apache.

wikiarticle_performancefiles.zip