I am getting a 503 HTTP error when using JMeter, but web page loads on browser just fine

Question

I am using JMeter version 3.2 to perform load testing on a page with HTTPS protocol and I am getting 503 HTTP response code. On the other hand, when I type the URL on Browser the page is loaded. Using Chrome Browser I can see the result of the request:

result of the request

The page has been shown. My problem is that I am using HTTP response code on JMeter script to evaluate the response code.

Fistly, does anyone know why I am getting 503 response code even I can see the page? Secondly, how can I overcome this issue to get Jmeter script rightly done ?

Thanks. Marcos

Answer 1

JMeter will automatically fail the parent sampler if one of the embedded resources fails to load. This is normal default behaviour and the fact you have HTTP Status Code 503 indicates an error in your application.

There are at least 2 ways of working this around:

1. Filtering out the "favicon" request using HTTP Request Defaults. On the "Advanced" tab there should be "URLs must match" section which can be used for excluding certain domains from your load test, the relevant regular expression would be something like:

   ^((?!favicon).ico)*$ 
   

2. Configuring JMeter for not to failing when there is an error in the embedded resources. Add the next line to user.properties file (located in JMeter's "bin" folder)

   httpsampler.ignore_failed_embedded_resources=true
   

   JMeter restart will be required to pick the property up.

Answer 2

It's favicon which you may not have in web site.

When you enter web site in browser it can happen too.

Browser search for favicon to show small icon of web site similar to mobile application. Can see cisco answer:

browsers will show an icon to the left of the URL. This known as the 'favicon.ico' and is typically fetched from website.com/favicon.ico. Your browser will automatically request it when browsing to different sites