With the monitoring extension installed, we now need to consider how we can go about testing the performance of our GeoServer, and then use the logs to analyze the results. To test the performance of our GeoServer instances, we will need a tool that will allow us to send multiple requests to map images and data in different locations and resolutions. We also need to be able to change the flow of requests and simulate multiple concurrent requests.

The web is full of tools that will allow us to simulate different mixes of requests to our servers to test their performance. When it comes to testing the performance of our GeoServer instance, the tool we choose to use is less important than the mix of requests that we decide to send to it. For the purposes of this chapter, we will use the Apache JMeter™ desktop application to simulate a heavy load on our servers.