The WMS Tester is provided as a standalone component of the Weave release to assist with testing Web Map Services (WMS). It is a good tool for narrowing down problems with a WMS as it runs independently of the Weave server. As a Weave System Administrator, the WMS Tester can be used with other tools (Administrator Tool and Weave console commands) to help you identify and rectify problems with the operation of WMS within Weave.
What is the WMS Tester
The WMS Tester is a java program that will test the response from a WMS. It can be used on any WMS, either those from within your organisation or external to it. It can be used when you are having problems with a WMS that is used in Weave, as it will test the WMS itself, without any reference to the WMS in the Weave environment. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a problem is originating in Weave or in the data and services that Weave is using and with the WMS Tester you will at least be able to test the performance of the WMS in isolation from Weave.
Using the WMS Tester
The WMS Tester file (wmstest.jar) is stored in your c:\<weave installation folder>, e.g. c:\weave. It requires java to run so if you don't have Java installed you can use the Java executable that is installed with Weave (e.g. c:\weave\jre\bin).
In a Windows environment, open Windows Command Line, and run the following to get a help listing:
c:\weave\jre\bin\java -jar c:\weave\wmstest.jar -h
usage: wmstest -f <filename> | -u <url> [-e <minx,miny,maxx,maxy> | -l <x,y,scale>] [-c <crs>] [-x <scale>] [-s <width,height>] [-D <DPI>] [-t <timeout>] [-n] [-o filename>] [-d] [-b <threads>] [-U <username>] [-P <password>] [-q] [-h] [-V]
The parameters that can be used in the tester are given in the table below. The - or -- syntax can be used:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
-f, --file <filename> | Filename of a text file that has a list of base URL's for the WMS services. Each line in the file should contain a single WMS URL. |
-u, --url <url> | The base URL for the WMS service, this can be added more than once, but the -f command can also be used for multiple URL's. |
-e, --envelope minx,miny,maxx,maxy> | The envelope to use to draw the map. This is alternative to -l, and can not be set if -l is set. |
-l, --location <x,y,scale> | The centre location to use to draw the map. This is alternative to -e, and can not be set if -e is set. |
-c, --crs <crs> | The CRS to use for the map requests. The default is EPSG:4326. |
-x, --maxscale <scale> | The maximum scale to use to generate the map. |
-s, --size <width,height> | The width and height, in pixels, of the generated map image. The default is 400,400 |
-D, --dpi <DPI> | DPI to use when creating the map images. The default is 90.71. |
-t, --timeout <timeout> | The network timeout in seconds. The default is 120 |
-n, --nomap | Just retrieve the capabilities document, and do not generate a map request. |
-o, --output <filename> | Output results to a CSV file. |
-d, --dump | Dump the generated images to a file. |
-b, --background <threads> | Create all the connections in the background at the same time, rather than processing the URLs one by one. Including the <threads> value will specify how may tasks to do at once. If not set then all tasks will be performed at once. |
-U, --username <username> | Username to connect with, and must be supplied if the password is set. |
-P, --password <password> | Password to connect with, and must be supplied if username is set. |
-q, --quiet | Do not output results to the console. |
-h, --help | Show this help and quit. |
-V, --version | Print the version and exit. |
If neither -l or -e is set then the area to draw will be calculated based on the extent of the layer, but it will be adjusted if a maximum scale range has been applied to the layer, or -x is set. |
Examples of the WMS Tester
The WMS Tester allows you to test various aspects of a WMS including specifying the extent, scale, size of images, etc. But it can be used in its simplest form in the following ways:
- Testing an internal WMS: Return the layers in the WMS and time taken to draw layer (in milliseconds) and the scale at which the layer is drawn
c:\weave\jre\bin\java -jar c:\weave\wmstest.jar -u <url>
- Testing an external WMS: Return the layers in the WMS and time taken to draw layer (in milliseconds) and the scale at which the layer is drawn
c:\weave\jre\bin\java -jar c:\weave\wmstest.jar -u http://services.ga.gov.au/gis/services/Aviation_Facilities/MapServer/WMSServer
- Testing an external WMS with background processing to simulate ????? (what situation???)
c:\weave\jre\bin\java -jar c:\weave\wmstest.jar -u http://services.ga.gov.au/gis/services/Aviation_Facilities/MapServer/WMSServer -b 100
- Getting map images from external WMS: Creates a file (
images.zip) in the current folder containing map images generated based on parameters submitted
c:\weave\jre\bin\java -jar c:\weave\wmstest.jar -u http://services.ga.gov.au/gis/services/Aviation_Facilities/MapServer/WMSServer -d
For more details on using WMS in Weave refer to this page in the Weave System Administrator Guides.