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Cloud based testing – definition, advantages, tools
Nowadays, as technology continues to evolve and innovate, the use of the cloud is becoming increasingly popular. Cloud Computing is a term that is increasingly appearing in computer science and is associated with many aspects such as cloud services, systems, testing and many others. If you’re interested in the IT world, it’s important to have at least a basic understanding of what cloud technologies mean and how they can impact your business.
Cloud and cloud computing definition
What is the cloud? And what is cloud computing? Cloud is just a short name for cloud computing, which is a model of providing various computer services over the Internet. It includes the provision of on-demand computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, networks, software applications and more.
Cloud services allow users to remotely access and use these resources without having to own and manage their own physical hardware. Instead, organizations and individuals can access these resources via the internet and only pay for what they use.
Simply put, all your data and applications are not stored on your personal computer or on local servers, but are located in the “cloud” – remote servers that you can access if you have internet connection. Cloud computing services typically operate on a pay-as-you-go or subscription basis, allowing organizations and individuals to scale their computing resources according to their needs.
The cloud provides many benefits, some of the most valuable are:
- Scalability: cloud services can be easily expanded or removed to adapt to changes in demand. Users have access to additional resources during peak periods and can cut back when demand drops.
- Flexibility: cloud computing provides the flexibility to access resources from anywhere with an internet connection. It enables remote working, collaboration and access to applications and data across devices.
- Cost-effectiveness: by using cloud services, organizations can avoid upfront infrastructure costs and instead pay for what they actually use. This eliminates the need to maintain and upgrade physical hardware, reducing overall IT spending.
- Reliability and availability: cloud service providers typically offer robust infrastructure and redundancy measures to ensure high availability and minimize downtime. Data is often stored in multiple locations, which increases reliability.
- Security: cloud service providers invest heavily in security measures to protect data and infrastructure. They use encryption, access control and regular security updates to protect information.
Another important aspect of cloud computing are cloud systems that provide management and use of cloud resources. These systems include the infrastructure, network elements and software tools needed to use the cloud effectively.
Three main categories of cloud computing
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides virtualized computing resources such as virtual machines, storage and networking, and allows users to create their own IT infrastructure and manage applications and data.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS provides a platform with a set of tools and services for developing, testing and deploying applications. Users can focus on application development while the cloud provider manages the base infrastructure.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS provides fully functional software applications over the Internet. Users can access and use these applications without worrying about installation, maintenance or infrastructure management.
Cloud based testing – software testing based on cloud technology
In today’s rapidly changing technology environment, organizations are striving to achieve high quality software products. Therefore, the term QA is often used in this field. Quality Assurance (QA) is a critical process in software development that ensures that software achieves high quality and functionality. One of the latest trends in QA is testing in the cloud.
Cloud-based testing offers many advantages over traditional on-premises testing methods and enables organizations to improve the quality, efficiency and scalability of their software testing processes. It takes place in a cloud computing environment and consists of performing testing activities using virtualized resources and services provided by cloud service providers. Instead of depending on local infrastructure, testing is done in a virtual environment in the cloud.
Cloud testing vs conventional testing
When deciding between traditional local testing and cloud testing, it’s important to consider the unique needs of the organization and the project specifications. While local testing may be appropriate for some use cases, cloud-based testing offers the flexibility, scalability and efficiency that are often essential for modern software projects.
Cloud testing benefits
- Cooperation and accessibility
Cloud-based testing offers advantages in terms of cooperation and accessibility. Test environments in the cloud can be accessed from anywhere, anytime using just an internet connection. This allows teams to test the software remotely and collaborate effectively even when team members are in different locations or time zones.
- Cost reduction
Instead of investing in and maintaining their own hardware infrastructure, organizations can use the cloud and pay only for the resources they actually use. This reduces the costs associated with running and managing the test environment.
With cloud testing, organizations only pay for what they use. It is more cost-effective than conventional testing because testers do not have to invest in physical infrastructure or pay for maintenance.
For routine testing, the costs are high due to the hardware and software requirements.
- Flexibility
One of the main advantages is flexibility. Organizations have the ability to customize their testing environment to meet their current needs. They can quickly add or remove test resources and scale their infrastructure based on the volume of software being tested or the number of users. There is no need to set up or maintain physical infrastructure.
- Test scalability
Testing in the cloud can be performed on multiple virtual environments simultaneously, which greatly increases the efficiency of the testing process. Organizations can test software in parallel on different configurations and platforms to get faster and more reliable results.
Conclusion
In summary, cloud and conventional testing are two different approaches to software application testing, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Cloud-based testing offers flexibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness, but can come with security concerns and vendor lock-in. Conventional testing provides greater control and reliability, but can be more expensive and less flexible.
Cloud testing tools
In cloud-based testing, it is also important to have the right tools (cloud testing tools). There are many cloud-based testing tools that provide automation testing features, bug tracking, test process management, and more. These tools allow you to test software in a distributed cloud environment and ensure the quality and reliability of applications. Here are some popular tools for testing software in the cloud: 1. Selenium is one of the most well-known open-source tools for automation testing of web applications.
It provides features for creating, running and managing test scenarios across multiple browsers and platforms. Selenium is often integrated with cloud platforms, allowing you to test web applications in a variety of configurations and environments. It is compatible with many browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera and more, allowing you to test web applications on a variety of platforms. Its main advantage is ability to simulate user interaction with websites, such as clicking links, filling out forms, submitting data, and more. This allows you to create robust test scenarios that accurately simulate user behavior. 2. TestComplete is a commercial tool for automated software testing developed by SmartBear. It provides extensive features for testing web, desktop and mobile applications. TestComplete is capable of working with cloud platforms and provides parallel testing, cross-device simulation and bug tracking capabilities. This way, you can test applications on different operating systems, browsers and devices at the same time, significantly reducing the time it takes to complete the testing process. 3. BlazeMeter is a cloud-based platform focused on performance testing.
It provides tools for load, scalability and performance testing of web applications. BlazeMeter allows you to easily simulate large number of users and monitor application performance in real time. This tool also provides analysis of the testing results and allows you to identify weaknesses in the application.
4. JUnit and TestNG are popular frameworks for unit testing in Java. These tools allow you to write and run unit tests for different parts of the software. Many cloud platforms provide support for these frameworks, making it easy to run unit tests in the cloud and manage the results.
5. AWS Device Farm is a cloud-based platform from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables testing of mobile applications on a wide range of real-world devices. This platform provides tools for automated testing, performance management and error reporting of mobile applications. With AWS Device Farm, you can create and run tests on a variety of platforms and version combinations, allowing you to ensure that your mobile app works properly on a variety of devices.
6. BrowserStack is a cloud-based platform that provides the ability to test web applications on a wide range of browsers and operating systems. With BrowserStack, you can easily run tests in multiple browsers in parallel and get real images of web pages on different devices. This way you can ensure that your web application is compatible with different combinations of browsers and operating systems.
7. TestRail is a cloud-based tool for managing test scenarios and tracking test results. With TestRail, you can create, assign and track test cases, manage bugs, and generate test status reports. The tool also provides integration with various automation tools and cloud platforms, simplifying the management of testing activities.
See also our articles on manual testing tools and automation testing tools.
To conclude, cloud testing is one of the key components of a modern approach to software testing. With the growing trend of cloud computing, cloud-based testing is likely to play an even more important role in the future of software development and testing.
If you are looking for a IT tester job or a IT automation tester job, check out our job offers. If you are a beginner, read our articles What does a software tester do and software tester salary in msg life slovakia.
