Both Agile and DevOps teams feel the pressure to quickly release products to market without sacrificing product quality. Fortunately, cloud based test automation tools enable IT teams to tackle these challenges successfully. In fact, many companies have streamlined QA processes, improved product security, accelerated information sharing and reduced cost - all with cloud based load testing tools.
There’s no reason why your team can’t also attain the same QA testing results - that is, when you choose the right cloud automation testing tools. While many tools share common testing functionalities, no two cloud testing tools are the same. In fact, choosing the wrong cloud testing tool for your team can disrupt your development cycle and stall your testing results.
The process for choosing cloud computing testing tools is just as important as the implementation of the tool you choose within your testing strategy. This guide to AWS cloud testing tools shows you how to choose the best cloud testing tools open source and commercial so that your team can enjoy the benefits of cloud testing upon implementation.
Benefits of Testing in the Cloud
Cloud computing testing tools are rapidly becoming essential within the software development lifecycle. See why QA teams across industries choose to test in the cloud.
Alongside a reliable Internet connection, QA testers have instant access to cloud based test automation tools from any device. This provides your team more opportunity as testing with cloud based load testing tools can happen from any location and from any device. Because hardware and software costs are no longer required with cloud computing testing tools, your QA team can reallocate your investments towards resources that can further enable your testing process.
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Scalability
The dynamic availability of cloud testing tools open, both open source and commercial, allows QA engineers to replicate real-life traffic situations. This insight is crucial for assessing the scalability and optimal performance of your project. QA teams can also better align the testing environment with the production environment so that defects are detected earlier in the development cycle.
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Customizable
A strong QA testing strategy tests across all makes and models of devices. With the assistance of AWS cloud testing tools, QA engineers can test multiple routes to a system, such as executing load and performance testing to gauge its impact across device versions. The flexibility of cloud automation testing tools provides device-specific insights so that a higher quality product is released to your consumers.
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Compatible With Agile Methodology
Your testing strategy should be in alignment with the structure of your development cycle. Cloud testing tools provide a platform for accessible collaboration by hosting resources so that everyone is on the same page. Cloud testing tools open source are automatically updated, meaning that everyone on your team has immediate access to the current information. Cloud testing can also keep up with the demands and speed of continuous integration for faster deployments.
Best Open Source Cloud Testing Tools
Businesses starting out in cloud testing often choose open source tools as a way to explore the possibilities of testing in the cloud before making a financial investment. There are several open source cloud testing tools that can compete with commercial offerings in both quality and features. We recommend reviewing these options when choosing your cloud testing tools.
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Wireshark
This open source tool excels in cloud security testing. Many teams use Wireshark for software and communications protocol development as well as network troubleshooting and analysis. This tool can perform a deep inspection of hundreds of protocols across platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux and UNIX. Wireshark can also be applied on various devices for reading live data from token-ring, ethernet, ATM connection and FDDI.
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Watir
Web application testing in Ruby - commonly referred as Watir - is designed for cloud testing of web applications. This tool’s open source Ruby library makes it much easier to write, read and maintain automated tests. Watir is a simple and flexible tool that allows QA engineers to test any web application, no matter its built-in technology.
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BlazeMeter
This open source tool is impressive for continuous testing that supports load and performance testing of software, websites, mobile and APIs. BlazeMeter provides complete shift-left testing and works well alongside APIs, UI, CLIs and other open source tools. This Agile-designed tool offers real-time reporting and comprehensive analytics.
Best Proprietary Cloud Testing Tools
Testing in the cloud with the right tools offers high scalability, easy availability and low cost. Consider these proprietary cloud testing tools when researching cloud testing tools for your team.
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LoadStorm
This cloud testing tool is used for testing across web and mobile applications. LoadStorm is ideal for checking performance under excessive traffic and usage that can be scaled to simulate several testing scenarios. This cost-effective tool can easily record scripts and offers various load testing scenarios that can be customized.
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SOASTA CloudTest
A variety of automated tests are supported on SOASTA CloudTest, including mobile functional testing, web-based functional testing, performance testing. This cloud testing tools offers real-time analytics and seamless integration between test design, monitoring and reporting. SOASTA CloudTest can simulate millions of concurrent users who are dispersed geographically to test your application under large loads.
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AppPerfect
This cloud testing tool easily performs on-demand, scalable cloud testing, including cloud-hosted testing, cloud security testing and cloud load testing. AppPerfect can design and record test scripts, set up test execution over cloud environments and provide comprehensive reporting. This cloud testing framework allows your team to test web applications across combinations of hardware, operating systems and browsers for a fully managed cloud testing experience.
Considerations When Choosing Cloud Testing Tools
As you can see, the market is full of cloud testing tools that offer a wide range of testing functionalities. That being said, your team must choose the right tool to best support your QA testing requirements. Make sure to ask these questions when choosing a cloud testing tool:
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Security
What encryption techniques are in place? Are private clouds available for testing? How do the AWS cloud testing tools store your data? How often does the cloud testing tool undergo its own security testing, including penetration testing and vulnerability scanning? Do these cloud based test automation tools have any information security accreditations?
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Quality
What range of services are offered? Do these cloud automation testing tools include licenses, a physical infrastructure and thorough provisioning? How well can the tool integrate with your testing workflow? What types of QA testing do these cloud testing tools support? What testing analytics are available? Does this tool offer resource storage and collaboration channels?
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Reliability
How long has the vendor been in business? Do these cloud automation testing tools allow for quick set-up and removal of test environments? How easy is it to reconfigure test environments? Does their bandwidth support your testing needs? Is customer support available if any issues arise? What are QA testers saying about these cloud based load testing tools on review websites and forums?
Still unsure how to start? Choose first to partner with a QA services provider like QASource. Our team of experts are skilled in automation testing and mobile QA testing with years of experience testing using cloud testing tools. Our QA engineers can help your QA team choose the right cloud testing tool as well as guide you through the process of setting up your cloud-based testing environments. Get in touch with a QASource expert today.
