Kazeem Razaq @K.Razaq / 5:00 PM EDT. October 28, 2022.
Cloud applications and testing are hot topics these days. According to Gartner Inc., more than 13% of all new application software development projects will use cloud computing technology in 2023. However, many different models and services are available to developers; thus, it can be difficult to find the best Cloud solutions for your business needs. This article will help you get started with your journey into Cloud computing – giving you the fundamental knowledge necessary to build your own resources on platforms such as AWS or Azure.
Cloud applications are always gaining popularity. There are so many different types of Cloud applications that it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. In this guide, I'll first go over some of the basics of what a Cloud application is, then I'll dive into some key points when deciding whether it's right for your website or business; then I'll cover some things you need to know about setting up CloudBees Jenkins Server and CloudBees Cloud Marketplace; then we'll take a look at automating tests in Jenkins with the ability to run multiple license types through one project; finally, there will be links included throughout this guide that you can refer back too if you want more info or would like to follow along while reading.
With extra profits proposed by Floud services, businesses are adopting the Cloud to build and host their applications. Cloud Applications offer myriad benefits in ways as small businesses can start on the go without worrying about the infrastructure set-up and expenses. With pay per use model, it helps companies reduce their development costs. The services are available instantly on-demand basis as well as scalable.
What is Application Testing?
Cloud application testing is a method of validating the functional development and quality of Cloud applications. This type of testing is a best practice to prevent problems in the Cloud-based web service when it is deployed into a production environment.
Cloud application testing is a process of ensuring the proper functioning and stability of Cloud-based applications and infrastructure. Cloud application testing ensures that you can confidently trust your business with a provider, regardless of their location or status.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud Computing is storing and accessing data over the Cloud that is “internet” rather than over physical hardware devices. A Cloud becomes a central space for accessing software services be it data, software etc. A Cloud user can access a variety of services offered by Cloud service providers such as storage, servers and software applications. These services are available to the user in the form of Infrastructure, Platform and Application, namely, 3 tier structure of the Cloud. Let us see each of these:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a service)
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Serv is the base of Cloud computing where the user has access to servers, storage, network and Operating system. The user configures all the above by himself to build the application over the Cloud. An example of IaaS is Amazon Web Services (AWS).
PaaS (Platform as a Service
PaaS is a Cloud service model where the Cloud user manages the application environment setup and the rest of the services such as services, storage and OS configuration are taken care of by the Cloud service provider. An example of PaaS is Windows Azure.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS is the most widely used Cloud service mode where the Cloud service provider manages the resources of the whole application. The end users are given access to the use application interface. An example of SaaS is web applications hosted on the Cloud, Gmail, Dropbox etc.
Some of the common features of Cloud applications are:
Cloud Applications share common physical resources such as storage, disk space, network etc.
Cloud applications run on the virtualised environment which can be reproduced on multiple physical devices.
These are highly scalable applications where the resources can be up-scaled or downsized as and when required.
Cloud Applications readily use APIs for integrations and provide some common functionalities such as Google maps, Facebook Id etc.
Many web technologies for front-end and back-end coding of applications are available on the Cloud.
Some of the top Cloud service providers in the market are Amazon Cloud, RackSpace, IBM Cloud, VMware, Adobe and many more.
Cloud Computing offers many advantages over traditional computing models.
What is a Cloud application?
A Cloud application is just a web app that you can run on any hosting provider. The technology behind Cloud application development is not new and the first applications of this kind were built in the late 90s. In the US, the term "Cloud computing" was first used in 2003, when IBM announced its presence in providing software as a service (SaaS) to businesses, who Could then use it on-premises or online.
A Cloud application is one that runs in the Cloud, that is, on a server or servers provided by a service provider. The benefit of using such software is that it's available from any web browser as well as desktops and mobile devices. It's also often more scalable than other software, so companies can scale their operation without having to worry about whether or not their code will work if they need to scale up or down.
Cloud Application Testing
With Cloud applications, the developers and testers can collaborate on the Cloud platform using various Cloud tools to manage the project execution.
The Cloud testing platforms for applications hosted on the Cloud are scalable with unlimited storage without needing to configure/set up the environments. This reduces cost, time and resource usage to test a Cloud application, thus making testing effective in a cloud environment. Testing a Cloud application gives testers the opportunity to test on multiple browsers, operating systems, and environments without setting up any hardware infrastructure. The Testers have access to a variety of tools which help them create test data, manage test data, set up different test environments and build fully automated build releases and testing, commonly known as DevOps.
Some of the common types of testing conducted in testing Cloud applications are:
Performance: The resources are shared with other applications in Cloud Applications. Thus, it becomes necessary to set performance benchmark for our application.
Functionality: The functionality of the application such as login, features of the application, valid and invalid inputs should be tested.
Compatibility: The Cloud application should be thoroughly tested to compatibility and responsiveness on multiple browsers, different platforms and operating systems etc.
Load: Since the application will be available to several users as well as the other users accessing the Cloud would affect the load, thus load and stress testing by up-scaling and down scaling the load can be performed.
Security: The applications hosted on Cloud contain user sensitive information, thus it is important to ensure safe, reliable environment on Cloud. Security testing to verify data integrity, deny to unauthorized access, stable network connectivity is conducted for Cloud applications.
Cloud automation testing
Cloud automation testing is the process of managing your end-to-end Cloud testing ecosystem. There are many advantages of modern Cloud computing, especially the cost effectiveness and flexibility that comes with it. However, quality of the end-user experience cannot be improved without identifying what exactly is happening behind the scenes. Cloud automation test tools are a powerful way to achieve this by comprehensively integrating into your testing workflow.
Cloud automation testing is the practice of automating testing scenarios on Cloud infrastructure. The approach aims to eliminate manual steps and automate repetitive tasks that are important to testing. In addition, Cloud automation allows for testing as many platforms as possible with a minimum number of steps.
Why is Cloud testing needed
Cloud testing essentially involves getting bits from your production environment and applying them in a test environment. This helps you to predict the exact performance of your Cloud service and identify potential problems at an earlier stage.
The Cloud holds a lot of promise for testers. However, due to the sophistication of modern IT, it can also hold a lot of risk for test teams. The recent past has been tainted by two big-name failures — Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure — which will certainly lead to more scrutiny toward future platforms and applications.
What do I need to learn for Cloud testing?
What do I need to learn to become a Cloud testing professional? Well, it depends on your skillset and knowledge. First of all, I have to explain a bit about what being a Cloud testing professional actually means. Cloud testing is when you perform automated tests on Cloud-based programs or services, where the digital assets are stored as services rather than on your desktop or laptop. The services are then available online via web technologies like HTTP requests (requesting data in an HTTP URL) or RESTful programming interfaces. As technology evolves, more and more companies will use this type of approach for their applications because it's faster and cheaper than traditional methods.
Cloud testing is a new way to do software testing. It's a hybrid between manual and automated testing and is useful when you need instant feedback on something in your product. But what does it involve? How does it differ from manual testing? And what should you be paying attention to when employing this technique? That's exactly what this article aims to answer.
Due to the advantages provided by CSPs, the SaaS Applications have increased tremendously, the companies now demand testers with experience in testing Cloud applications. The scope of Cloud Application Testing is ever-increasing as web applications are moving to the Cloud. Along with this Automated Testing and DevOps are following.
If you will like to learn more about Cloud testing and software testing as a whole, take part in the BusyQA online training on what it takes to become a software tester, where you will learn about Manual, Mobile, Web Service, SQL, and Automation, click here to get started.
You can also read about what to do before starting a software testing career and how to get an entry-level software testing job in 30 days.