infrastructure

Articles

Load Testing Cloud Load Testing and Sizing Considerations for the Cloud

When it comes to load testing in the cloud, going bigger is not always better. This article describes how organizations can utilize load testing to help right-size a production system being built in the cloud, allowing their project teams to build an ideal system that is not too small and under-performing for their needs and not too large and costly.

Don Prather's picture Don Prather
Infrastructure Envisioning

I have seen many Agile projects, particularly those focused on brand-new product lines, struggle with getting their infrastructure up and running. Much of the reason is the time and effort that is needed to get infrastructure established far exceeds the time it takes to start development using an Agile method, effectively the first iteration. Typically the approach used to establish infrastructure is ad hoc and often not always aligned with the needs of the project. Therefore, a task must be identified to establish infrastructure. The question then is, how to best approach the establishment of infrastructure for a project using Agile methods? We do not want to build excessive infrastructure that may constrain us in the future yet we want to establish enough to keep us stable and productive.

 

Mario  Moreira's picture Mario Moreira

Conference Presentations

Virtual Test Labs in the Cloud

In most software engineering organizations, development and test labs continuously demand regular computer, storage, and networking infrastructure upgrades and continuous support. Lab administrators have moved toward server consolidation powered by virtualization platforms from vendors such as Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware, often accompanied by a management layer called virtual lab automation (VLA). Together, virtualization and VLA enable the lab to operate as a private, on-premise cloud. While this solves some problems, there are still other challenges to consider. Some test labs now leverage public cloud infrastructures such as Amazon Web Services. Jacob Ben-David reviews virtual labs enabled in private, public, and hybrid clouds, and explains how they improve development, build, and test processes.

Jacob Ben-David, VMLogix, Inc.
After System Testing: Don't Forget Infrastructure Testing

Traditionally, testing IT applications is done in isolation on a stand-alone platform. However, when applications interface with the corporate IT infrastructure, you need to plan, engineer, and execute an additional level of integration testing. David Watt describes a typical IT infrastructure and the historical problems, costs, and complexities of conducting infrastructure integration testing. Because of the complexities common to many IT infrastructures, this level of testing is often ignored and omitted. David explains how enhancements to testing techniques and test process management can remediate many of these complexities and make infrastructure integration testing possible. David introduces the concept of an Enterprise Test Bed and explains how strict management techniques can make this resource a reality for your infrastructure integration testing.

David Watt, Lockheed Martin
Software Test Automation: Planning and Infrastructure for Success

Automation tools are often viewed as a cure-all that will instantly reduce test cost and effort. However, without up-front planning and infrastructure design, automated tests can quickly become difficult to create and maintain, and the tools nothing more than expensive shelf ware. This paper describes how to initiate a successful automation effort by developing standards and processes for automation and an infrastructure designed for success.

Bill Boehmer and Bea Patterson, Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.

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