The speed of test execution becomes increasingly important as application development progresses. To expand test coverage and accelerate application delivery without sacrificing quality, many test teams are exploring test automation. The majority of automated tests run on a single machine and only test a small number of operating systems, browsers, and browser versions based on the usage of the target audience as a whole.
But frequently, there are so many tests that must be run on two or more machines in a short amount of time that the traditional sequential automation testing falls insufficient. This issue might be resolved by using distributed testing, which drastically cuts down on test execution time. This is accomplished by conducting tests concurrently on numerous computers that communicate with one another.
Selenium is one of the most well-liked open-source test automation solutions which supports distributed testing. Selenium automation testing enables concurrent testing on several remote machines. Selenium Grid is used to implement distributed testing. Selenium Grid is a robust and widely used Selenium tool that enables test case execution across numerous platforms, operating systems, and browsers in a variety of configurations. It is a client-server system that functions as a hub for sending Selenium tests to distant nodes.
We will talk about distributed test execution in real device clouds in this article. First, let’s define and explain distributed test execution. We will also discuss why it is crucial to use distributed testing and some of its limitations. Finally, we will look over the real device cloud, what it is, and the advantages of running distributed tests there.
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Distributed testing
Distributed testing refers to making use of automation testing capabilities by enabling the execution of the same tests in multiple environments, using a variety of real device configurations, and using different browser configurations at the same time. This speeds up testing and makes better use of available resources.
However, the term “distributed” denotes that several test components executing in a distributed way interact with one another during a test run in addition to referring to the simultaneous execution of tests across multiple machines. This makes them properly coordinated and synced, which is one of the most important aspects of distributed testing.
Websites, client-server applications, and other multi-tier applications where a server application interacts with multiple clients typically require distributed testing.
Advantages of distributed test execution
The most evident benefit of distributed testing is its effectiveness and quickness. It enables development teams to perform several tests simultaneously rather than sequentially. As a result, they can test more in less time, produce better apps, save money, and receive feedback more quickly. Some of the other benefits of implementing distributed test execution are listed below.
Speed and efficiency
It has already been noted that sequential automated test execution takes time, both theoretically and practically. Implementing distributed testing helps speed up testing because it allows the same test to be run simultaneously against multiple configurations hence greatly accelerating the process. A quicker test cycle also makes it possible to collect more data and provide feedback earlier, allowing teams to iterate and identify solutions more quickly.
Reduced cost
It takes time and effort to create, manage, and keep test environments operational. Distributed testing, however, allows teams to conduct numerous tests simultaneously, which saves on resources. Additionally, the necessary test environment may be hired as needed and updated to meet demands. Additionally, test execution at high concurrency is made possible by cloud-based test grids, lowering the overall cost per test.
Optimized CI/CD Processes
The overall runtime of a CI/CD pipeline determines how effective it is. The sooner the team obtains a result, the sooner they can implement the fix, and the sooner they can repeat the process because feedback loops are crucial to CI/CD. Large test suites can be divided into smaller, independent jobs and performed in parallel to get results rapidly, which will improve the pipeline’s performance.
Greater test coverage
Combining all of these advantages also increases the testing confidence of the teams. The QA teams may write and improve their test suites, resulting in better test coverage, due to faster speeds and shorter feedback loops.
Limitations of distributed test execution
After talking about the benefits of distributed testing, let’s now examine some of its limitations.
Multiple instances of an application must run simultaneously for distributed tests. These situations frequently involve the sharing of resources or dependence on one another, which can result in differences and mistakes and make it challenging to precisely identify and isolate problems.
The setup of distributed tests involves a complicated test environment. To support it, this entails establishing various systems, networking, and testing tools. This increased complexity raises the possibility of environmental problems and delays in testing. As a result, it might be difficult to keep testing environments updated and properly configured.
Finding problems or determining the main reason for a failure can frequently be challenging when tests are running concurrently. Distributed test debugging and troubleshooting require more advanced tools, which not all teams may have access to. The different test environments are difficult to manage and maintain and call for extra coordination and resources. This can involve hiring more people to oversee and manage tests, as well as purchasing specialized gear and software tools and maintaining them. This can involve hiring additional personnel to oversee tests, as well as maintaining specialized hardware and software tools.
Real-device cloud
The real-device cloud is the testing environment that gives the team rapid access to thousands of real Android and iOS mobile devices to run manual or automated mobile app tests. The development and QA teams may then securely test from almost anywhere, at any time, using any device or operating system, and receive feedback in real-time.
The real-device cloud testing service will send the results back with the error reports, recorded videos, images, and full logs once the test scripts are done so that the tester may precisely know how their app works.
Most of the cloud testing environments for real devices have integrations for well-known mobile testing frameworks, like Selenium, Appium, Cucumber, etc.
The real device cloud offers organizations access to both the most recent and older devices to test the functionality, usability, and performance of their applications directly on real user-owned devices. This allows them to get knowledge about a variety of issues, such as how a battery’s charge can affect an app’s performance and more.
Advantages of running distributed tests in real-device clouds
The following can be achieved by the distributed test execution using a real-device cloud test team:
Quick feedback
The team will be able to quickly receive detailed feedback and assess the performance of app-specific functionality by doing distributed tests on real devices. It helps the application reach the market more quickly.
Boost productivity
Real-device cloud increases productivity and supports distributed development teams by giving them access to resources remotely. The team can use these resources to collaborate easily and accelerate the creation of apps.
Reduced need for maintenance
Managing and maintaining an internal real device lab is one of the most difficult aspects of executing distributed testing since it requires the test team to always make sure that every operating system, browser, and device they use is completely up to date.
All of that will be taken care of under a cloud-based real-device testing solution, and the provider will also make sure that each device has the most recent updates so that testers may obtain appropriate input on the performance of the app.
Accelerate the testing procedures
In a distributed test, efficiency and speed are the two most crucial objectives. It implies that to win in this highly competitive field, testers must provide apps more quickly without sacrificing their quality or performance.
They can speed up the testing process by executing a lot of tests concurrently with real-device cloud testing.
Scalability
The scalability of test execution is increased through cloud-based test automation. Through the use of distributed test execution, testing teams can execute several pre-configured test environments at once while simulating different testing parameters for the application under test. This makes it possible for different iterations of the same application to run on several virtual machines.
Lower expenses
Distributed testing in a cloud-based environment with real devices has a financial benefit as well. It is expensive to purchase servers, data centers, and other physical infrastructure, as well as the labor and maintenance expenditures necessary to keep everything working.
Easy bug fixing
Debugging is made simpler by the real device cloud, which is another advantage. Numerous debugging tools that take screenshots and record each test step are offered by cloud solutions. With this kind of visual data, identifying a test failure is considerably simpler.
The only drawback to using a cloud is that it is typically much slower to utilize than a local grid because one must access the internet. This is due to the test having to transit a network that may occasionally be unstable to go to and from the cloud. By executing numerous parallel test runs, it is possible to overcome this problem and reduce the amount of time required for testing.
LambdaTest’s Distributed Test Execution
Executing distributed tests is crucial because high-performing applications need to be delivered more quickly. However, the expense of compatibility testing goes up with distributed testing, and it might not be possible to access numerous real devices, platforms, and browser versions.
Therefore, incorporating cloud-based testing into the development strategy is the best option because it removes the need to install, maintain, and manage local infrastructure, giving an advantage over the competition, and ensuring that everything needed to perform testing is already available.
Testers may begin running their manual and automated app testing on real devices at scale in real-time using LambdaTest, an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform. It provides users access to more than 3000 environments and real mobile devices allowing them to run automated parallel tests and use multiple browsers and versions. This improves test coverage, speeds up feedback on the application’s quality, and greatly cuts down on test execution time.
This platform offers developers and QA teams a variety of feedback tools, such as logging, images, and video support, to debug their tests in real-time using a live test environment for effective and reliable automated testing of mobile and web applications. Using this capability, they can quickly debug while tests are being run, interact with test execution, and inspect elements.
Additionally, this cloud offers a cloud Selenium grid that connects to many different devices and browsers, enabling users to run multiple tests in parallel. None of this requires users to perform any maintenance or updating. They simply need to write test scripts and execute them on this quick, reliable cloud that is accessible all the time.
To ensure efficient automation testing of web and mobile apps, LambdaTest also enables easy connections with well-known CI/CD systems like Jira, Jenkins, TeamCity, Travis CI, and others.
Conclusion
To scale downtime and budget restrictions while allowing for increased test coverage and maintaining quality, distributed testing’s overall goal is to run numerous tests in parallel against various configurations at the same time. The goal of this strategy is to shorten test execution time while still ensuring cross-platform coverage.
Distributed test execution using a real device cloud discovers and fixes possible problems before they occur in development, enabling shorter test cycles. Additionally, it eliminates the need for any infrastructure and the associated expenses of maintenance.
A real device cloud is significantly easier to implement since it gives the testing team instant access to a variety of real devices, browsers, and operating systems to validate their mobile and web applications.
