SaaS Testing – Methods, Tools and Objectives

Abstract

Low cost and high returns; this has been the principle of business for many years. In IT sector the major cost lies within the initial infrastructure, that includes hardware and software. Cloud provides a platform for attaining this goal.

Cloud computing not just changes the way of acquiring computing assets, (for example, PCs, foundations, information stockpiling, and application administrations), however additionally changes the method for overseeing and conveying computing administrations, advances, and arrangements. Cloud computing drives an open door in offering SaaS testing for clouds.

In the interim, it causes new issues, difficulties and needs in programming testing, specific in testing clouds and cloud-based applications. This paper gives an extensive instructional exercise on cloud testing and cloud-based application testing

Introduction

Last few decades have shown an increase in the usage of cloud for business purpose. Companies are tilting their interest towards cloud for storing, processing & analyzing the data. This flow can even be seen among the developers. Software developers are increasingly using Software as a Service (SaaS) service of cloud for developing software.

Saas is a software distribution model where your applications are hosted on a third party server who makes them available on the internet. SaaS expels the requirement for associations to introduce and run applications all alone PCs or in their very own data centers. This kills the cost of equipment securing, provisioning and upkeep, just as programming permitting, establishment and backing. It provides benefits like

1. Flexible Payment
2. Scalable Usage
3. Automatic Updates
4. Accessibility and Persistence.

Based on Gartner, worldwide SaaS revenue is expected to reach US$ 22.

1 billion by 2015, and North America revenue is forecast to be US$ 9.1 billion in 2012 compared to US$ 7.8 billion in 2011. These conjectures demonstrate an exceptionally solid interest on SaaS improvement and creation. Thus, SaaS testing turns into an eminent request in building SaaS applications and frameworks.

SaaS Testing

With the increase in the usage of cloud computing in research communities and industries, SaaS platforms are used to provide diverse services for various applications. This bell's an alarming demand for SaaS testing.

Meaning of SaaS Testing

“SaaS testing comprises of validating SaaS applications with business workflows, data integration, application/network security, compliance, performance, availability, scalability, multi-browser compatibility, multi-tenancy, disaster recovery and live upgrading testing….. SaaS testing also includes the category of applications which are tested with cloud based resources.”[1]

In simple words, SaaS platform testing is defined as the method of assuring the quality of the software by undergoing different validation activities.

Reasons for opting SaaS Testing

In this aggressive world, enterprises are constantly moving towards distributed computing and programming delivery with SaaS models. The advantages it gives like 'one interest administration' and 'pay per use' are the significant explanations for it. Listed below are some reasons for opting SaaS testing over traditional testing.

• Reliability, availability and scalability
• Pay per use
• Dynamic Resource Allocation
• Resource scaling and pricing
• Faster deployment of the software with higher accessibility
• Quick and easy fault recovery
• Maintenance and deployment cost reduction
• Continuous and automatic testing in case of adding up of new tenants

SaaS Testing Focuses, Scope and Objectives

Table 1 displays the major tasks and focuses in SaaS testing. Similarly to conventional software testing, SaaS component unit testing and integration can be performed in an offline mode.

As mentioned in Fig 1, the scope of SaaS testing includes the following aspects.

·Scalability testing and supporting environment [2] - One of the distinct features of SaaS systems is scalability. Developers need a scalable testing environment, so that they get the required tools and computing resources.

· Test modeling, analysis, and measurement – To adequately bolster sufficient testing of SaaS frameworks, engineers need all around characterized test models and examination measurements for SaaSscalability, network, and multi-tenancy.

· Multi-tenancy testing [3] – The term 'software multi tenancy' refers to a software architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a server and serves multiple tenants. It is one of the defining factors of Cloud. It creates a new demand for testing. Tenant-based functional services, workflows, QoS performance requirements and behaviors are the main focus points of this testing.

·SaaS continuous testing and services [1] – Due to multi-tenancy at cloud, there are frequent updates over SaaS. In this situation it becomes very important to assure the QoS of SaaS by undertaking cost-effective measures.

· On-demand test and control services – In SaaS testing, on interest test demands are handled consequently in an adaptable test condition to convey different test administrations as per pre-characterized test timetables or moment administration demands.

·SaaStestware management and migration – Whenever SaaS sellers utilize an outsider cloud foundation and stage to support SaaS testing, financially testware management furthermore, relocation become critical and essential concerning the expense of utilization of an outsider cloud framework (or stage). This requires effective test the board apparatuses and programmed answers for help test-product transferring, downloading, and movement

· Large-scale test simulation for QoS assurance - To provide the non-functional requirements mention in the QoS written in SLA, large scale test simulation plays a vital role.

·SaaS tracking and monitoring – Compelling system following is vital in SaaS testing. Henceforth, we need a well defined answer for track and screen inhabitant based SaaS programming administration capacities, work processes, exchanges, practices, and QoS execution so as to help programming testing, support, and blunder recognition.

Business Service Model

Taking in consideration to business, cloud has developed new services under SaaS testing. It defines a well structured service model which has two special features:

• SLA-based software validation - SLA’s are used by the CSP (Cloud Service Provider) as a contract with its clients. The SLA contains information about
• Functional requirements
• Non-functional requirements
• Billing metrics

Therefore, the testing requirements of the SaaS engineers must be in line with the requirements mentioned in SLAs.

• Pay-as-you-test

To cope with the goal of pay-as-you-use policy of Cloud, pay-as-you-test provides a flexible billing model. Billing metrics is the most important module as all the services provided by cloud are charged based upon the usage. It also provides an advent to the developers as the initial cost of hardware installation is saved.

Thus, using the above two features, cloud has changed the conventional business model.

Saas Testing Process

SaaS testing goes through a 6 step process.

•  Step 1: Component Unit Testing - For the assurance of the quality of SaaS applications both white box and black box tests are required to be performed.
•  Step 2: Component Integration Testing - These help engineers to integrate different modules under SaaS application and test their working condition.
•  Step 3: Tenant-Based Function Testing - Validation of functional requirements for each contributing tenant for the assurance of its working is checked using this testing.
• Step 4: Tenant-Based System Testing - Validation of non-functional requirements like reliability, availability, etc., i.e., the QoS requirements are checked using this test.
• Step 5: Tenant-Based SaaS Feature Testing - Validation of some special SaaS specifications. It also checks the modules related to billing and monitoring.
• Step 6: Tenant-Based Continuous Testing - It validates the quality of the SaaS application whenever it gets upgrade or updated.[image: ]

Other forms of Cloud Testing

The method discussed above is one type of testing; there are two more ways of using cloud services for testing.

• Online-put together application testing with respect to a cloud

This sort of testing exercises typically is performed to check online application frameworks on a cloud by utilizing with cloud-based extensive scale traffic and client gets to. This is a typical use of cloud innovation to support current online application merchants to direct online-based framework work testing and execution assessment on a cloud by exploiting cloud condition so assorted and adaptable figuring assets in a cloud can be utilized without utilizing any in house test research facility. At the point when applications are associated with heritage frameworks, the nature of the availability between the inheritance frameworks and the under-test application conveyed on a cloud must be approved. Table 1 demonstrates the point by point errands

• Cloud-based application testing over cloud

This sort of testing alludes to the building exercises performed to guarantee the nature of a cloud-based application crossing extraordinary clouds. At the point when applications are created to be conveyed and executed over various clouds, new testing undertakings are expected to guarantee its quality. In contrast to the past two kinds, the essential testing objective here is to guarantee the quality of the start to finish application over clouds. This recommends that the framework level combination, work approval, execution assessment, and adaptability estimation must adapt to various cloud innovations. This certainly muddles the errands for checking framework similarity, interoperability, and availability between diverse clouds. Table 1 demonstrates the detailed tasks

TaaS (Testing as a Service)

As referenced before there are three fundamental models of cloud figuring specifically SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Be that as it may at whatever point we need to perform cloud testing there is another model known as TaaS (Testing as a Service). TaaS is utilized by organizations like Oracle, Wipro and so on for cloud testing reason.

Work process of TaaS [2]: The primary objective of TaaS is to diminish the financial plan of IT organizations. It is because of the way that the organizations can focus without anyone else business and can redistribute the product testing to outsiders.

The work process of TaaS has the accompanying administration abilities:

• TaaS process management: It offers test venture the executives and procedure control.
• QoS requirement management: It is predominantly about QoS prerequisites and displaying of the product testing.
• Test environment service: It gives on-request test condition administrations to set up virtual figuring assets.
• Testing solution service: It offers test displaying and test strategies which are as one known as testing arrangements.
• Testing simulation service: It sets up test recreation conditions.
• On demand test service: It gives on interest test execution administrations dependent on chose plans and rest products
• Tracking and monitor service: It permits test designers to track and screen different program practices.

Tools used for Cloud Testing

A SaaS Testing instrument should utilize computerization apparatuses to adequately deal with the accompanying quality affirmation errands: execution testing, unit testing, testing of SOA interfaces, and utilitarian testing of significant application interfaces. Likewise, SaaS Testing may likewise incorporate the accompanying components: application's execution as far as (an) adherence to explicit industry guidelines, (b) security, (c) expressed administration level understandings required by customers.

• PractiTest

As a cloud-based imaginative test the board device and an innovation and philosophy pioneer, PractiTest gives its customers a phenomenal End-to-End framework to fulfill their Testing and QA prerequisites. It isn't just moderate and simple to utilize, yet in addition adaptable and methodological.

As a Test Case Management apparatus, it empowers associations to guarantee both deceivability and correspondence at different dimensions. It likewise helps venture improvement groups arrange and deal with their testing forms and furnish the executives with an unmistakable, streamlined perspective on the status of their task consistently.

• QTest

It is a rich and versatile test the executives arrangement with the accompanying highlights and abilities:

• Simple to learn and utilize instinctive UI
• Can be actualized either as an OnDemand or OnPremise facilitated application or arrangement conveyed locally in your server farm
• Little groups can without much of a stretch sort out their test exercises and later scale up as they develop
• Extensive ventures can track, organize, and deal with numerous product testing ventures, including groups crosswise over various areas
• Free Trial
• QMetry

Evidently, Test Cases structure the essential structure squares of a plainly characterized, standard Testing process. This apparatus offers a straightforward and natural interface for you to compose the subtleties of your Test Cases, connecting them to necessities and related deformities.

You can utilize this to execute past renditions of Test Cases, particularly if your organization has changing prerequisites or determinations, permitting you the adaptability to come back to utilizing more established Test Cases suitably

With its dynamic interface, QMetry enables you to execute Test Cases while you record results and status (Blocked, Pass, Fail, Not Executed, or Not Applicable), keeping the status data at a Test Case and Test step level.

Conclusion

SaaS testing is turning into a hot research point in cloud processing and programming designing network. As the advance of cloud innovation and testing as administrations, more look into work must be done to address the open issues furthermore, challenges in SaaS testing and TaaS. Increasingly creative testing systems and arrangements, and QoS measures are expected to help on-request testing administrations in a versatile cloud framework.

This paper gives a thorough survey and instructional exercise on SaaS testing by talking about the related ideas, issues, and difficulties. The significant commitments of this paper incorporate its savvy dialog about SaaS testing as far as its uncommon necessities, benefits, and includes just as the examination with traditional testing.

References

1. VijayanathanNaganathan and SreensankarSankarayya, “Overcoming Challenges associated with SaaS testing”, Inforsys, Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise
2. Jerry Gao, XiaoyingBai, and W. T. Tsai, “Cloud-Testing - Issues, Challenges, Needs and Practice”, Software Engineering: An International Journal (SEIJ), Vol. 1, No. 1, September, 2011.
3. XiaoyingBai, Muyang Li, Bin Chen, Jerry Gao, and Wei-TekTsai, ”Cloud Testing Tools“, Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Symposium on Service-Oriented System Engineering (SOSE2011), Irvine, California, USA, 2011.
4. Jerry Gao, XiaoyingBai, W. T. Tsai, TadahiroUehara, “SaaS Testing on Clouds – Issues, Challenges, and Needs”, 2013 IEEE Seventh International Symposium on Service-Oriented System Engineering.