Automated Virtual Machine Provisioning for Regression Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software testing solutions lack an integrated and automated provisioning and regression testing system capable of handling multiple operating systems, applications, and devices, and do not combine robust provisioning with comprehensive testing functionalities effectively.
Innovation Solution
An automated provisioning and regression testing framework utilizing virtual machines (VMs) that creates a clean, isolated testing environment for repeatable and reproducible testing across various operating systems, applications, and devices, with extensive audit trails and the ability to revert to a clean state, and is browser and language agnostic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manual testing methods are used, then testing can be performed with simple tools, but testing time is lengthy and productivity is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual machine images that replicate the exact testing environment, allowing rapid deployment of test cases without manual setup. These virtual images can be cloned and instantiated quickly, enabling parallel testing across multiple environments simultaneously, which directly increases test throughput and reduces overall testing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures virtual machine images with all necessary testing environments, applications, and configurations before actual testing begins. This preliminary preparation eliminates time-consuming setup procedures during testing, allowing immediate execution of test cases and significantly improving productivity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If comprehensive testing across multiple OS and applications is implemented, then testing coverage increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal virtualization framework that can simulate multiple operating systems, applications, and devices within a single integrated platform. This multi-functional system allows one testing environment to accommodate diverse testing scenarios (Windows, Linux, mobile OS, various applications) without requiring separate complex systems for each, thereby achieving comprehensive coverage while managing complexity through unification.
Solution Approach 2:
The testing system is divided into modular virtual machine images, each representing a specific environment or application configuration. These segmented images can be independently created, managed, and combined, allowing comprehensive testing coverage through composition of smaller units rather than managing a monolithic complex system.
3Reliability
If automated provisioning and testing is implemented, then testing repeatability improves, but initial setup complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses standardized virtual machine images that can be repeatedly cloned and instantiated to create identical testing environments. This copying mechanism ensures perfect repeatability of testing conditions across multiple runs and different operators, as each virtual image is an exact replica of the configured state, eliminating variability inherent in manual setup.
Solution Approach 2:
The automation framework allows configuration of virtual machine parameters (OS type, version, applications, configurations) through standardized parameter definitions. By changing parameters rather than recreating entire environments, the system achieves reliable repeatability while simplifying setup, as parameters can be modified through configuration files rather than complex manual procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system and method for supervised, systematic and reproducible utilization of one or more virtual machines to provide a deployable and flexible suite of testing environments that cover the expected range of real-world deployments of software applications in a simulation of their current and anticipated real-world environments. The setup, configuration and results generated by the virtual machines is recorded and may be replicated to provide freshly instantiated but identically configured environments or changed and updated environments for forward and regression testing of applications. Virtual environments may be updated with successive OS and application revisions. Addition of new configurations is simplified to allow extensibility to new and evolving platforms without developing new software or scripts. Test results are tagged and documented and are reproducible by instantiating the environments and applications used as stored in a database. The system allows side-by-side comparisons of multiple test results for regression testing capabilities.