Virtual Machine Tool Qualification Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity and size of application programs make manual testing challenging, and automated testing tools may introduce errors, requiring verification and validation, which becomes difficult due to rapid changes in computer hardware and software, necessitating a method to easily qualify and requalify application testing tools.
Innovation Solution
The use of virtual machines configured to emulate baseline hardware and software configurations, allowing application testing tools to be qualified and verified independently of physical computer systems, eliminating the need for maintaining specific hardware configurations and reducing requalification efforts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated application testing tools are used to test complex application programs, then testing efficiency is improved, but the risk of errors in testing results increases due to tool inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtual machines as an intermediary layer between the application testing tools and the physical hardware systems. This virtualization layer isolates the testing tools from direct hardware dependencies, allowing the tools to be qualified once on a virtual machine and then transferred to multiple different physical hardware configurations without requalification, thereby maintaining reliability while improving productivity
2Measurement precision
If specific hardware configurations are maintained for running application testing tools, then tool qualification accuracy is improved, but the complexity of maintaining and requalifying tools after hardware changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of hardware configurations through virtual machines. Instead of maintaining multiple physical hardware configurations, the system uses virtual machine images that can be replicated and transferred across different physical hosts. This copying approach maintains qualification accuracy while eliminating the complexity of managing diverse physical hardware configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine architecture provides a universal platform that can run application testing tools across multiple different physical hardware configurations. A single virtual machine image qualified on one host can be transferred to and run on many different physical systems, making the qualification process universal rather than specific to each hardware configuration
3Reliability
If application testing tools are requalified after hardware or software configuration changes, then tool reliability is improved, but the time and cost of requalification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs tool qualification in advance on a virtual machine before the tool is deployed to production hardware. Once qualified on the virtual machine, the tool and its qualification status can be transferred to multiple physical systems without needing requalification, even when hardware changes occur. This preliminary qualification action eliminates repeated requalification cycles
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for testing application software for installation on hardware platforms. A software tool is qualified using a tool qualifier module running on a first virtual computer system having a configuration that comprises a processor of first processor type and a first virtual machine emulating a processor of second processor type. A benchmark performance is established for the first virtual machine. A second virtual computer system has a configuration that comprises a processor of third type and a second virtual machine emulating the processor of the second processor type. The second virtual machine is verified using a qualifier module to determine whether its performance is consistent with the benchmark performance to form a qualified second virtual machine. After the tool has been qualified, the tool is transferred from the first virtual machine to the qualified second virtual machine without needing to be requalified.