{"id":6232,"date":"2014-10-27T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.zhaw.ch\/icclab\/?p=6232"},"modified":"2014-10-27T12:21:22","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T10:21:22","slug":"the-cloud-for-testing-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.zhaw.ch\/icclab\/the-cloud-for-testing-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cloud for testing environments"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our last ICCLab newsletter<\/a>, in the cloud economics tutorial, we introduced how cloud infrastructures could be utilized for off-loading the variable and unpredictable resource needs. This is one of the basic principles of public cloud business. The InIT ICCLab cloud-economics lecture provides extensive use case studies and lab exercises on these topics.<\/p>\n

1. Use Cases<\/p>\n

Within the editorial, the same newsletter reported another use case related to the deployment of performing environment for measurements and tests based on the public cloud. Hence this represent another good opportunity to utilize cloud based infrastructures.<\/p>\n

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Even GreenPages<\/a> introduce these concept as enterprise case, however it can be extended to other actors with similar needs. For example, requirements\u00a0 to simulate production conditions for testing, while not affecting live deployments. With cloud services, suitable environments can be provisioned for apps development teams without affecting production environments, and then can be decommissioned with resulting charge-back reports for the respective cost centers. The Cloud will solve complex business needs with efficient, replicable and cost-effective solutions. With traditional hardware infrastructure, setting up a dedicated development environment\u00a0could be expensive and time consuming. Unlike physical test environment labs, the tests in the cloud enable to offer architects access to test environments on demand with no resource constraints and eliminating capital expenditure.<\/p>\n

2. Automation for Operating costs saving<\/a>
\nCompared to traditional test environments (server based) the cloud allows to reduce IT operating costs by utilizing the automation and orchestration features. In addition to these savings, the organization can redirect key resources for manual configuration activities of more mission-critical and value-added tasks increasing the globally the margins. Test cloud environments allow working with live environments for their testing services and not just modeling tools. The scenario<\/a> prepared for tests are closer to the final production configuration therefore increasing productivity and lowering the risks in the IT environment.<\/p>\n

3. What is the best strategy for test deployment in the cloud?<\/a><\/p>\n

As test configuration may grow in complexity for fast delivery of innovative applications to the marketplace. It is interesting to see how to reduce the time to plan, install and validate test environments. One key aspect is to consider that the cloud enables provisioning of test infrastructures on demand to maximize the utilisation of the asset.\u00a0 Feasibility studies are required to find the scenarios in which, moving testing to the cloud, can benefit the organization. Cost analysis should be made for private and public cloud utilisation with a correct mix.<\/p>\n

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The steps that should be followed to move, more effectively, applications in the cloud would be:<\/p>\n