In the age of new possibilities and constant evolution, software testing developed multiple new forms as well. Even though test automation is gaining more and more significance, UI and non-functional requirements cannot be tested on emulators and simulators; they need real devices in various configurations and conditions. Setting up an on-premise device lab requires huge investments and maintaining resources, which does not scale well with the growing number of devices and apps. This is where remote test labs and device farms have emerged as a reliable and cost-effective mobile and web application testing solution. This article discusses the various aspects of setting up a remote test lab, best practices to consider and ways to streamline live testing across different configurations.
What is a Remote Test Lab?
A remote test lab is a test facility that enshrines the testing of software over the Internet. Many devices, browsers, and OS are available through the visual environment software without the need for their actual physical hardware counterparts. This configuration is especially useful if the team members are spread across different geographical regions or if the organization requires running several application configurations simultaneously.
The use of remote test labs helps organizations cut expenses related to the purchase of physical devices. Virtual environments ensure that high costs are not incurred in the acquisition of many computers and other gadgets that are needed in the facility to be operated in the virtual environment.
Current State of Smartphone Mobile Market
For the past ten years, the market for Smartphone apps has increased dramatically. Today, with platforms such as IoS and Android, more than a million apps are being installed every day. However, the challenging task remains unchanged – to test each build of every application for compatibility and operative performance on a vast majority of the current mobile devices, operating systems’ versions and environments.
Traditional local test environments do not provide the flexibility and scalability required to simulate real-world usage of mobile applications under different conditions. This is where cloud-based remote test labs have emerged as a game-changing solution.
Understanding Remote Test Lab
A remote test lab or device farm can be best described as a Software as a Service that supplies devices and operating systems on-demand over the internet. The infrastructure as it is set up currently is physically at a different secure location which has physical devices as well as emulators that can be programmatically interacted with using API or dashboard.
Common components of such an infrastructure include app repositories, device repositories, test automation tools, frameworks, test execution engines etc. Providers also offer services like integration with CI/CD pipelines, instant access to the latest OS updates on devices, geo-distributed labs across regions and scalable pricing based on usage.
Benefits of Remote Test Labs
A remote test lab or device farm takes the headache out of software testing by providing on-demand access to a wide range of remote devices. Some key advantages of leveraging a remote test lab are:
- No infrastructure management: Remote labs eliminate the need for companies to invest thousands in procuring, maintaining and upgrading devices in-house. Providers take care of complete infrastructure management at their secure testing facilities.
- Scalability: Labs allow adding any number of devices as per changing testing requirements without limitations of physical space and other resources. Tests can be easily run in parallel across hundreds of devices.
- Flexible pricing: Labs generally offer usage-based pricing without long-term commitments. Companies pay only for what they use based on test minutes, device hours, etc. This is more cost-effective than maintaining an expensive in-house lab.
- Geographical scaling: Most providers maintain globally distributed labs across regions like North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. This allows apps to be tested from users’ perspectives across time zones and networks.
- Always up-to-date devices: Labs ensure all devices have the latest OS versions, patches and configurations as released by manufacturers automatically. Testing encompasses the most recent environment variables.
- Automated provisioning: Devices can be provisioned, configured and added to test queues programmatically in minutes via API or dashboards for automated large-scale testing.
How to Set Up Remote Test Lab?
Choosing a test lab provider
There are many remote test lab providers in the market today offering varied infrastructure capabilities and pricing models. Important factors to consider when choosing a provider include the range of supported mobile and desktop platforms, geographical coverage, scalability and flexibility of pricing, level of support and services offered, integration with other tools in the existing tech stack, and security and privacy policies.
Features like dedicated private clouds, mobile app repositories and dashboards for easy management of tests and pipelines also play a vital role. It is recommended that different provider options be carefully evaluated based on the specific testing requirements and that one with a comprehensive set of devices, 24/7 support, and proven excellence in quality of service be chosen.
Structuring the testbed
Once a provider is selected, the next step is to structure and organize the available devices and emulators per the testing requirements. Devices must be categorized based on attributes like platform, OS version, screen size, geography, etc. Similarly, emulators must be grouped according to the device specifications they simulate. This helps create logical and reusable resource pools for different teams and projects. To maintain uniformity, standard naming conventions must be followed while creating and tagging devices/emulators.
Configuring the automation framework
A well-designed automation framework and test codebase are needed to leverage the remote test lab infrastructure for automated testing efficiently. The framework must support parallel and distributed execution of tests across multiple devices in the lab. It should provide capabilities for auto-provisioning devices, installing and launching test apps, collecting results and reporting.
Compatible frameworks include Appium for mobile and Selenium for the web. Tests must be parameterized for the dynamic configuration of variables like app versions, device IDs, etc. Integrating the framework with CI/CD pipelines enables continuous testing across the lab.
Best practices of Remote Test Lab for mobile app testing
Mobile apps come with unique challenges due to the varied device configurations and form factors they need to support. Some effective strategies to consider for mobile test automation include-
Model-based testing approach
A model-based approach involves creating object models of the app UI and business flows. These models act as a single source of truth for the app under test and enable the generation of test cases systematically targeting all user flows and edge conditions. They also help maintain the app’s up-to-date executable specifications.
Tools like Delphi and Cucumber support generating model-based tests that can be updated in sync with code changes for continuous testing. This approach reduces maintenance efforts and ensures high test coverage.
Data-driven testing
Mobile apps often involve the use of different data types and scenarios. A data-driven technique involves defining test data in external sources like Excel/CSV sheets and reading this dynamic data within test scripts using parameterized methods. This eliminates code duplication and makes scripts more maintainable. Data sets can be created to cover all identifiable cases. Updating the data files without changing the code can easily add new test cases. It also facilitates running the same tests with different input combinations across multiple versions.
Device pool-based test assignment
Since mobile apps need to function as expected on an array of devices, it is a good practice to assign test scripts or test suites to automated execution on specific device pools/configurations. This mapping can be done either through test design or via framework capabilities.
For example, tests validating layout or UI elements can target lower-end phones while performance tests may run on high-spec devices. Tests can also be grouped, and device filters can be assigned based on geographical locations, OS versions, etc. Such mapping ensures all relevant device configurations are validated automatically during regular test runs.
Monitoring test results
For remote test labs, it is critical to have mechanisms to continuously monitor the status of automated test executions and reliably retrieve results to flag issues on time. Centralized reporting dashboards with real-time test run details and historical trends go a long way here. Email alerts configured for test failures help keep stakeholders informed.
Logs must be archived for future reference. Integrating the lab with monitoring tools provides granular visibility and enables easy root-cause analysis. Unreliable or erratic test behaviors across some environments need attention. Detailed error screenshots can also assist with remotely debugging failing tests.
Remote Testing Using LambdaTest Platform
LambdaTest provides a top-notch device farm platform for large enterprises and early startups looking to execute quality assurance seamlessly. Their reliable infrastructure boasts access to over 3000+ real mobile devices and browsers on different operating systems. Testing web or hybrid mobile applications on such an extensive device pool ensures comprehensive compatibility validation covering diverse form factors, specifications, regions and network conditions.
More importantly, advanced features like live interaction, location simulation, and network tweaking further empower developers and testers to reproduce intricate usage scenarios before release. The platform supports continuous integration of tests with all major tools to automate testing on each code change. With reliable test orchestration and a flexible management console, teams can quickly scale testing across developers and testers.
Security is the topmost priority at LambdaTest with measures like dedicated environments, controlled access and two-factor authentication. Adherence to strict regulations like GDPR moreover assures while testing sensitive applications. Reliable certification standards cement a robust security posture.
Perhaps what stands out most is the affordability of LambdaTest’s offerings. Early startups can evaluate the infrastructure at no cost while larger businesses have competitive pricing for extensive testing needs. With uptime commitments of 99.9%, reliability also remains uncompromised. Backed by strong expertise, LambdaTest continues delivering world-class support and new capabilities, regularly helping customers future-proof their processes. Overall, it provides unparalleled value and peace of mind for continuous testing in today’s fast-evolving digital era.
Conclusion
With the growing complexity of apps, remote test labs have emerged as a very useful approach for mobile and web application testing. Careful planning around lab infrastructure, test automation design, best practices and monitoring can help streamline testing processes and deliver quality software at speed and scale. Regular reviews also ensure labs are optimized to maximize ROI over some time.
