iTest 3.4 development is almost complete and will soon be available for beta testing. Before I go any further, our legal department wants me to throw in this disclaimer:
This post contains information regarding Fanfare’s product direction and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information presented is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. All information provided in this presentation is considered proprietary and is being provided pursuant to existing agreements, including, but not limited to the Fanfare Community Terms of Service.
With that out of the way, here is a sneak peek at just a few of the great new features we've been working on in 3.4.
Virtual Testbeds:
This is the most exciting new feature to come along for the testing community in a long time. Virtual testbeds (VTB) are just that – virtual (emulated) versions of any or all of the devices in your testbed. Imagine being able to write test cases *before* your next version of software is available, running your test cases when you aren’t connected to your test lab, and “testing” your test cases to ensure they are designed properly. All this, and more, will be available with VTB.
Test Suites, Jobs & Scheduling:
In iTest 3.4, we have a new kind of document called a “test suite”. This document allows you to create one or more test groups that use folders and filters to define which test cases are included in the test suite. Of course, the next question is how you run these test suites. This is where iTest’s new jobs and scheduling functionality comes in. To run a test suite, you create a new job definition file that describes the test or test suite to run and the testbed and parameters to use. Then you ask the job scheduling system to run your job – now or on a scheduled basis. iTest will then take care of running it for you.
New Traffic Generator Integrations:
- Ixia IxNetwork – In iTest 3.4, users will be able to use our new IxNetwork integration to write and run tests that require complex network topologies comprising a number of devices running various layer 3 routing protocols. Different network layer statistics can be accessed and analyzed easily in iTest.
- Spirent Avalanche – In iTest 3.4, users will be able to control and run Avalanche tests from inside iTest. The integration provides great support for extracting and analyzing the vast amounts of data that can be produced by running Avalanche tests.
Additional Features & Enhancements:
- New paradigm for managing projects and files that makes it easier to share assets and run iTest tests in headless regression environments
- Native capture for our Java Swing module
- Web module enhancements, including the ability to collect web page information and to store screen snapshots directly in test reports
- New build system that handles file dependencies more efficiently, providing greatly improved performance for large workspaces
- Response filters that allow better management of device responses in response maps
- Improved functionality for dealing with missing prompts
- Database Client application that provides a simple user interface for entering SQL queries and analyzing results
- Improved HP Quality Center integration that now supports batch publishing of tests and reports
- Improvements to the Test Reports View and Test Report Editor that make it easier to find specific test reports and navigate to the passed or failed issues within reports
- And more!
If you want to be one of the first users to get your hands on 3.4, I encourage you to participate in our beta program. Our PM team just started taking applications for participation in the program, and we’ll be adding additional information to our 3.4 forum board in the coming weeks.
 | Pawan Singh, vice president of engineering, joined Fanfare in 2004. Learn more about Pawan >> |
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