Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise: A Step ...

Testing from the Enterprise to the Clouds and Back 165
There are some clear testing differences to note when cloud computing
comes into the mix.
First, we neither own nor control the cloud computing–based systems,
so we have to deal with what they provide us, including the limitations, and
we typically cannot change it. Thus, we cannot perform some types of testing,
such as finding the saturation points of the cloud computing platform to
determine the upward limitations on scaling or determining how to crash
the cloud computing system. That type of testing may get us a nasty e-mail.
White box testing (covered later) of the underlying platform or services
(viewing the code), which we can do if we own and control the systems under
test, is also not supported by most cloud computing providers.
Second, the patterns of usage, including how one system interacts with
another, are different from enterprise to cloud. Traditionally, we test onpremise
systems and almost never test a system we cannot see or touch. This
includes issues with Internet connectivity.
Third, we are testing systems that are contractually obligated to provide
computing service to our architecture, and we need a way to validate that
those services are being provided now and into the future. Thus, testing takes
on a legal aspect: If the service is not being delivered in the manner outlined
in the contract, we can take action.
Finally, cloud computing is new. As such, IT is a bit suspicious about the
lack of control. Rigorous and well-defined testing, as described in this chapter,
eliminates many of those fears. We must be hyperdiligent to reduce the
chances of failure and must work around the fear of change.
Testing from the Enterprise to the Clouds and Back
Testing SOA using cloud computing is a complex, distributed computing
problem. We must learn how to isolate, check, and integrate, assuring that
things work at the service, persistence, and process layers. The foundation of
SOA using cloud computing testing is to select the right tools for the job,
have a well-thought-out plan, and spare no expense in testing cycles. Otherwise,
our SOA using cloud computing architecture may lay an egg—and
there goes our credibility.
Organizations are beginning to roll out their first instances of SOA using
cloud computing, typically as smaller projects. While many work fine, some
are not living up to expectations because of quality issues that could have