Most vendors and their carrier customers test their networking equipment manually. They set up test cases, and some cases are programmed in scripting language before they’re run. But with the size and complexity of some systems, with their huge number of features and options, testing can be a long and drawn-out process.
This is especially true for paranoid service providers who want to test everything to ensure quality and a good subscriber experience. The testing process not only is time consuming, taking months to well over a year, it’s also very expensive. The shortage of test engineers is a constant problem as well. Fanfare’s iTest 3.2, though, promises to speed up and simplify that process.
With this software, companies can build a vendor-agnostic test system and completely automate the test process on complex equipment and systems. Testing productivity gains of three to 18 times have been achieved, giving companies significant time-to-market and improved quality advantages.
Also, iTest 3.2 lets test engineers build test cases by simply entering basic commands as defined in the language of the device under test (DUT) in a unique user interface. The software does the rest, including full documentation. Storing the test case then makes it easy to repeat later as required.
The iTest software comes in three versions— iTest Personal, iTest Team, and iTest Enterprise—to match the right functionality to the right job role, experience level, and use model. This integrated test authoring and execution solution is built for testers, developers, and automation teams. It provides quality assurance (QA) organizations with a unified approach for rapidly developing, automating, and maintaining test cases. With iTest, QA organizations can:
• Accelerate testing throughout the QA organization by reducing manual tasks • Enable all QA team members to effectively contribute to automation efforts, regardless of skill level • Automate testing by easily implementing and automating pass/fail criteria within tests • Improve collaboration across teams and between companies with a standardized communication platform • Streamline testing by integrating automated processes with existing testing infrastructures
New features include In-Grid analysis to provide intuitive pass/fail capabilities and Testbed Revolver for improved transferability and support for Java Swing, Syslog, and Wireshark applications. It also features enhancements to Agilent’s N2X and Spirent’s SmartBits and TestCenter integrations as well as support for Ixia’s IxNetwork and IxLoad test equipment software.
The 3.2 version is available now. Contact the company for pricing and licensing details.
Fanfare