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Software Testing - Configuration Testing

Software testing is conducted to verify both the functional and non-functional requirements of the software. Configuration testing is one of the concepts under non-functional testing which is conducted to check the performance of the software against multiple combinations of hardware and software to identify the most suitable configuration which enables the software to function without any errors.

What is Software Configuration Testing?

The software configuration testing is performed on the software under all the configurations of the supported hardware and software. The different configurations of the hardware and software point to the various versions of the operating system, browser, drivers, database, memory sizes, hard drives, CPU etc.

The different kinds of the operating system configurations include Win XP, Win 7 32/64 bit, Win 8 32/64 bit, Win 10, Mac etc. The different kinds of the database configurations include MongoDB, Oracle, DB2, MySQL, MSSQL Server, Sybase etc. The different kinds of the browser configurations include Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Edge etc.

Objectives of Software Configuration Testing

The objectives of the software configuration testing are listed below −

The software configuration testing is done to verify if the basic features of the software are working as expected under all configurations. The testing of the characteristics of the software under numerous arrangements is the primary objective of this type of testing.
The software configuration testing is conducted to check the stability of the software under different configurations. It also detects the circumstances under which the software becomes unstable, undergoes crashes etc.
The software configuration testing is used to enhance the end user experience while using the software. The user interface of the software is checked to ensure that screen sizes, fonts, resolution, display etc are adjusted accordingly.
The software configuration testing is done to test the security features, and handling of sensitive data under numerous configurations.
The software configuration testing is conducted to confirm that the software features are compatible with different network setups, types, latency, speed etc.
The software configuration testing tests the compatibility, integrity, and consistency of the software with various data configurations, sources, database, formats etc.

Process of Software Configuration Testing

The process of the software configuration testing are listed below −

Step 1 − At first, the entire software to be developed is divided into multiple components. Once a component is ready, it is tested by the developer to check if it is working properly as expected. This is known as unit testing.

Step 2 − Once all the individual components are tested they are integrated together to check if there are no bugs in the interfaces, and there is a proper data flow from one component to another. This is known as integration testing.

Step 3 − As all the components are integrated, the whole software is tested to check if it is working as a single unit in a test environment. At this point, the software is verified under different configurations of hardware, and software. Thus the configuration testing is done post the unit testing and the integration testing.

Different Types of Software Configuration Testing

The different types of the software configuration testing are listed below −

Software Configuration Testing

The software configuration testing is done to test the functionalities of the software under different versions of the operating systems, browsers etc. It takes a lot of time since numerous operating systems, browsers versions need to be installed and then uninstalled to complete the whole process. Thus the software configuration testing comes into picture after a round of unit and integration testing of the software.

Hardware Configuration Testing

The hardware configuration testing is done at labs or at the actual customer environments where physical machines are deployed along with its numerous hardware configurations. The software is installed in the physical devices and tested to check if they are working properly in all those machines. After completion of the hardware configuration testing, the configurations of all the hardware where the software has been tested are clearly called out.

Client Level Testing

The client level testing is done to verify the usability and functionality of the software. It is conducted from the customer's perspective.

Server Level Testing

The server level testing is done to verify the interaction of the software with the external hardware after its integration with it.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Configuration Testing. We’ve started with describing what is software configuration testing, what are the objectives of the software configuration testing, what is the process of the software configuration testing, and what are the different types of the software configuration testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Configuration Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.

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