Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services

21. Testing and Quality Assurance

Posted by Benny Tritsch on June 22, 2008

[Testing and QA] [Criteria] [Methodology] [Tools and Products]

 

Comprehensive testing before launching a terminal server environment often helps avoid unpleasant surprises. But how can you perform these tests and what are the key parameters for a test to succeed? These questions must be viewed in the context of the fact that tests are usually one of the more unpopular tasks involved in setting up terminal server environments. The normally technically minded persons show a rather muted excitement when it comes to testing. Reasons for the lack of enthusiasm include the following:

• Really meaningful tests, including thorough evaluation, usually require considerable time and effort and are thus often reduced to a minimum due to budget restrictions.
• Tests are normally performed at the end of a project. If the previous project phases overrun, tests are cut short or eliminated to meet the overall project deadline.
• There are only a few test tools that are suitable for complex terminal server environments.
• Performing a meaningful test is only half of the work. Evaluation and documentation are also important, and they require special skills on the part of the test engineers in charge.
• Conscientious test engineers will possibly be able to show consultants, developers, or system integrators system bottlenecks or even errors in the terminal server infrastructure, which then results in additional (troubleshooting) work. Although this sounds rather harmless, testing can be social dynamite in complex projects.
• According to general opinion, test engineers do not generate creative results but instead examine the results of technical creativity using formal methods.

To cut a long story short, test engineers are not very well liked, they often do not have the right tools, they do not generate creative results, and their work is very expensive. These are common prejudices, although they are definitely unjustified!

So why are tests needed at all? Couldn't we just do without them? The answer is very simple: no, you can’t, testing is a must in most cases. A terminal server environment's resource requirements are very difficult to predict without some sort of tests. The results of such tests may influence investments into hardware substantially. Furthermore, you can easily be accused of negligence in a project where no tests have been done to predict and secure the results. For these reasons, tests are indispensable in any serious environment – especially where time and money are in limited supply.

This chapter will present to you how testing of a terminal server or virtualization environment is done to achieve usable results and what tools or products are available.

 

 

Read in this chapter...
21	Testing and Quality Assurance
21.1	Test Criteria
21.2	Test Methodology
21.3	Available Tools and Products