How to Test a System with Microservice Architecture | David Tzemach
You've probably heard of microservices if you work in the testing industry. Many businesses that have adopted modern DevOps practices are also spending money on converting existing projects or starting new ones with Microservice-based architecture. Being a new technology, it has its share of difficulties, particularly in the testing area. In the world of microservices, testers—particularly web testers—are currently developing new approaches to automation testing. Let's first define microservices before delving further.
There are typically two methods for creating an application. The type that is most frequently used is Microservices and monolithic. Microservices architecture is a group of smaller, independently deployable services as opposed to a monolithic application, which is created as a single integrated unit.
Monolithic Application
Multi-related tasks can be handled by monolithic applications. They frequently involve numerous tightly coupled functions and are complex applications. Take a monolithic SaaS application for online shopping as an illustration. It might include a web server, a load balancer, a service that serves up product images from a catalog, and ordering platform, a payment option, and a shipping element.
Given their broad application, monolithic tools typically have sizable code bases. The entire platform may need to be compiled and tested to make a small change to a single function, which is contrary to the agile methodology that most developers use today.
Microservices
A microservices architecture, in contrast to a monolithic approach, entails smaller applications that are deployed independently as loosely coupled services and connected via application integration. With microservice applications, the business logic may span several platforms, such as on-premises databases, software as a service, and internally developed applications that address requirements that no SaaS application can.
Microservices may be easier to create from a software engineering standpoint. They are easier for developers to enhance through continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) because they are smaller in scope and size. Any programming language can be used to create them. Additionally, they can use APIs to communicate with other microservices.
A set of programming calls known as an application programming interface (API) makes an application's functionality available to developers. By providing a simple means of passing data and credentials between applications, APIs make it easier to develop integrated applications.
Before we start testing a microservice application, developers should take the following steps to ensure testing is as effective and efficient as possible.
Make sure the branch of the code is correct.
Take the newest code from the repository.
Do not forget to update all dependencies.
If a database migration occurs, rerun.
If the database has been moved, restart. Launch the service.
Microservices Testing Challenges
It is necessary to take additional security precautions when testing microservices, such as maintaining multiple repositories, each with its database. Deeper challenges could result from tests.
More knowledge to learn - We must have in-depth familiarity with each of the services
being tested before we can begin writing test cases.
Different teams are involved in the development of microservices - It is challenging to coordinate the testing effort and even more challenging to have all microservices ready for testing at once in microservices projects because different teams typically manage their microservices.
Flexibility - Microservices do give developers the freedom to not be reliant on a particular programming language, increasing their flexibility. You would, however, have to deal with the hassle of maintaining multiple versions of databases and libraries.
Fragmented testing - Microservices are designed to function independently or in conjunction with other loosely coupled services. The entire application as well as each component must be tested. The Complexity of software is directly proportional to the number of microservices that the product is either delivering or adding.
Despite some obvious testing challenges, the advantages of microservices are too great to ignore. Before testing microservices, let's discuss some strategies we can employ.
Functionality Testing
A microservice has its data source in addition to the individual implementation of features. Additionally, it encompasses a domain. Individual testing is, therefore, necessary to confirm that it can implement the function for which it was created. It is simpler to pull and test the functionality of a single microservice when implementation is done in a container. Enterprise-level automation tools, such as SoapUI Pro or any other API testing tool, enable you to test all conceivable scenarios, such as looping through various test cases or microservice endpoints with various data sets.
User Interface Testing
Since it enables the tester to comprehend how the application will behave when used by an end-user, it is likely the main importance. Instead of relying solely on automation tools when conducting UI testing, testers should consider the viewpoint of the user and ascertain how the application feels and functions. In order to achieve the desired outcome, every interface, external and internal service, and database must function flawlessly and in perfect sync.
Scalability Testing
Testing scenarios should be run to determine whether the microservice is scalable or not in order to determine whether it is independent and agile. Testers must verify whether the microservice efficiently replicates as load increases to maintain load balance and to determine whether replicated microservices can cooperate to finish a task.
Let's take the development of a weather forecasting application as an example. It is updated frequently to reflect the changing weather. It displays the recorded temperature from one microservice and the current weather image from another. Due to issues with caching, an older image may be rendered when the widget is rendered multiple times. The scalability of the app can be tested with a single click using appropriate automation testing tools, which can execute test case scenarios at any level of granularity.
End-to-End Testing
End-to-end testing is an essential technique for testing microservices because testers must test every component separately to ensure that the integrated application achieves its intended purpose. Keeping the number of test case executions under control is a good end-to-end testing strategy. Even the smallest problems will be caught by a careful balance between end-to-end testing and other testing techniques. End-to-end testing will take more time and have a higher chance of failing in a large application. Therefore, it should be saved for last after all other testing processes are finished.