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Technology is transforming the way we live our lives.
IoT (Internet of Things) was introduced to make our everyday life easier and smart, making IoT devices an ideal too to enable digital transformation. According to McKinsey Global Institute, IoT applications could have an $11 trillion impact by 2025. From smart wearables to smart home electrical systems, we use IoT technology in many ways in our day-to-day lives. IoT is therefore giving rise to many new business opportunities as well.
However, this smart technology comprises a complicated mechanism that requires proper monitoring to work efficiently. Software quality assurance (QA) has helped make IoT devices successful and provide users with a satisfying experience.
Significance of load testing for IoT devices
IoT ecosystems are complex, and they have multiple connected devices, sensors, copious amounts of data, and networks. Furthermore, the data in IoT devices are continuously collected, analyzed, and exchanged further with other devices.
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On top of this, IoT devices are either storing data in on-premises devices or on the cloud. All these factors together can give rise to IoT technological bottlenecks. Therefore, creating a dire need for software testing.
IoT devices have large databases and performing load testing on these devices will help you determine their performance under varied load conditions. Load testing can help you to test the maximum load capacities in IoT devices and fix any problems related to the same. In addition, running load tests will help enhance user experience under heavy load conditions and save your device from crashing and losing any data.
IoT load testing best practices
Load testing on IoT devices helps the devices be prepared for heavy load conditions and deliver a delightful user experience (UX). Load testing on IoT devices could be a complex process and to avoid any chance of failure, using these six best practices will help you achieve a flawless IoT application:
1. Understand the application and devices- An IoT device connects multiple devices. Therefore, QA teams must understand these devices and the application in-built to run software tests on IoT devices. Understanding devices will help the teams to identify the gaps and analyze the scalability of the same, thereby helping in running QA tests.
IoT is an interconnected system, where when one part faces any problem, it becomes a precursor to the other. Consequently, validating all devices connected will help the teams with defined information and understanding to plan the load testing process.
2. Analyze requirements: Before providing load testing services for any IoT device, it is pivotal to analyze all requirements. It is because every IoT device serves a different purpose, and it indicates that the needs of each device owner will vary.
Load tests help to evaluate a device’s ability to bear different loads on various occasions. Therefore, to have a successful result of load testing, QA teams must focus on the given requirements regarding diverse usage patterns. Test cases will then be designed considering diverse use cases to derive all possible outcomes.
3. Select appropriate tools: Running tests on any platform isn’t a cakewalk, and when it is an IoT platform, it is not so smooth and easy. Numerous tests are performed during IoT application testing, and QA teams need software testing tools to perform the right tests.
Choosing a best-suited tool for IoT load testing will help QA teams to derive better test results within the stipulated deadline. In addition, using the right tools based on the testing plan and requirements will support the teams with enhanced performance and help them run multiple tests.
4. Script test cases: Proper test cases must be scripted to meet all requirements, and both positive and negative outcomes should be considered. During load testing, many virtual users are created to perform tests under variation. Accurate test cases enable IoT testing tools to perform efficiently, resulting in deriving expected test results
5. Ensure data security: Any IoT application is surrounded by gazillions of data, making it sensitive to cyber-attacks. Hackers out there are waiting to find one loose end and steal all that data away. This makes it especially important to secure the data while performing IoT testing on your devices.
While providing IoT load testing services, QA teams must ensure that all data remains secure when systems are disrupted under different load conditions. The situation can allow outsiders to slide into the systems and access the data. Proper cyber security testing coupled with load testing will help prevent any data breaches
6. Test in extreme environments: The load tests must be performed under extreme situations. Load testing helps determine how the system will react when pushed to its maximum capabilities. Thus, any IoT device should be tested for its load capacity under extreme circumstances, starting from a lower load, and reaching the highest.
The different environments will allow you to determine the performance of your IoT device under varied load conditions. This will also help QA teams find the maximum possibility of gaps in the different loads, providing the best solution to resolve performance issues. This will result in achieving an enhanced user experience even under heavy load.
Key takeaways
IoT (Internet of Things) is here to stay forever. It has brought in upgrades for different sectors like healthcare, telecom, banking and many more. This technology upgrade has helped industries to grow and provide better services to their users.
IoT devices are complex and require the help of experts to maintain the desired quality and work like magic. Thus, performing load testing on IoT devices will help achieve quality and keep all connected devices unharmed when exposed to heavy load.
This article highlights the essence of load testing on IoT devices and will dive into its benefits. Erna Clayton! Best insights! The lion’s share of the IoT technology is used by healthcare enterprises and other domains with similar usage are observed in the electronics, travel, and aviation sectors. As IoT ecosystems are complex with endless connected devices and data from these devices is constantly collected, analyzed, and exchanged, testing the performance of IoT apps is frequently critical. A data breach would lead to dire consequences. IoT load testing validates the quality of the app and its infrastructure by subjecting the entire ecosystem to a series of dry runs and simulations to identify issues.