As software development teams transition towards a continuous development and delivery model, they seek ways to enhance their delivery speed, like using Selenium testing. Additionally, QA teams often diminish test coverage, focusing on a limited set of browsers, browser versions, and operating systems based on the maximum target audience usage.
However, A more effective strategy involves shifting from sequential to parallel testing, allowing teams to attain comprehensive coverage while minimizing execution time. The contemporary continuous testing model, complemented by parallel testing, advocates this approach. Let’s delve into a deeper understanding of parallel testing.
What is Selenium?
Selenium stands as a widely adopted open-source framework for browser automation. Developers utilize this framework to script actions that guide a web browser through visiting web pages and engaging with DOM elements. Consequently, Selenium has become a prevalent method for testing web applications within continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), eliminating the need for manual testers.
What Is a Selenium Grid?
Before delving into the specifics of Selenium Grid, it’s essential to grasp its fundamentals. Selenium Grid facilitates parallel testing across browsers and operating system combinations through a Client-Server model. The Server, known as the Hub, interacts with multiple Clients.
With Selenium Grid, a server can be connected to multiple remote machines, allowing the execution of a browser automation script across diverse browser and OS configurations simultaneously.
It’s worth noting that Selenium Grid 3 has been deprecated, and the official Selenium documentation recommends utilizing Selenium Grid 4.
Grid Configuration
- Hub: The Orchestrator/Master/Central Point for test cases. A GRID has only one Hub, which is responsible for communicating and coordinating test execution across all nodes simultaneously.
- Node: Any test machine added to the hub that performs test execution based on commands from the Hub. Nodes operate with their Selenium Browser Drivers and remain independent of each other.
- Execution: To run test scripts on the Grid, DesiredCapabilities and RemoteWebDriver objects should be utilized.
- DesiredCapabilities: Configures the test node settings, such as browser/version and OS/version, used in automation.
- RemoteWebDriver: Specifies which node (or machine) the test will run against.
During local test case execution, WebDriver client libraries communicate directly with the Web Browser Driver. However, when executing tests remotely, the WebDriver client libraries communicate with the RemoteWebDriver server, which then interacts with the Firefox Driver, IE Driver, or Chrome Driver as requested by the WebDriver client.
When is it appropriate for testers to utilize Selenium Grid?
Testers should leverage Selenium Grid in the following scenarios:
- Running tests across multiple browsers, various versions of browsers, diverse devices, and operating systems.
- Minimizing the overall execution time of a test suite.
Selenium Grid proves beneficial in accelerating the turnaround time for test results, particularly when dealing with extensive test suites that consume considerable time. It provides flexibility and guarantees optimal test coverage within a constrained time frame. Additionally, the utilization of virtual infrastructure ensures simplified maintenance.
Advantages of Utilizing Selenium Grid:
Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of using Selenium Grid
Dedicated Framework Compatibility:
Selenium Grid integrates with various frameworks, including PyTest, Robot, MsUnit, Cucumber, Capybara, PyUnit, and NUnit. This compatibility ensures ease in verifying web page compatibility across different user environments. Familiarity with Selenium tools and efficient usage become essential, but the presence of dedicated frameworks simplifies the process.
Language Support:
Selenium Grid supports multiple programming languages like Java, Python, Ruby, C#, and others. This feature ensures that the test framework aligns with the preferred programming language within a company, making it a versatile choice for programmers of varying expertise levels.
Cross-Browser Testing Capability:
The ability to support various browsers is crucial for comprehensive web application testing. Selenium Grid stands out by facilitating testing across a broad spectrum of well-known web browsers. This ensures thorough cross-browser testing, considering the diverse browser preferences of end-users.
Multi-Operating Platform Support:
Selenium Grid minimizes the challenges of testing web applications across different operating systems. With built-in support for various operating platforms, Selenium requires minimal script adjustments when transitioning between operating systems. This capability streamlines the testing process across multiple platforms, saving time and effort.
Open Source and Free Software:
Selenium’s open-source nature and vibrant creator and user communities contribute to its continuous improvement. Regular updates and extensive testing by the community ensure reliability. The free availability of Selenium encourages widespread adoption among software developers, providing opportunities for diverse users.
Parallel testing capabilities:
Selenium Grid offers a valuable feature of concurrent test execution, significantly reducing testing time. Unlike sequential testing methods, running concurrently enhances efficiency and ensures higher-quality test outcomes.
Effective and Insightful Reporting:
Monitoring the testing process is essential for both manual and automated testing. Selenium integrates seamlessly with external tools, allowing precise and insightful reporting. This integration enhances the visibility of the testing progress, offering a more effective approach to tracking and analyzing results.
What is Parallel Testing (also known as Parallel Test Execution)?
Parallel testing involves simultaneously testing different modules or applications on multiple browsers rather than conducting tests one after another.
In contrast to sequential testing, where various modules or functionalities are tested individually, parallel test execution focuses on testing different modules concurrently. This approach is particularly beneficial for testing applications on multiple browsers, as it significantly reduces the time required for testing.
Parallel testing is a valuable strategy to minimize execution time and efforts, leading to a quicker time to delivery. It proves especially useful for tasks such as cross-browser testing, compatibility testing, localization, and internationalization testing.
In scenarios involving multiple software versions, parallel testing allows the simultaneous testing of these versions, enabling the rapid identification of issues. This approach contributes to a more efficient testing process and faster issue resolution.
Execute Selenium Grid for Parallel Automation Testing
Conducting parallel testing, especially when aiming for compatibility across diverse platforms and browsers, incurs additional costs. The expenses associated with compatibility testing escalate as it becomes challenging to access all browsers and their versions effectively. In some instances, it may reach a point where comprehensive access becomes impractical.
LambdaTest, an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform specializing in cross browser testing, provides a viable solution. With a solid understanding of Selenium Grid usage, testers can guarantee the cross-platform compatibility of their web applications through parallel testing on LambdaTest’s Cloud Selenium Grid.
This Grid facilitates instant access to over 3000 real browsers and devices, spanning diverse versions, manufacturers, and operating systems, including real desktops, iOS, and Android devices. Such testing under real user conditions enhances the accuracy of results, making it easier to identify and address bottlenecks.
Drawbacks of Parallel Testing
When opting for parallelization, creating independent modules is essential for enabling different modules to run concurrently. Modules with dependencies cannot be accommodated in the parallel approach.
A thorough understanding of the product and its flow is required for parallelization. While parallelization can enhance cross-browser compatibility testing, its ability to cover multiple browsers is limited unless it is complemented by distributed testing. Distributed testing involves setting up multiple machines and browsers to extend the coverage.
Conclusion
Selenium Grid offers the convenience of simultaneous testing across multiple browsers, browser versions, and machines. The real device cloud from LambdaTest ensures maximum test coverage by granting access to both legacy and the latest devices and browsers. This approach contributes to delivering a consistent end-user experience in alignment with the continuous delivery methodology, utilizing Selenium Grid.
