Any technology or product is not released in the market until it is tested to function according to the standards set for it. IoT systems taking up the centre stage in the consumer space have also to go through this important phase of testing. We have tried to list a few testing approaches and open source software tools deployed for IoT.
IoT testing approaches
IoT Security
The IoT devices are equipped with IP Addresses and have the ability to transmit data over the network. When network comes into picture then security should be the first priority. From a testing standpoint, we need to check if the data is encrypted when getting transferred from one device to the other. In the case of UI, set password protection in ON mode.
Usability
There should be assured that all devices connected in the network are always available as well as performing well. Also, there should be an option to maintain a log of all devices to monitor individual’s functionality and behavior.
Connectivity
In the case of IoT, connectivity is a must. Communication between the device and its operator will only be established if there is connectivity between them. Testing under connectivity includes two possibilities.Testing of data that is transmitted over the network when connected in a network.
There is a possibility of a system to go offline definitely once. So it becomes important to check the behavior of the system during the offline period.
Pilot testing
Pilot testing is also one of the important testing processes in IoT implementation. Pilot testing is verifying the entire system or a single component under real-world operating conditions, or we can say its a rehearsal for the usability of a system.
Cross-domain compatibility testing
It is a measurement of how various devices communicate with each other and the digital environment. Various validation considerations such as hardware compatibility, encryption checks & security standards from the device layer to the network layer are being done in this type of testing.
IoT software testing tools
In IoT, there are various tools for testing both hardware and software individually. Some of the software testing tools are :
Wireshark
Wireshark is an open source and free network traffic analyzing software. It is used to monitor all the traffic visible on that interface including unicast traffic. It is similar to tcpdump but has a GUI(Graphical User Interface), also it has some sorting and filtering options. It’s another version without GUI is known as TShark. It runs on Linux, macOS, BSD, Solaris, some other Unix-like operating systems, and Microsoft Windows.
Shodan
Shodan is an IOT testing tool which you can use to discover which of your devices are connected to the Internet. It allows you to keep track of all the computers which are directly accessible from the Internet.
Download link
Tcpdump
Tcpdump does similar jobs as that of Wireshark but it doesn’t have GUI. It is a command line utility that displays sent and received TCP/IP and other packets over the network.
Thingful
Thingful is a search engine for the Internet of Things. It allows secure interoperability between millions of objects via the Internet. This IOT testing tool also to control how data is used and empowers to take more decisive and valuable decisions.
Download link.
SOASTA CloudTest
It enables four types of test automation on a single web platform – Mobile Functional & Performance testing and Web-based Functional & Performance testing. It can simulate millions of geographically dispersed concurrent users visiting a website to test the application under huge loads. With real-time analytics & seamless integration between test design, monitoring and reporting, CloudTest enable convenient and efficient testing.
CloudTest Lite is a free version that comes with limited features.
