Network testing has always been vital in ensuring the reliability of IT operations, but the manner in which networks are developed, modified, and utilized has changed so dramatically in the last few years that the method of performing network testing has also changed greatly.
As a result, the traditional method of manual testing that worked fine within the confines of a relatively stable industry has been rendered inadequate because of the frequency and velocity of the changes made to networks today as per Netpicker.
This article will discuss how network testing has evolved due to the growth of automation, the tools and techniques that are important for modern network testing, and the best practices that organizations should implement to lower the risk associated with the transition to automated networks.
Why traditional network testing cannot keep up with today’s networks?
It has traditionally been dependent on human effort to perform tasks. Engineers would review the configuration of a network, run command-line-based checks against the configuration, and then make network changes during scheduled maintenance periods.
Although this process was adequate to accomplish the required changes to the network in the past, as the rate at which networks change has accelerated, and as organizations leverage automated tools to deploy and manage their network infrastructure.
As organizations continue to grow their networks, the risk becomes increasingly significant that it will eventually be forced to implement a third-party testing service to validate the configuration of their networks.
Automated testing addresses the issue of risk by enabling organizations to consistently and continuously perform automated testing of their entire network as per Netpicker.
So, what are the types of network testing in automated environments?
There are various categories of it that are not only distinct but also related. The goal of each category is to reduce risks and make networks more reliable.
1. Configuration Validation
One major cause of outages and security incidents has been misconfigured devices, and misconfigured devices have been one of the top sources of network downtime and loss of data.
For example,
Routing protocols, firewall rules, and interface configurations are examples of what configurations will be validated by the automated configuration testing tool to assure that the devices’ running configuration matches the intended design.
2. Connectivity Testing and Path Testing
Connectivity testing is used to ensure that the devices on the network can connect to each other properly and communicate as expected across the network.
It will verify that applications and services can reach each other and that users can connect to these systems over the network.
A path testing tool automates and provides better visibility of how each packet is traveling through the network by providing the path a packet takes through the network from source to destination.
3. Performance Testing and Capacity Testing
Performance testing confirms that a network can meet the anticipated workload demand of its users.
It also helps to identify if the network meets the anticipated demand by using automated performance testing tools to monitor various metrics, including packet loss, latency, jitter, and throughput on the most heavily utilized network paths.
The information gained from performance testing is extremely useful in maintaining the expected performance of applications in both cloud and hybrid environments as per Netpicker.
4. Security Policy Testing
Automation testing that is designed specifically to test security-focused network control systems and to ensure that these systems are working as intended.
For example,
Firewall rules, access Controls, and segmentation Policies.
These tools can automate the verification of sensitive systems from being accessed by unauthorized users and create a stronger security posture to meet compliance needs.
Now, which are the tools to enable network testing automation?
The growth of automated solutions has led to the creation of a new class of these tools. Although by definition they can vary significantly in capability, all successful tools contain many common characteristics that are as follows:
First, they integrate with network devices, cloud platforms, and orchestration systems.
Secondly, they typically have a defined expectation of behavior using models and policies.
Finally, they produce concise results that network engineers can use to quickly make decisions and take actions on.
In addition to the commercial tools, many organizations utilize open source-based tools and frameworks.
Open source-based tools include Python libraries for creating, testing, and validating configurations; configuration validation frameworks and infrastructure as code components are also utilized to create and modify automated testing pipeline processes as per Netpicker.
Let’s see the impact of automated network testing on business.
Senior executives frequently request information on how it impacts business. It is possible to measure the impact, which are listed below in the following:
- As documented in many organizations adopting automated testing, there is typically a decrease in the number of outages, faster recovery, and reduced operating costs.
- The decrease in downtime can have a direct impact on the customer experience and revenue.
- According to various studies, the average cost of a significant IT outage could exceed multiple hundred thousand dollars per hour.
- Preventing just a few of these types of incidents could warrant investing in automated testing.
- Automated testing also assists in satisfying compliance and audit readiness requirements by minimizing the amount of effort needed to provide control and governance.
As networks continue to grow and evolve, the importance of automation in network testing will continue to grow. It is no longer a separate function of the business. it has become an essential component of managing network operations in modern society. For more information, contact us at Netpicker.