Posts Tagged ‘Testing Software’

A software testing job is what is known as a cake job. Basically it consists of sitting at a computer and testing software. Typically this is usually part of another job, but sometimes it is the only task that is assigned.

Why is it Necessary?

New software is written all the time. The software is always tested by the author but it is difficult to really get a feel for the software and to see if there are any bugs until it is used in actual applications.

A lot of software will work perfectly fine in a controlled environment but once it is put into play in a real time environment than the bugs pop up. It is important that the programmer knows what the bugs are and fixes them before the product hit’s the open market.

Functionality is also important to determine before the software is offered to consumers. If a product does not function the way it should function in real time than basically the product is useless and needs to be adjusted to function properly.

How Does it Work?

Usually a software testing job requires that the person doing the job uses the software in a real life setting for a specified period of time. The software may be monitored from a remote location by the programmer.

The tester has to take notes about the functionality of the software and utilize every aspect of the software in a number of environments. The tester may be required to use the software with other programs running to check for compatibility. The tester will generate a report which may in include things like how many times the software stopped working, or if any error messages were received.

Compensation

Compensation usually is not monetary, sometimes it is but usually it is not. Compensation is usually provided in the way of free copies of the software, or some other perks that are related to the software.

Gamers clamor to get on board to try out the latest gaming software, so they can get an early free copy of the software.

In some instances there may be gift certificates or other incentives that are given to try out and test software.

Software testing jobs can be fun, especially when trying out games or other fun applications. Sometimes these jobs are part of another job and are just tacked on as additional duties.

Software Testing Jobs are cake jobs. Software testing jobs are an awesome employment opportunity.

Author: Munson Shelly
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

Go on, admit it, you’ve thought about it yourself. Wouldn’t it be satisfying to set your computer alight? Sadly, that is not what this article is about. Burning In is the term used to describe the process of testing new managed server hardware for faults before putting it to use in a live environment. This is done by running ‘Stress testing’ software for some period of time.

Whenever we get new server hardware, we always do a complete burn in to ensure that the server hardware is up to our high standards. If the hardware fails at any point, we send it back to the supplier. The actual process is easy, although setting it up isn’t.

Memory

First, when the new server is turned on, we boot off of the network, which allows us to boot multiple machines at once without needing 20+ bootable disks. The first test run is the well known Memtest, you’ll find it in Google, this thoroughly checks the computers memory, and runs for about 1 day.

If the computer passes the Memtest, it is restarted and booted into a custom Red Hat kickstart install that will install a bare Red Hat environment, and Cerberus Test Control System, special software that runs numerous tests on all the hardware in the system.

CPU

Cerberus performs several tasks to test the CPU. It compiles the Linux kernel over and over again, runs complicated mathematical problems (how long does it take you to work out if 3214235409234472020393848453 is prime?), and runs some code specifically written to run the CPU at its hottest.

Hard Drive

Cerberus writes large volumes of data to the hard drives over and over again to ensure that the drive platters are functional, and it will also delete and move files, and check the disks for errors.

If after a week the server is still running (not smoking) and hasn’t crashed, it is considered good enough for use as a production machine. If it fails the tests anywhere along the way, it is packed up and returned to be replaced. Web servers that have survived this process will certainly survive anything you can through at them.

You would normally expect that this level of testing would be completed by the hardware manufacturers and so these test shouldn’t show up any faults. In our experience testing hundreds of machines we do regularly find faults, and we do send components back.

The reason it is so important to perform this level of testing on computers that will be used as servers is that the uptime demands are so high. The slightest faults will cause outages and downtime. Once a web server is deployed, never again will you have the opportunity to take it offline and perform such detailed testing. Even if it were to crash, there is always a demand that it be put back online as quickly as possible, not left offline whilst thorough diagnostics are completed.

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Author: Patrick Kelso
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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In this article I am going to give you a quick guide on troubleshooting hardware problems. A lot of problems can usually be fixed my changing a few simple settings, updating a driver or reinstalling a program.

First things first. Make sure all the cables are in firmly and are not faulty, also make sure any add-in cards such as graphics cards are firmly pressed in and if needs be take them out and re seat them.

Try doing a virus or spyware scan, even though it may appear that a piece of hardware is causing the problem, viruses can also cause blue screens and annoying messages. A good free program to run though would be Malwarebytes.

Another main problem can be out dated drivers or software. Try going to the manufacturers website and downloading the latest packages. These can almost always be found in the download or support area of the website.

If you think you know what piece of hardware is causing the problem try changing it for another. For example recently I had a computer which every time it tried to burn a movie or any songs to a disk it would blue screen, I swapped out the drive an replaced for another and hey presto! It worked fine after that.

Try testing individual pieces of hardware. There is a lot of free software that can test your hardware for you. Simply set it off and see if any errors come up, these can all be found on Google and some of the best ones I have come across are:

- Ultimate Boot CD
A massive amount of free testing tools including hard drive, memory and graphics testing software.

- Memtest
A memory testing piece of software.

- SpeedFan
Will show you the temperature of you CPU, GPU and hard drive to make sure your computer is not over heating.

For more free downloads please visit our free blog below.

Daniel M Sanderson – For More Computer Guides Please Visit This Link: Free Computer Guides

Author: Daniel Sanderson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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