SAS 006 – Testing 123

SysAdmin Show

Today’s Show: Testing 123

• Developing good testing practices is important
• Computer hardware/software testing
• Backup restore testing
• Documentation & process testing
• Patch testing
  • OS
  • Application
• The basics
  • Pre-test, validate current state
    • What works, what doesn’t
    • Partner with business community if needed
  • Build test environment
    • Useful for more complicated or critical systems
    • Virtualization has made this easy
    • Pre-test the development environment, does it match production?
    • Take notes on the steps you take, so you know what to expect during the production upgrade
  • Verify backups
  • Have a fail back plan
    • Outline situations when it would be needed
  • Post-testing
    • Does system functionality match the pre-test?
    • Use acceptance test required?
• Testing process
  • Be as thorough as time allows based on upgrade scope and system importance
    • How much time & money will an outage cost you?
  • Don’t assume anything
    • Even the smallest detail can have a significant effect on the outcome
  • How many people are required?
  • What equipment is required?
    • Phones
    • Printers
    • Computers/Servers
  • Time required?

Final Thoughts

• Good testing habits will save you time, money and embarrassment
• Resist the urge to just get it done
  • It’s better to do it right then to get home 10 minutes earlier. Otherwise you might be driving back into work to fix it.
  • Testing decreases this temptation because you can use your notes as a checklist