Real time verification of web applications

• US 9,170,847 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2011
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sauce Labs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sauce Labs, Inc.
• Inventors: Huggins, Jason, Hazel, Steven, Dunham, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moorad, Imran
• Application Number:
  US12/987,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20120017210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,751 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5011 Pool
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/033 Test or assess software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30

Abstract

A software verification system including a cloud service, a plurality of test nodes, a client manager, and an expediter is disclosed. The cloud service is a commercially available shared resource service having two or more physical machines, each of which is configured to host a plurality of virtual machines. Each test node is one virtual machine running a platform. The client manager manages a verification session between one of the clients and the verification system. The expediter recognizes the available platforms for use by the test nodes in a cloud service pool of servers and a local pool of servers. When a clients requests the verification session to use a specific platform, the expediter obtains a network address of an available test node running the specified platform and connects the requesting client to the available test node running the requested platform. If the requested platform is not available, a new virtual machine, located in the local pool of servers, having the requested platform is started and connected with the requesting client.

Claims

1. A software verification system to verify compatibility of a web application with at least one of a plurality of platforms from one of a plurality of clients in which each of the clients includes a client browser, the verification system comprising:

a cloud service pool of servers, each of the servers hosting a plurality of virtual machines, each of the virtual machines being one of a plurality of test nodes, each of the test nodes running one of the platforms in which each of the platforms has a test browser;

an expediter cognizant of the network address of each of the test nodes and the platforms available in the test nodes; and

a client manager which in response to one of the plurality of clients requesting a verification session to use a specified one of the platforms obtains from the expediter the network address of an available one of the of test nodes running the specified one of the platforms, and wherein the client manager transmits the network address to the requesting one of the clients which then connects the requesting one of the clients to the available one of the test nodes running the specified one of the platforms,

wherein if the specified one of the platforms is not available in the test nodes, the verification system further comprising;

a local pool of servers hosting a least one further virtual machine configured with the specified one of the platforms as an additional available one of the test nodes, the additional available one of the test nodes being connected by the client manager with the requesting one of the clients, the requesting one of the clients when connected to the available one of the test nodes causes the test browser at the available one of the test nodes to navigate to the location of the web application further causes the test browser to enter at least one command to the web application wherein the results of execution of the command are returned to the test browser at the available one of the test nodes and data relating to the results being made viewable by the client manager at the requesting one of the clients.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a status monitor which determines the status of each of the plurality of test nodes and provides such status to a test node database manager which stores each status in a test node database, wherein the test node database manager is operable to provide the status of each of the plurality of test nodes to the expediter wherein the status includes at least the current availability, platform configuration and network location of each of the test nodes.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a video interface which collects frame buffer information of the test browser operating at the available one of the test nodes and transmits the information through the connection between the requesting one of the clients and the available one of the test nodes.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising an image cache which stores a plurality of screen images wherein each of the images is an image of the test browser taken subsequent to the execution of the command.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the further virtual machine is started using a stored image of the specified platform.

6. A method for verifying the compatibility of a web application with at least one of a plurality of platforms from one of a plurality of clients in which each of the clients includes a client browser, the method comprising the steps of:

configuring each of a plurality of servers to host a plurality of virtual machines in a cloud service pool of servers;

running a respective one of the platforms on each of the plurality of virtual machines as one of a plurality of test nodes;

recognizing a plurality of available platforms for use by the plurality of test nodes in each of a cloud service pool of servers and a local pool of servers;

obtaining a network address of an available one of the plurality of test nodes running the specified platform when one of the plurality of clients requests to use a specific platform;

transmitting the network address to the requesting client which then connects the requesting client to the available test node running the requested platform; and

wherein if the specific platform is not available, the method further comprising the steps of starting a new virtual machine, located in a local pool of servers, having the requested platform wherein the new virtual machine is an additional one of the test nodes and connecting the additional one of the test nodes with the requesting client, the requesting client when connected to the available one of the test nodes causes the test browser at the available one of the test nodes to navigate to the location of the web application and further causes the test browser to enter at least one command on the web application wherein the results of execution of the command are returned to the available one of the test nodes and viewable at the client browser at the requesting client.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising determining the status of each of the plurality of test nodes and providing such status to a database manager for storing each status in a test node database, wherein the test node manager is operable to provide the status of each of the plurality of test nodes wherein the status includes at least the current availability, platform configuration and network location of each of the test nodes.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising collecting frame buffer information of the test browser operating at the available one of the test nodes and transmitting the information through the connection between the requesting client and the available one of the test nodes.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising storing a plurality of screen images in an image cache wherein each of the images is an image of the test browser taken subsequent to the execution of the command.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the new virtual machine located in the local pool of servers is started using a stored image of the requested platform.

11. A software verification system to enable verification from a network connected client of the compatibility of a web application with at least one of a plurality of predetermined platform configurations wherein the web application is accessed from at least one of a plurality of network connected test nodes wherein each of said test nodes has a respective one of the predetermined platform configurations, each of the platform configurations having a test browser, the verification system comprising:

an expediter cognizant of a network location of each of the test nodes and the platform configuration of each respective one of the test nodes; and

a client manager which in response to the network connected client requesting a session to use a desired one of the platform configurations obtains from the expediter the network location of an available one the test nodes having the platform configuration commensurate with the desired one of the platform configurations, the client manager in response thereto connects the client to the available one of the test nodes upon which the client transmits to the available one of said test nodes a URL of a web location at which the web application is operable such that the client is enabled to instruct the test browser at the available one of the test nodes to navigate to the web location and further instruct the test browser to execute an instruction set in the web application wherein data is collected by the client manager upon execution of each instruction of the instruction set for subsequent transmission to the client.

12. The verification system as set forth in claim 11 wherein, in the event none of the test nodes has the platform configuration commensurate with the desired one of the platform configurations, the expediter is operative to launch a new one of the test nodes having the desired one of the platform configurations.

13. The verification system as set forth in claim 12 wherein each of the test nodes is a virtual platform in a cloud server system and the new one of the test nodes is a virtual platform in the cloud server system.

14. The verification system as set forth in claim 12 wherein each of the test nodes is a virtual platform in a cloud server system and the new one of the test nodes is a virtual platform in a pool server system local with the verification system.

15. The verification system as set forth in claim 14 wherein the expediter is further operative to launch a further new one of the test nodes in the cloud server system having a platform configuration substantially similar to said platform configuration of the new one of the test nodes in said pool server system such that upon completion of the instruction set the client manager is operative to connect the client to the further new one of the test nodes.

16. The verification system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the available one of said test nodes is a discrete platform network connected to the client manager.

17. The verification system as set forth in claim 16 wherein the discrete platform one of the test nodes is subject to human intervention and control in accordance with the instruction set.

18. The verification system as set forth in claim 11 wherein the collected data is a selected one of screen shots of the test browser and a video of the test browser at the available one of said test nodes.

19. The verification system as set forth in claim 11 wherein said verification system further includes:

a status monitor operable to obtain a current status of each of the test nodes wherein the status includes at least the current availability, platform configuration and network location of each of the test nodes;

a database populated with the current status of each of the test nodes; and

a database manager in communication with each of the status monitor, the database and the expediter and operable to populate the database the said current status obtained by the status monitor and to inform the expediter of the current status upon inquiry therefrom.