6 Reasons Network Testing Is More Complex Than Ever

A few years ago, a tester working on a typical telco project could run through about 10 use cases per day. Now, that number is closer to 8 use cases per day. This trend might be worrying from the outside, but if you’re a test engineer within the world of telecommunications it really shouldn’t be shocking.

After all, as the complexity of global networks skyrockets, it stands to reason that verifying service for any particular node or function would become incrementally more complex as a result. The question is: what can network operators do about it? How can you maintain standards and achieve a positive testing ROI in these increasingly difficult environments? 

The first step is to identify the sources of those difficulties in order to better understand—and thus more effectively tackle—the challenges facing network testers. To that end, here are the top 5 reasons that modern network testing is becoming more complex by the day.

1. Shorter Lead Times

This first bullet isn’t something that’s inherent to telco operators per se, but it provides a useful baseline for framing future challenges. Because the cycle of updates for modern networks is speeding up rapidly, the lead times for any given network verification flow are getting shorter and shorter.

This is due to a range of factors, from customer pressure to the rate of technological change across the industry, but regardless of cause these shortened lead times aren’t going away any time soon. No doubt, your own system updates are being implemented more rapidly than in the past, meaning that testers have very little room to maneuver.

This adds complexity in the form of increased time pressure, i.e. testers have to meet any challenges that come their way without taking any additional time to do so.

2. Device and Operating System Diversity

In some ways, this acts as a corollary to our first bullet. If you’re operating a network that primarily caters to mobile phone users, you’re also tied to the schedules kept by companies like Apple and Samsung. As they put out updates to their software every X number of weeks, you have to make sure that those updates aren’t affecting your ability to provide service.

On top of that, the hardware is being updated nearly as rapidly, with new products coming onto the market every day. Not only does this fact increase the time pressure your testers are under, it also simultaneously introduces a wider array of test cases based on which iterations of which devices (potentially including legacy devices) your customers are using.

3. More Protocols and Protocol Layers

In order to ensure that each packet is delivered to the correct node in the correct condition, your service needs to be able to integrate with any number of different network protocols. In this past, this might have meant mostly wireless-specific protocols like LTE or Bluetooth.

But as smartphones continue to dominate the landscape and the intricacies of internet protocol layers deepen, you’re more likely to be testing TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP ARP, ICMP, etc. These protocols interact with one another in complex ways, with differing levels of abstraction leading to a multiplicity of different possible configurations for the processing of any given packet switch.

Not only does this require more individual test cases to ensure high network quality, it also requires increased coordination between network operations centers (NOCs) and those who are actually utilizing the physical testing equipment. Why? Because any issues that crop up in this kind of conformance testing can potentially affect not just the protocol layer itself, but transport or compatibility layers as well.

4. Exacting Customer Standards

Of course, just as network testing itself is growing to involve more and more test cases, expectations for network quality are getting loftier and loftier. By and large, this is being driven by customers who increasingly rely on their smartphones for any number of tasks, from navigating in their cars to responding to work emails to watching Netflix.

Years ago, the users in your network might have been more forgiving about things like slow load times, brief service outages, or any other small instances of less-than-stellar network quality—as long as it was high quality most of the time, end-users could make do.

Now, a tiny dip in service quality could have serious ramifications—potentially leading disaffected users to turn elsewhere for coverage. Like the shortened lead times we talked about above, this doesn’t exactly add complexity in and of itself, but it does reduce your average tester’s margin of error radically.

At the same time that you’re forced to test more configurations more quickly to verify your network’s functionality, you now need to do so with an extremely high level of precision—one that might quickly require some outside-the-box thinking to make possible.

5. Security Concerns

You could almost think of this challenge as a subset of the previous one, but it bears calling out on its own: network security is becoming a big watchword in the industry—and with good reason. Users aren’t just expecting your network to stream videos without any lag, they’re also frequently using services like Venmo and Apple Pay to transfer money wirelessly.

This means that in addition to ascertaining whether your network is offering all of the functionality across all of the different nodes that connect to it, you also need to be sure that your network isn’t susceptible to cyberthreats or malicious traffic.

Of course, this is far from a new concern, but it becomes more pressing when a user’s smartphone is so integral to her finances. It’s not insurmountable, but it’s one more thing to worry about as you run through your tests.

6. Loss of Domain Knowledge

None of the challenges we’ve described so far are brand new from the perspective of your average telco operator. So why does it seem like testing complexity is mounting at an unprecedented rate?

In part, this may be due to the fact that for many network providers it’s become common practice to outsource things like network testing. Thus, rather than developing and retaining a lot of domain knowledge in-house, your ability to test in a smart, efficient, reliable, and repeatable way erodes over time.

As you become more dependent on third parties for your network testing, the prospect of retaking control over such increasingly complex processes becomes more and more daunting. To counteract this, test engineers need to find some kind of middle ground—something that will help them build up whatever domain knowledge has been lost over the years without forcing them to face new complexities with insufficient resources.

Like we said above, the first step to combatting complexity is to better understand it, and that starts with your ability to gather, retain, and analyze data on configurations, edge cases, protocol changes, and everything else that impacts your network functionality.

Learn More About Test Automation

Click below to see how SEGRON’s ATF can help you automate testing.

Search

Interested in our Products ?

Scroll to Top
Segron logo black blue

Senior SaaS System Administrator

Technical Skills :
  • Oversee the sysadmin related tasks in our SaaS infrastructure (partially cloud based, partially bare metal)
  • Daily operation and maintenance of the system
  • Analysing and resolving incidents
  • Follow and help improving the incident and change management procedures
  • Design procedures for system troubleshooting and maintenance
  • Incorporating base OS updates and security patches
  • Ensure that systems are safe and secure against cybersecurity threats by raising change requests where potential threat is possible
  • Performing SW updates for the Segron SaaS SW stack (distributed architecture with clusters)
  • Configuring solutions like reverse proxy, firewalls, etc.
  • Building tools to automate procedures & reduce occurrences of errors and improve customer experience
  • Tutoring & coaching newcomers & less senior experts in the team
  • Interworking with the architects and IT admins of Segron to have the SaaS procedures inline with the Segron processes
Non-technical skills:
  • We are looking for a self-motivated, self-improving individual with a highly independent mindset and open and straightforward technical communication to help us to improve and maintain our cloud infrastructure of our powerful end-to-end testing solution ATF (Automated Testing Framework)
  • 3+ years hands-on experience with operation and monitoring of cloud / linux systems
  • 3+ years of hands-on experience with network devops elements: configuring routers, switches, networks
  • Hands-on experience with running live systems with infrastructure as a code mode of operation
  • Specific knowledge which brings direct advantage: Docker, Docker Compose, Grafana, Prometheus, Ansible, Debian Linux OS administration, Security
  • Experience in building and maintaining distributed systems (incl. redundancy, resiliency, load-balancing) is welcome
  • Excellent knowledge of English
Location :
  • Place of work: Bratislava (partially home office possible)
  • Rate: from 30 EUR/hour (possible higher rate, depends on experience)
Segron logo - The Next Generation of Active Testing
Segron logo black blue

CI/CD Senior Developer

Technical Skills :
  • A senior role with a proven expertise in software development, cloud computing, DevOps, and CI/CD
  • Experience in planning, designing, and overseeing the CI/CD strategy and architecture on the level of organization
  • Ability to tailor testing strategies which define and follow the best practices, standards, and policies for the software delivery process
  • Hands-on experience in creating and managing CI/CD pipelines and workflows (PaaC)
  • Ability to evaluate and recommend the best tools, technologies, and methodologies for the CI/CD implementation
  • Prior hands-on experience working with different CI/CD toolsets (Jenkins, Bitbucket, GitLab, artifactory, Ansible ..)
  • Proficient with DevOps tools API automation capabilities
  • Proficient with Atlassian Tools (BitBucket, Jira, Confluence) and agile SW development methodologies
  • Familiar with cloud patterns and best practices
  • Familiar with web performance best practices
  • Comfortable working in cloud DevOps ecosystem
  • Comfortable working with Linux platforms
  • Initial working experience in SW development is an advantage.
Non-technical skills:
  • Effective communication with technical as well and business stakeholders
  • Self-motivating, self-improving mindset
  • Ownership of relevant industry certificates is a plus
Location :
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia (with hybrid flexibility)
  • Rate: from 30 EUR/hour (possible higher rate, depends on experience)
Segron logo - The Next Generation of Active Testing
Segron logo black blue

Test Automation Engineer

Job description, responsibilities:

Hardware Testing: Conduct verification and testing of hardware during the HW/SW products
assembly process.
Technical Support: Provide technical assistance during testing activities and troubleshoot any
hardware issues that arise. Support to internal teams and customers by managing priorities and
meeting deadlines.
Equipment Maintenance: Configure and maintain SEGRON laboratory and customer equipment.
Logistics Support: Handle hardware ordering and logistics.
Troubleshooting: Analyze and resolve SEGRON product issues through effective problem-solving.
Ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues that arise during the integration process.
Collaboration: Work with the SEGRON Development Team on product or software issues and assist
the Project Team with planned activities.
Root Cause Analysis: Investigate production errors to identify underlying causes.
Software Deployment: Implement software updates and fixes.
Team Collaboration: Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, especially in serving global
customers.

Requirements/ Skills:

Networking knowledge: Understanding TCP/IP networks and LAN/WAN configurations. Routing and
switching and related protocols strongly desired.
Hardware Proficiency: Understanding of hardware components, including servers, routers, and
peripherals, to ensure proper assembly and integration. Experience in data centers is a plus.
Travel Abilities: Willing to travel for customer on-site support for hardware installations, migrations,
upgrades, troubleshooting, etc. (few times a year, 3-5 days)
Hand Tools: Proficiency in using hand tools like screwdrivers, pliers, crimpers, and punches for
assembling and disassembling components.
Operating Systems: Knowledge of Linux and Windows. VM experience (Hyper-V, VMWare, Oracle
Virtual Box, Proxmox etc.)
Tools Proficiency: Basic understanding of Ansible.
Telecommunications Experience: Previous experience in the telecom sector is a plus.
Education: Degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent work experience.
Experience: At least 2 years of relevant work experience preferred. A strong desire to continuously
improve skills and knowledge in hardware and software integration, with an openness to feedback and
new ideas. Key is openminded person willing to learn fast in great team.
Communication Skills: Effective oral and written Eng

Others:

• Full time job (employment)
• Onsite work during onboarding period, then it can be 3 days onsite, 2 days home office
Offered salary: from 2000 Euro (depends on seniority and skills level)
Variety of financial benefits
Place of work: Bratislava

Segron logo - The Next Generation of Active Testing
Segron logo black blue

Senior Python Developer

Technical Skills :

  • A solid, experienced SW developer with at least 10 years of experience in active SW development in different programming paradigms
  • Minimum 5 years of professional Python development experience
  • Master or college degree from Computer Science, Mathematics or STEM domain
  • Well educated in design and programming patterns that increase software’s efficiency and readability.
  • Very good analytical and problem solving skills.
  • At least three skills out of the following 4 skills are requested:
    • Microservices based architectures (Docker containers)
    • Linux
    • Ansible
    • Robot  Framework
  • Comfortable with sysadmin and DevOps skills (Ansible, YML files, Network Programming, IP protocols, designing and developing proxy servers for different protocols – example: streaming, integrating and compiling third party libraries on Linux (Debian))
  • Proficient with Atlassian Tools (BitBucket, Jira, Confluence) thorough understanding of Git and version control best practices
  • Familiar with cloud patterns and best practices
  • Familiar with web performance best practices

Non-technical skills:

  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Ability to abstract and explain your work
  • Strong understanding of Agile development process and experience working in an agile team
  • Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Location :
  • Bratislava, Slovakia (with hybrid flexibility)
  • Rate: from 35 EUR/hour (possible higher rate, but depends on experience)
Segron logo - The Next Generation of Active Testing