Patent ID: 8850393
Filing Date: 2014-09-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for testing new software to be deployed on a target machine population having a plurality of target machines, the target machines having a plurality of existing software programs, said method comprising the steps of: obtaining a list of depending software programs on selected ones of the target machines, said list comprising: obtaining a list of two or more test client platforms, wherein each test client platform defines a configuration of a client platform, wherein said obtaining the list of the two or more test client platforms comprises: identifying relevant test cases based on said list of depending software programs; grouping the two or more test client platforms into groups based on at least one of hardware and software similarities; selecting a test client platform from each group to represent the group, wherein the set of distinct candidate test client platform configurations is comprised of the selected test client platforms; instantiating one or more of the selected test client platforms, wherein the one or more instantiated test client platforms are characteristic of the target machine population; testing said relevant test cases on said one or more instantiated test client platforms to identify failures; monitoring the target machine population to detect changes to the target machine population during said testing; and dynamically updating said list of two or more test client platforms, said relevant test cases and said grouping responsive to said changes detected during said monitoring.