Customer Success Stories

Testing Flash Applications:
Eggplant increases Cisco's automated testing coverage

Eggplant becomes a cornerstone of Cisco’s overall quality assurance strategy

Background
Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 47,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as: IP communications, Wireless LAN, Home Networking, Security, Storage and Video Systems.
Cisco Systems learned of Redstone’s Eggplant solution while developing a Flash based Graphic User Interface for their Web/Video conferencing system in partnership with Adobe (formerly Macromedia). Macromedia, who uses the software to automate their Breeze Flash testing, recommended the software to Cisco. For Cisco, the challenge was to find a solution that would

• Alleviate the impact of increased working capital cost
• Reduce the effort involved in optimizing automation test coverage
• Open new avenues in automating the install process
• And, overcome the inability of their existing testing tools to work with an application where the underlying code was not accessible.

Cisco also wanted to protect their existing software testing tool investment. Redstone Software’s Eggplant solution fully accommodates Cisco’s technical and functional requirements. Redstone Software offers cutting edge technology solutions and state-of-the-art support and consultancy services that have firmly established it as a strategic part of Cisco’s automation and testing strategy. Redstone Software has retained its position with Cisco by being committed to their long-terms plans of industry leaders..

The Business Challenge
Cisco, working in collaboration with Adobe (formerly Macromedia), designed, developed and delivered a Flash based version of its MeetingPlace software. Cisco’s existing tool, SilkTest, was not able to work with the newly implemented Breeze Flash Player and Macromedia was not willing to expose the underlying Flash application code or develop special hooks into objects to allow these tools. The inability of SilkTest to interact with the MeetingPlace application in this way meant that Cisco did not have a solution to automate testing of MeetingPlace.

Cisco’s first challenge was to find a flash testing tool that would test the new Flash based MeetingPlace user interface improving testing coverage while cutting costs and integrating with existing testing tool suites. They also faced another challenge in finding a way to detect video endpoints in a conference. This was driven by a need to ensure an image is accurately displayed from the user’s perspective to ensure a quality experience. This was seen as a requirement in terms of providing true automation testing coverage.

Eggplant: The Redstone Software solution
Redstone Software delivered the needed flash testing tool that addressed all of the business challenges in the form of Eggplant thereby

• Reducing the amount of tool interactions when it comes to multiple media environment testing in real time by supporting multiple operating systems
• Integrating with Cisco’s existing SilkTest test suites
• Decreasing application test time from 5 days to 1 day by automating the majority of the testing being conducted.

Thanks to the Eggplant automated software testing solution, Cisco has also increased its automation test coverage beyond the scope of the original business challenge and is using Eggplant for simple video continuity testing during multi-point video web conferences, as well as open up new avenues in automating their install process with additional test equipment. Cisco has also found Eggplant beneficial in reducing operational costs associated with language localization testing where the costs of employing manual testers with language specializations can be prohibitively high.

“Localization should be just about changing languages not the need to redevelop applications but without tools such as Eggplant to assist in the QA process, often redevelopment is what occurs.” – Keith Richards, UCBU Test Manager

Solution overview
Cisco created a test framework that combined existing SilkTest test cases with new Eggplant test cases. This was accomplished by writing Eggplant scriplets – sections of platform independent, reusable code – that are invoked through Eggplant’s command line feature. This solution works by instructing SilkTest to setup a conference call and then transfers ongoing testing of the actual execution of that call to Eggplant. Once Eggplant completes its testing it transfers control back to SilkTest which goes onto the next step. Eggplant’s unique two-computer model that employs Virtual Network Computing (VNC) to access any Operating System where a VNC server is running delivers a single test solution that covers all platforms on which Cisco supports its MeetingPlace software.

Since creating the initial test framework, Cisco has found Eggplant to be capable of handling a wider range of test automation tasks. They are now expanding their test framework to include video continuity verification testing wherein a still image from a streaming video stream is presented and Eggplant is called upon to verify that the right image is shown and that the quality of the image is intact.

“Eggplant has proven to have increased our automation test coverage beyond just the initial requirements. We have gone into using it for simple Video continuity testing during a multi-point video web conference as well as opening up new avenues in automating our install process with additional test equipment.” – Keith Richards, UCBU Test Manager

Further, Eggplant’s ability to behave like a real user allows Cisco to verify that when a user is speaking their presence is highlighted in the interface. The flexibility offered by Eggplant to test any application function is also the driving force behind Cisco’s decision to increasingly rely on and build new test for Eggplant rather than investing further in SilkTest automation.

Benefits Realized
Eggplant enabled Cisco to test their new Breeze Flash Player User Interface automatically. This had an immediate and dramatic effect on testing time that went from 5 days when performed manually to only 1 day when performed by Eggplant. Egpplant also significantly improved testing coverage that would have been sacrificed otherwise as the requirement for heavy, repeatable regression tests being run against each maintenance/patch release would have proven cost and time prohibitive.

“Flash is an emerging standard in web-based applications that are being produced by Cisco. For applications that require higher speed displays Flash is even more important. Therefore, the inability to test new Flash based applications would have seriously hindered business success.” – Keith Richards, UCBU Test Manager

Eggplant’s main strengths encompass: multi OS capabilities, automating UI from user eyes perspective and the flexibility to interact with existing tools via the command line interface. Plus, Eggplant allows the identification of obscure characters and replaces the requirement for translators or other manual language specialist testing/verification.

Cisco has found that there is no other tool in the market that can replace it in case of Flash Player automation; that it is highly adaptable to all application environments and offers an ease of use that often makes it the first choice for tools when developing new automated test cases. As a result, Eggplant has become a cornerstone of Cisco’s overall quality assurance strategy.