Virtualization is becoming a popular resource for testing software. Companies use virtual machines (VMs) not only to test
external packages they’re evaluating but also software they’re developing internally. A hosted VM is a complete run-time environment
that can be saved as a single-file profile on the host; the virtualization software simply reloads this to re-create the run-time
environment.
Managing these profiles in a software-testing environment can be challenging. Suppose, for example, a distant branch of a
company encounters a bug on an OS-database combination you can’t replicate. The branch could send you the profiles to set
up and run, but you’d still have to handle the reconfiguration of the VMs for your hosts, the communication between the VMs,
and the start-up of the applications within them. Slingshot from Akimbi handles all of these activities and specializes in
running the virtual systems in test environments.
The product deploys VMs in multisystem configurations across a farm of hosting servers. It starts the necessary applications
in the VMs so that a given multisystem setup can be resumed exactly as a tester captured and saved it. If IP addresses to
the machines need to be translated, Slingshot automatically performs the translation. Moreover, it enforces security and access
control to the virtual profiles. Changes made to a configuration are saved as deltas to the original profile so that a variety
of different scenarios can be saved in a library and reloaded as needed. You can also define templates for creation of baseline
configurations.
Slingshot works with virtualization software from VMware and Microsoft, and runs on Intel processor platforms. The product
is licensed on the basis of the number of deployment processors, with tiers at 2, 10, and 25 CPUs.
Slingshot
Akimbi
Cost: Starts at $4,995
Available: Version 1.0 shipping now
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