====== Test Environment ======

[[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:start|Go up to Terms and Definitions]]

===== Discussion =====

A Test Environment identifies the configured Test Items, resources, conditions, and controls within which a test is executed.

A Test Environment establishes the execution context required by a Test Definition. The Test Environment can identify:

  * The System Under Test
  * Supporting Test Items
  * Nodes
  * Node Sets
  * Deployment Targets
  * Computing resources
  * Storage resources
  * Network topology
  * Communication paths
  * Software
  * Configuration settings
  * Test data
  * Credentials and authorization references
  * Security controls
  * Operational conditions
  * State conditions
  * Time conditions
  * Observation points
  * Measurement facilities
  * Evidence-collection facilities
  * Applicable Governance Policies

A Test Environment can reference reusable environment definitions, Node Profiles, Deployment Target records, Test Items, and other controlled artifacts.

A Test Environment can exist within a:

  * [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:c:connected_environment|Connected Environment]]
  * [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:d:disconnected_environment|Disconnected Environment]]
  * [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:a:air-gapped_environment|Air-Gapped Environment]]

The Test Environment definition identifies the required configuration. A realized Test Environment identifies the resources and conditions actually used for a Test Run.

The distinction permits an evaluator to compare the required Test Environment with the realized Test Environment and determine whether the Test Run occurred under the required conditions.

===== Definition =====

//configured combination of Test Items, resources, conditions, and controls within which a test is executed//

===== Source =====

Adapted from:

  * [[https://www.omg.org/spec/TestIF/1.0/Beta3/PDF|OMG Test Information Interchange Format (TestIF), Version 1.0 Beta 3, Section 7.3.6, TestEnvironment]]
  * [[https://www.omgwiki.org/dido/doku.php?id=dido:public:te|DIDO Test Environment System Description, Version 0.2]]
  * [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:d:dido-te|Distributed Immutable Data Object Test Environment (DIDO-TE)]]
  * DIDO-TE draft Requirements Register
  * United States Patent Application Publication US 2022/0237111 A1, Distributed Immutable Data Object Testing
  * United States Patent US 12,086,057 B2, Distributed Immutable Data Object Testing

OMG TestIF describes a Test Environment as a Test Object that identifies the system configuration necessary to execute a test. The DIDO-TE definition extends the configuration concept to identify the Test Items, resources, conditions, and controls required for reproducible testing and validation.

===== Note =====

A Test Environment is not the same as [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:d:dido-te|DIDO-TE]].

DIDO-TE identifies the governed testing system. A Test Environment identifies a configured execution context managed or used by that system.

One DIDO-TE implementation can manage multiple Test Environments.

A Test Environment does not necessarily contain only virtual resources. A Test Environment can include:

  * Physical Nodes
  * Virtual Nodes
  * Containers
  * Simulated Nodes
  * Emulated Nodes
  * External systems
  * Cloud resources
  * On-premises resources
  * Test instruments
  * Human-operated Test Items

A Test Environment differs from a Deployment Target:

  * A [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:d:deployment_target|Deployment Target]] identifies a specific configured destination to which a Deployment can deliver an Infrastructure Environment
  * A Test Environment identifies the complete configured context within which a test is executed

A Test Environment can use one or more Deployment Targets.

A Test Environment definition does not demonstrate that the required configuration existed during a Test Run. Test Evidence must identify the realized configuration and applicable execution conditions.

===== Example =====

A Test Environment for evaluating a DIDO node implementation identifies:

  * Four validated reference Nodes
  * One changed Node
  * The applicable Node Profiles
  * The selected Deployment Targets
  * The virtual network topology
  * The permitted communication paths
  * The initial DIDO state
  * The required clock conditions
  * The Test Data
  * The observation points
  * The Evidence-collection facilities
  * The applicable Governance Policies
  * The security and authorization controls

DIDO-TE realizes the Test Environment before initiating the Test Run. The Test Evidence records the resources, configurations, versions, and conditions actually present during execution.

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