If you’re looking to set up a mobile device testing lab, you’ve come to the right place.
Managing a large number of devices can be challenging and costly, both financially and environmentally. And it becomes more challenging if you do it on your own by setting up your own mobile device lab. Setting up your own mobile device lab is quite a complex and challenging task in itself. But we have made this task easier by navigating you the right direction and providing some steps which you should follow.
Here, in this article we will help you in learning basic knowledge about what is a mobile device lab? And the process using which you can easily set up your own mobile device lab. So, let’s get into this.
What is a Mobile Device Lab?
A mobile device lab is a space or facility that is equipped with a variety of mobile devices that are used for testing and development purposes. These devices are usually connected to a WiFi network and a power source, and are organized in a way that allows them to be easily accessed and used for testing. They are commonly used by software developers and quality assurance teams to ensure that their products and applications work properly on a range of different devices and operating systems. They can also be used by companies to test the performance of their own mobile apps and websites. Mobile device labs can be set up in-house, or they can be accessed through a third-party service provider.
In addition to manual testing, mobile device labs can also be useful for examining and modifying network traffic when testing mobile apps. One way to do this is by using a router with updated firmware to perform HTTPS/HTTP-based traffic interception. This can be a useful tool for identifying and troubleshooting issues with mobile apps and websites.
3 Ways of Intercepting Traffic
1. Manipulating Routing Rules
By using a wireless router with modified firmware, you can capture a device’s network traffic with just a few test-specific configurations. Using a wireless router with modified firmware ensures that the testing environment fully captures a device’s network traffic with a small number of test-specific configurations.
2. ARP Cache Poisoning
Testers can leverage MITM (Man in the middle) tools like Bettercap to force mobile device traffic to a backup system. However, there may be more reliable and convenient options available.
3. Manual Backup Settings
Manually setting the backup on the device is a good option, but the only drawback is intercepting traffic that allows and honors backup settings.
Steps Require to Set Up Your Mobile Device Lab
There are several steps to follow when setting up your mobile device lab for testing. These include:
1. To Set up a Complete Running Infrastructure of Selenium Grid
Selenium Grid comes with a *jar file that can be run on the console. There are some parameters that need to be configured while running the Grid. By transferring the “Port” parameter, you can change the default port of the Grid. The role parameter is set up as a “hub” parameter, which defines that the grid behaves as a central request collection point and receives all test requests, distributing them to the appropriate nodes.
2. Create JSON File for Appium to Look After our Mobile Devices
We need to create “.json files for each mobile phone. Each file is divided into two parts. The first part, “Capabilities,” contains detailed information about the mobile devices such as OS versions, OS names, and browsers. The second part is “Configuration,” which mainly includes Selenium Hub information.
Selenium Grid matches test requests using the definitions in the first part. In the capabilities portion of the JSON file, there are three parameters that contain important information about the device.
Other important parameters include port, URL, hub host, hub port, and host, which can be changed in the second part, Configuration. These need to be updated according to the infrastructure. Port and host are the host IP and port of your Appium Server.
After creating the file, save it as “node-devicename.json.” You need to create a separate file for each device by changing the parameters for the mobile devices.
To get the UDID of the device, you need to turn on “Developer Settings” on the device and run the command “ADB devices” on the console. The process for turning on “Developer Settings” on a mobile device may vary, so you need to find out how to do this for your specific mobile devices.
If you are adding an iOS device, you will need to create another JSON file and make some configurations. The automation name plays a significant role in iOS automation, and other configurations depend on the type of device you are using.
3. Running Appium Server for Each Mobile Device
Here, we will configure Appium Nodes. Appium can only handle one mobile device, so we need multiple Appium Servers to communicate with all devices. Therefore, we need to create a small batch file to start Appium. The command should be run in the Appium folder. There are several parameters that need to be passed to the Appium Server.
4. Changing Project Architecture
This project is based on TestNG-based development. The configuration of the project is as follows:
Changing TestNG.xml file
Firstly, you should update your TestNG.xml file. You can manage your test suites using a .xml file. You will need to reverse your test tag for each device you have. Similarly, you will need to pass different parameters to your RemoteWebDriver and run it on your device.
You need to set the “Thread-count” parameter to the total number of devices in your device lab
Final Thoughts
Testing on real devices is key to effectively testing your mobile and web applications.. Software simulators or emulators can be helpful, but in the end, they can only simulate the user’s experience. To test your applications on actual devices, it’s essential to open or set up device testing labs. If you want to set up your Mobile device testing lab, we hope the above steps are helpful to you.