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Iterations Execution Environment Plugin¤

Iterative Testing Plugin

The Iterations plugin enables repeated execution of test scenarios for statistical analysis, stress testing, and parameter variation studies. Essential for collecting robust experimental data.

Plugin Type: Execution Environment

Verified Source Location: plugins/environments/execution_environment/iterations/

Overview¤

The Iterations Execution Environment plugin provides a framework for running test scenarios multiple times with varying parameters. This plugin is essential for collecting statistical data, performing stress tests, and evaluating system behavior under consistent or varying conditions over multiple execution cycles.

Features¤

Statistical Testing Best Practices

For meaningful statistical analysis, run at least 10-30 iterations per test scenario. Consider varying parameters between iterations to explore different system behaviors and edge cases.

  • Configurable number of test iterations
  • Support for parameter variation between iterations
  • Statistical aggregation of test results across iterations
  • Parallel or sequential execution of iterations
  • Customizable reporting of iteration results

Configuration Options¤

Parameter Type Default Description
iterations Integer 1 Number of times to repeat the test
parallel Boolean false Whether to run iterations in parallel
vary_parameters Boolean false Whether to vary parameters between iterations
parameter_sets List [] Sets of parameters to use for different iterations
aggregate_results Boolean true Whether to aggregate results across iterations

Usage Example¤

environments:
  - name: "iteration_testing"
    type: "execution_environment"
    implementation: "iterations"
    config:
      iterations: 10
      parallel: false
      vary_parameters: true
      parameter_sets:
        - { timeout: 1000, packet_size: 512 }
        - { timeout: 2000, packet_size: 1024 }
        - { timeout: 3000, packet_size: 2048 }
      aggregate_results: true

Integration¤

The Iterations Execution Environment integrates with:

  1. Test Manager - Controls the execution flow of multiple test iterations
  2. Results Collector - Aggregates results from multiple iterations
  3. Other Execution Environments - Can wrap other execution environments to repeat their testing

Implementation Details¤

The iterations plugin works by:

  1. Creating multiple instances of the same test configuration
  2. Applying parameter variations if configured
  3. Executing each iteration sequentially or in parallel
  4. Collecting and aggregating results according to configuration

This approach is particularly useful for:

  • Gathering statistically significant test data
  • Stress testing system components
  • Finding intermittent issues that may not appear in single test runs

Troubleshooting¤

Common Issues¤

  1. Resource Contention in Parallel Mode
  2. When running iterations in parallel, monitor system resource usage

  3. Consider reducing parallelism if resource constraints are observed

  4. Inconsistent Results

  5. Check for external factors affecting test environment between iterations

  6. Ensure clean state between test iterations for reproducibility

  7. Long Execution Times

  8. Balance number of iterations with time constraints
  9. Consider sampling approaches for very large iteration counts

Extension Points¤

  • Custom parameter variation strategies can be implemented
  • Result aggregation methods can be extended for specific metrics
  • Integration with ML-based test optimization systems

References¤