System Testing

This type of test involves examination of all the system for software components, all the hardware components and any interfaces.
The whole system is checked not only for validity but also for met objectives. The complete system is configured in a controlled environment, and test cases are developed to simulate real life scenarios that occur in a simulated real life test environment.
System testing should include recovery testing, security testing, stress testing and performance testing.

Recovery testing uses test cases designed to examine how easily and completely the system can recover from a disaster (power shut down, blown circuit, disk crash, interface failure, insufficient memory, etc.). It is desirable to have a system capable of recovering quickly and with minimal human intervention. It should also have a log of activities happening before the crash (these should be part of daily operations) and a log of messages during the failure (if possible) and upon re-start.

Security testing involves testing the system in order to make sure that unauthorized personnel or other systems cannot gain access to the system and information or resources within it. Programs that check for access to the system via passwords are tested along with any organizational security procedures established.

Stress testing encompasses creating unusual loads on the system in attempts to brake it. System is monitored for performance loss and susceptibility to crashing during the load times. If it does crash as a result of high load, it provides for just one more recovery test.

Performance testing involves monitoring and recording the performance levels during regular and low and high stress loads. It tests the amount of resource usage under the just described conditions and serves as basis for making a forecast of additional resources needed (if any) in the future. It is important to note that performance objectives should have been developed during the planning stage and performance testing is to assure that these objectives are being met. However, these tests may be run in initial stages of production to compare the actual usage to the forecasted figures.