Test environment, demo environment, pre-production… What do we mean when we use these terms? Today we explain their characteristics, differences and similarities.
In order to evaluate if our solutions adapt to your needs, we provide you with a space for testing. Likewise, once you start using our products, you will ALWAYS have this space available for testing new use cases, new functionalities…
In computing, this space is known as the test environment, demo environment or pre-production (the latter is more commonly used in technological jargon). The access is done through a web address that coincides with the access to the real or production environment, changing only the first word.
For example, for our software (product) Viafirma Documents, the access to each of the environments is as follows:
Characteristics of test environments
The purpose of the test environment is to test and validate new features, changes or enhancements to the software prior to its implementation in the production environment. It is typically used primarily by developers, QA teams and other technical professionals to verify software performance.
In Viafirma’s case, we open the door of our test environments so that you can be the first to discover the news that we have prepared for you. It is like giving you a privileged access to our laboratory. The test environment can be less stable and have a lower performance compared to the production environment because of its constantly changing situation. Generally, they have a smaller scale (there are fewer users using it than the production one). This is why it is intended for internal testing within your organizations, in order to evaluate the behavior of the software for the different usage scenarios required.
The main focus is on evaluating and validating the software rather than supporting a real workload or large-scale end users. It tends to be more flexible, to allow changes, upgrades and experimentation with different configurations. This helps to identify and correct bugs, evaluate new functionality and ensure the quality of the software before deployment in the production environment.
Characteristics of production environments
The production environment is the actual environment in which the software runs and is used by end users and customers of the software.
This environment features high stability and optimal performance to ensure a smooth experience for end users. It is designed to handle a heavy workload and a larger number of users by being able to process transactions and requests efficiently and without significant delays while adapting to the changing and growing needs of users. It is designed to ensure high system availability. This means having redundancy in key components, such as servers, storage and networks, to minimize downtime and ensure constant access to software and data.
Security is a critical feature in this environment. In Viafirma we have first level certifications that support our solid commitment in this matter. It has monitoring and logging tools to monitor performance, detect problems and record relevant events. This allows system administrators to identify and solve problems quickly and track the health and performance of the environment.
Everything you need to know about test environment VS production environment
The test environment is used for software development, testing and debugging prior to deployment in the production environment, which is the actual environment used by end users. It is more flexible, less stable and is oriented to testing internally within organizations, while the production environment is highly stable, scalable, has higher performance and security.