Validating communication network configurations in cloud and HPC systems using Metamorphic Testing

Abstract

During the last years, the fast evolution of computers and networks has led to the creation of a wide variety of services that have changed the way we live, like video streaming, online gaming and online shopping. These services are supported by complex systems, which require not only high computational power but high-speed and low-latency networks to fulfil the expected quality requirements. However, a misleading configuration in one of the thousand components that compose these systems may cause performance bottlenecks and functioning disruptions. Unfortunately, conventional testing methods are not adequate for checking these systems since, on many occasions, there is no mechanism to determine if the behaviour of a system is the expected one. Fortunately, Metamorphic Testing is a valuable and promising testing technique that alleviates the two fundamental problems of testing: the oracle problem and the reliable test set problem. In this paper, we combine Metamorphic Testing and simulation techniques for validating communication network configurations in HPC systems. For this, we rely on a catalogue of Metamorphic Relations, based on network communications knowledge, for checking their correctness. In addition, we have conducted an experimental study for analysing the communication networks of HPC systems. The results show that Metamorphic Testing is appropriate for checking the correctness of communication networks supported by complex topologies in HPC systems.