Dry run testing phase one update
In bulletin 323 we outlined the technical preparations taking place for this year’s C&C. We’re pleased to confirm that phase one of dry run testing has been completed. Below is a summary of the testing undertaken and results:
1. Performance testing across all services and applications
- All C&C critical systems were successfully load tested to at least two times the 2014 peak load, to ensure they will perform over and above the expected load during C&C.
- Further performance testing will continue into phase two of the dry run testing.
2. Penetration testing
- All C&C critical customer-facing web systems were subject to external simulated attacks to help identify any vulnerabilities in our applications, and any findings remediated.
3. Soak testing
- All C&C critical systems were tested at the same peak loads used in the performance tests over a 48-hour period.
All soak tests were completed successfully, with no remediation work identified from the results. Further soak testing will continue into phase two of the dry run testing.
4. High availability (HA) and scenario tests
- To test our cloud-based services, 12 different disaster scenarios were simulated to ensure system continuity.
The results have provided us with a detailed understanding of the time and resources needed to resolve any problems, should we experience any failures during critical periods.
- A disaster recovery (DR) test was carried out at our headquarters in Cheltenham. This involved failing live services over and activating our work area recovery site in Bristol, with teams from across the organisation.
The DR tests were successful; teams were able to manage calls and access cloud services from our work area recovery site.
Phase two
Following the successful completion of dry run phase one testing and analysis of the results, we have now moved into phase two. Testing began on Monday 6 July – during dry run two we will be carrying out end-to-end testing, allowing us to ensure applications and systems are working efficiently together.
We will provide a summary of results from phase two on completion of the testing activity.
Provider briefings
Welcome to the first of our C&C briefings for 2015. We know that many of you will already be familiar with what you need to do to prepare for C&C. However, if you are new to the process, or you’d just like a reminder, we’ve tailored the first of this year’s briefings to the key things to get you started: