Test Day:2008-09-04 SaveToBugzilla and ConnectionSharing

This week's instalment of Fedora Test Day will focus on 2 additional features planned for the Fedora 10 release. On the agenda will be:


 * Anaconda/Features/SaveToBugzilla
 * Features/ConnectionSharing

We'll have a host of QA and Development characters hanging out discussing bugs (aka "features"), expectations, and test areas. I've included details below for how you can contribute below.

The following cast of characters will be available testing, workarounds, bug fixes, and general discussion ...
 * Development - clumens, dcbw
 * Quality Assurance - jlaska, wwoods

Triage NEW Bugs
Much like a field hospital, bug triage is the art of quickly addressing the big issues in a bug, and moving it on for further review by the development team. Unlike a field hospital, there should be no blood or guts. The triage process has generated quite a following. You are encouraged to read more about the triage process on the BugZappers home. In a nutshell, bug triage is a several step process that includes:


 * 1)  Getting started
 * 2)  Finding bugs to triage, the list we'll use for Test Day includes:
 * 3) * NEW anaconda bugs
 * 4) * NEW NetworkManager bugs
 * 5)  Taking action

One should not spend more than 5 minutes triaging a single bug. If you have more time to spare, and are looking to get a bit more involved, please proceed with Bug Verification or Test Execution.

Review Proposed Test Plan
See a typo or spot a gap in coverage in the proposed test plans for these features? Either modify the pages noted below, or come to #fedora-qa to discuss your suggestions. Help improve this feature by making changes/suggestions.


 * ConnectionSharing Proposed Test Plan
 * SaveToBugzilla Proposed Test Plan

Getting Started
To help with testing, you'll need to get a copy of the Fedora 10 Alpha. Additionally, since the Test Day involves testing installation, you'll likely need a spare system to install to.

Here are some testing requirements:
 * A spare system (can be a virtual guest)
 * Access to install F10-Alpha install media (mirror list)
 * Optical CD/DVD media and a media burner (optional)

One you have selected a mirror, you must decide how you'd like to start the installer. There are many options, but the following lists the most popular choices.

Installation from CD/DVD
This method requires:
 * A spare system (can be a virtual guest)
 * Optical CD/DVD media and a media burner (optional)

The same process used to install an Fedora release can be used to install F10-Alpha. For an overview of the process, please review the Installation Guide.


 * 1) First, determine your system architecture (docs).
 * 2) Next, locate a nearby mirror where you can download install media (mirror list).
 * 3) Next, download a F10-Alpha Fedora CD, DVD, or   for your architecture from a (docs)
 * 4) Burn the downloaded image to a CD/DVD
 * 5) Boot from the CD/DVD

Installation from LiveUSB

 * Refer to USB HowTo

Installation over Network
This method requires:
 * A spare system (can be a virtual guest) - already installed OS (F9, F10-Alpha)

Information on installing without http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/f9/en_US/ap-medialess-install.html. The same process for locating installation media will be used.


 * 1) First, determine your system architecture (see http://docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide/f9/en_US/sn-which-arch.html).
 * 2) Next, locate a nearby mirror where you can download install media (see http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist/Fedora/development/).
 * 3) Next, install the   utility: # yum install snake
 * 4) Using the mirror you selected above, update your bootloader information using snake: # snake-install http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/releases/test/10-Alpha/Fedora/i386/os
 * 5) Reboot your system to start the install

With your system installed, you are ready to move on to testing. Good luck!

Updating NetworkManager Packages
Once your system is installed, you'll need to install the latest NetworkManager packages built for testing. Instructions for installing the latest packages are listed below.

1 Create a yum repo for Fedora Test Day packages ... $ cat </etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-test-day.repo [fedora-test-day] name=fedora-test-day baseurl=http://jlaska.fedorapeople.org/fedora-test-day/\$releasever/\$basearch enabled=0 gpgcheck=0 EOF

2 Upgrade to the Test Day packages ... $ yum --enablerepo=fedora-test-day --enablerepo=updates* update NetworkManager*

3 Restart the NetworkManager service $ /sbin/service NetworkManager restart

Forcing Anaconda to Fail
While errors (referred to as tracebacks) during installation are not uncommon during the development cycle. If you need to force the installation program to fail in order to test the SaveToBugzilla functionality, the easiest way is to boot with the following command-line option:

updates=http://jlaska.fedorapeople.org/traceback.img

This will cause the installation program to fail after clicking "Next" for the first time. This will present an error dialog which you can use to test SaveToBugzilla

Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing is an approach to software testing that is not scripted or planned in as much detail as a more traditional test plan. Rather than walking through a series of pre-defined test cases, the tester is asked to think about the high-level test areas in the software. From there, the tester is encouraged to use their knowledge of the product and the code in order to navigate through different areas of the software. As they walk through the software, their emphasis is to find bugs, expose new test areas, and learn more about the product to help guide future test efforts.

The simplest definition from Exploratory Testing Explained by James Bach works the best:

Exploratory testing is simultaneous learning, test design, and test execution.

For further reading on exploratory testing can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratory_testing.

Test Areas
For our test day, let's define the following test areas as primary focus areas for exploratory testing:


 * NetworkManager
 * Fedora system sharing connections to other operating systems (Windows, OSX, Fedora, ...)
 * Exercise different wireless security settings
 * VPN over a shared connection?


 * Anaconda SaveToBugzilla
 * Invalid data (username, password, empty description, really long description)
 * Valid data, repeat several times

Targeted Testing
Not in the mood for exploratory testing? That's fine. We've taken the time to define explicit test cases for the different test areas noted above.

With a spare system(s) in hand, you are welcome to walk through one or more of the following test cases.


 * ConnectionSharing Test Plan
 * SaveToBugzilla Test Plan

The goal is to flesh out any bugs in the software that might be exposed by your special hardware environment.

Test review
See a typo in the proposed test matrix? Have an interesting hardware scenario to share? Is something not clear? Help us improve the test coverage.

Come join us on #fedora-qa, ask questions, propose changes, and share your issues.

Bug Filing Tips
When filing NetworkManager bugs, please include the following information in the bug report.


 * 1)   output for the card
 * 2)   output (mask AP addresses and your MAC if you like),
 * 3)   output (mask AP addresses again if you like)

For assistance filing installation (anaconda) bug reports, refer to How to debug installation problems.

Known Issues
Both features have been available for testing already through rawhide. As a result, there is a list of bugs already filed for each area. Before you file a new bug, please refer to the following before filing a new bug:


 * NetworkManager known issues
 * Anaconda known issues


 * Bug is filed, but no traceback attached, and no 0x0HASH in the whiteboard (see rhbug:461148)
 * No user feedback provided after submitting bug
 * The mouse cursor turns into an hourglass, and never turns back to a pointer