Updated March 14, 2023
Introduction to Selenium Grid
Selenium Grid is one of the four components of the Selenium Automation framework, used for automation testing on web applications. It allows the testing process to be performed across multiple browsers and system units at the same time. Here, the Grid is made up of Hubs and Nodes, where Hub is the server to which the service requests are sent and then gets distributed to the appropriate nodes connected to it, and the Node is the individual units that receive the service requests from the Hub.
What is Selenium Grid?
This is the configuration that helps to tests on multiple platforms. let us run tests scripts on a different platform at the same time. It helps to save time for testing.
Understanding Selenium Grid
It has two versions: namely grid1 and grid2. Nowadays, grid2 is used the most. We are focusing on grid2. The selenium grid has architecture as a hub and nodes. Hub is nothing but the central point where it controls multiple nodes. Nodes are nothing but different computers where we are going to run our test scripts.
How does Selenium Grid Work?
Look at the following diagram:
In the above diagram, we can see there are multiple environments connected to one hub. And tests cases are distributed among the same environment in parallel. All the scripts are written on the hub then it sends these scripts to all the environments to run this.
In this whole grid system, we have only a hub and multiple nodes. In other words, we can say that the hub is a script loader and nodes where these scripts are getting executed.
What can you do with Selenium Grid?
With the help of this, we can speed up the execution time of different test cases. Selenium is a tool used to test applications. We can automate test cases with it. This saves lots of time for testers as the selenium grid is one part of this testing application.
How to Configure the Grid with Simple Steps?
- Go to the command prompt if you are on MAC open terminal.
- Type following command in command prompt.
- java -jar selenium-server-standalone-2.44.0.jar -role hub this command will create a hub.
- Now we are going to create a node with the following command: java -jar selenium-server-standalone-2.44.0.jar -role node –hub http://localhost:4444/grid/register the above command will create a node.
Advantages
Given below are the advantages mentioned:
- It is a flexible approach to distribute different test cases on a different platform.
- It helps to reduce batch processing time.
- It is used in multi-browser testing.
- It can be used in multi-OS testing.
Required Skills
If you are new to the selenium grid, then you should learn the following prerequisites before starting with it. You should know at least one object-oriented programming language. Forex- Java, python, ruby, C#, Perl, etc., many programmers prefer to go with java.
If you know to program already, it is an added advantage to your learning curve. A developer can capture the selenium grid system easily for those who are new to programming.
Why Should we use it?
There is a time when we need to reduce the testing time of our application. Also, we need to run some test cases parallel at the same time. At that time, we need the selenium grid. It is the solution for running test cases simultaneously and saving time. Customers may use any system, any browser to run your application, and your application should work on every platform without any issue. This is our requirement to fulfill.
Many people prefer testing as their career because it is quite interesting, and at the same time, they get more domain knowledge with different application testing. If you are trying to get into IT, you can come with selenium as a core skill. We can see its high demand in the automated world.
Scope
If you are talking about selenium, then it is used for automation. In the current view, if we look at IT industries, there is exponential growth for automation. Everything is getting automated at this time; testing skills are also getting improved with automation.
Who is the Right Audience for Learning these Technologies?
The exact sentence is the person who has a relation to the word testing or wants to make one in IT is the right audience. Moreover, the people who are working on testing profiles and they are having the requirement to test their application on multiple environments with multiple browsers.
Also, people are trying to learn selenium as a complete suite as the time when you need automated test cases that run in parallel and saves time.
How will this Technology help you in Career Growth?
It is always an advantage to get implemented. It saves a lot of time. If you start your career in testing, it helps you to design test cases. Writing a script is one kind of development we can say. They need scripts to learn. This career path will grow your ability to understand the project and its requirements deeply. It introduces you to a different environment which helps you to know platforms very closely.
Conclusion
As in the know, selenium is the first choice in lots of companies for testing. Testing with automation saves time and also helps to improve domain knowledge. There is a dedicated selenium tester who works on big projects. If you are already a tester, then you just need to upgrade yourself with the selenium grid.
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