Virtual machines or emulators are one of the most important if not essential tools for testing that simply ease the testing process by allowing to check the performance of the applications and sites by using a lot of different devices and operational systems.
They are probably irreplaceable in testing due to the big amount of various devices, as one cannot have all of them, moreover it is impractical to have them at once. Usage of the virtual machines allows to perform potentially dangerous checks without any risks. It shortens the time spendings and simplifies the settings and back-ups of different environments as well as the working process with them. The convenience of such usage of the virtual machines is also in the interactions of different physical locations by just providing the access to the virtual machine instead of the real device.
Of course, there are issues while using the virtual machines and emulators and some complications may appear from time to time. Emulation does not provide 100% of the real device. All the final checks must be performed on the real device, at least main devices. Actually, not all devices can be emulated. There can also be conflicts between drivers. Virtual machines demand a lot of resources, work slower and have some restrictions and these are the reasons why they are not suitable for performance testing because results won’t be actual and maybe even deformed.
In this article we will show you the most used virtual machines and emulators that can become handy in testing, as well as provide the list of their pros and cons.
