In the past, testing tools were kept separate from development tools, or were poorly integrated with development tools. Testers used a separate environment, and the test scripts that they wrote were stored in a separate repository from source code control. Microsoft Visual Studio Team Edition for Software Testers 2005 With MSDN Premium introduces a set of test tools that are integrated into the Visual Studio 2005 environment, including Web tests, load tests, manual tests, and unit tests. (Team Edition for Software Testers can be purchased separately, or as part of the Visual Studio Team Suite 2005 suite of programs.) Network impersonation load testing simulates users accessing the application using a mix of network connections. View larger. Besides the predefined test types; Web, load, unit, manual, and ordered, Visual Studio 2005 includes a generic test type that can be used to extend testing capabilities. View larger. Browser impersonation allows testers to a heterogeneous browser mix when testing load against a Web application. View larger. A New Way to Test In the past, because testing tools were kept separate from development tools, feedback was sometimes challenging, bugs were hard to trace down when separate systems were used, and performance testing was usually done after the development cycle was near complete. All of this added cost, time and ultimately stress to the development lifecycle. Team Edition for Software Testers addresses these issues by integrating and streamlining the testing process into your entire development cycle. With Team Edition for Software Testers you can reduce the complexity of testing applications by offering access to advanced testing tools and features from within the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to create and run tests. By providing all members of a software team access to an overall shared warehouse for integrated feedback and reporting, you can tightly integrate testing into their software development collaboration. Team Edition for Software Testers lets you accurately simulate production workloads in different environments, analyze and troubleshoot bottlenecks prior to deployment, and use cost-effective CPU based load agent licensing to simulate virtual users. You can also quickly automate and run tests by creating customizable and dynamic Web tests using the Web test recorder. This allows you to create commonly used tests using out-of-the-box test types, or extend your test framework using generic tests. Team Edition for Software Testers Features Visual Studio Team Test consists of three main areas -- testing types, testing environment, and extensibility. Team Edition for Software Testers offers tester"s access to advanced testing tools and features from one easy location. A number of core test types -- including unit, Web, load, and manual tests -- as well as the measurement of code coverage, are now integrated into Visual Studio 2005, making it easier then ever before for testers to be an integral part of the development process. Because Team Edition for Software Testers is tightly integrated within the Visual Studio 2005 Team System, software testers can publish results to a common database, generate trend and historical reports, compare data, and determine the number and type of bugs identified as a result of testing. Deep integration into the current developer environment, along with the traditional project types, make it easier for all participants of the development team to access and share information. And by offering a rich, extensible infrastructure for customers and third-parties to build upon, Team Edition for Software Testers includes an infrastructure that allows for two levels of extensibility. The first is designed for individual testers, and the second is designed for those who need to extend Visual Studio. By providing an open architecture, Visual Studio 2005 Team System allows for current and future test types from both internal testing staff and external partners to be added. Team Edition for Software Testers also features a suite of new test tools. All tests, including unit, Web, load and manual testing, are first-class citizens in Visual Studio and can be shared across the organization. The test results can be published to a database, and you can generate trend and historical reports, compare different kinds of data, see how many and which bugs were found as a result of testing, and identify which bugs are not linked to a test that could help reproduce them. Other advanced features include an automated and data-driven unit testing capability for the developer; efficient load test generation with easy deployment of test code and reverse deployment of logs and test results; parallel functional test execution with code coverage, Load Test Monitor and performance counters for analysis; customizable auto generated Web tests; and custom validation and extraction rules and the Web test plug-in that can call code during a test run. MSDN Premium Subscriptions Team Edition for Software Testers includes an MSDN Premium Subscription. An MSDN Premium Subscription provides continuous, priority access to the technologies you need to support Team Edition for Software Testers and build a broad range of applications and Web services, including the latest versions of Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, and future Windows releases. (Usage rights are limited to development and testing only.) With the subscription, your technical support includes unlimited usage of MSDN Managed Newsgroups for online support with a guaranteed response time of two business days, phone-based support incidents, and free access to MSDN Online Concierge for nontechnical questions regarding navigation of the MSDN site, Knowledge Base article searches, and MSDN Subscriber Downloads. Also, continuously updated technical content is available through the MSDN Library, which offers comprehensive programming information, code samples, sample applications, technical documentation and articles, and the Microsoft Developer Knowledge Base. Customers who qualify for the renewal price include current subscribers to: Any Visual Studio Team edition with MSDN Premium Subscription MSDN Universal