Systems | Development | Analytics | API | Testing

In software testing or platform engineering, having realistic data is crucial. For years, teams have relied on Test Data Management (TDM) to copy entire production databases, scrub any sensitive information, and then spin up test environments from these sanitized data sets. While TDM gets the job done, it can be costly, time-consuming, and can quickly become outdated. The issue of outdated data becomes more pronounced as deployment velocity increases and back end dependencies become more diverse (think: microservices).

In the half-decade since gRPC became part of our production ecosystem, we've encountered a range of challenges and discovered a few hidden pitfalls that can trip up even the most experienced teams. Below, we'll walk through some of the core lessons learned, with tips, best practices, and examples drawn straight from the trenches.

Traditional testing methods often delay the software development lifecycle, as we have grown used to these outdated processes without considering alternatives. Ephemeral environments introduce a more efficient solution. They allow for the quick creation and dismantling of isolated testing environments. These isolated environments approach leads to faster and more productive development cycles while still delivering high-quality software to users. In this article, we'll explore ephemeral environments, how they work, and why they might be the solution your team needs.