How do I build my own device farm?

When you sign up for AstroFarm, you’ll get access to a web console that serves as your AstroFarm hub. You and your teammates can remotely add any devices to the hub through an easy enrollment process. All the enrolled devices are immediately available to use remotely.

Can I remotely perform automation testing on devices?

You can use any test automation tool such as Appium and execute tests on mobile devices remotely.

It is a set of processes and technologies that help development and operations teams to work together and deliver the product faster, more efficiently and at scale.

Can I remotely debug my application code on a device in the Farm?

You can use any development environment (IDE) such as Android Studio to install your app during development on a device in your mobile device farm. Once ADB connection has been established, you can also perform single-step debugging of your code.

Mobile App Testing Platform

AstroFarm: Your Most-Trusted Private Mobile App Testing Platform

Build Your Private Mobile Device Farm with AstroFarm

Make all your devices remotely accessible for testing and development - anytime, anywhere. Optimize device usage, maximize device ROI, and boost team productivity. Streamline your software testing and mobile app testing processes.

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The Need for a Private Mobile Device Farm

DevOps and QA teams need a wide range of devices to develop and debug their code, and ensure that a software works as intended. Accessing different devices becomes challenging when the teams are distributed across geographies. If you are buying, renting, and transporting devices, and especially, paying an exorbitant rental fee every month, we have a solution for you.

42Gears’ AstroFarm was built to solve these challenges. If you already have a set of devices, you can easily enroll them in AstroFarm, giving your team of developers and testers the ability to test on the company-owned device anytime, anywhere. You can remotely build your personal Android device farm or an iOS device farm and use it for mobile app testing. Whether your team performs mobile app testing manually or it uses automated testing tools, a private device farm will allow them to remotely use all the available devices for app development and testing projects.

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Why AstroFarm?

AstroFarm is all about convenience, efficiency and optimal asset utilization.

Maximize ROI on Devices You Already Own
By building a device farm for mobile app testing, you can make devices available for your team in your personalized testing environment 24/7. Moreover, if you have a private device farm, you no longer have to buy the same device model for each location.

Build a Cloud Environment that can Evolve Over Time
Scale up and/or down as needed, ensuring optimal resource utilization.

Specially Curated for Hybrid and Fully Remote Enterprises
AstroFarm can be built remotely without having to be physically present at a location. You can provide your employees with full device access even while they are working from home.

Device Security in Your Hands
Public device cloud poses security risks as a device can be accessed by multiple users. By connecting devices you already own, device security is in your hands.

Choose the Sustainable Way
Maximize your ROI and reduce e-waste by making the most of your existing devices. AstroFarm also helps you cut back on freight transportation so you can reduce your carbon footprint.

Key Features of AstroFarm (Device Farm)

Fast Device Enrollment
Connect multiple devices from an office device rack or from a contributor machine to a hub in minutes.

Cloud Hosting and Support
Capitalize on secure and dedicated cloud hosting for your device farm.

Automation Testing
Remotely perform mobile app testing on devices through open source frameworks such as Appium and Selenium to reduce development time.

Remotely Debug Source Code
Facilitate single stepping during debugging on remote Android devices with Android Studio and iOS/iPadOS devices with Xcode.

Performance Monitoring
Improve app quality by monitoring CPU and Memory utilization, including each device's processes in real-time during testing sessions.

Multi-device view with Remote Screen Pop-out
View all device screens, test multi-screen behavior, and run automated and manual tests on multiple devices without having to constantly switch between devices.

Macro Recording Support
Identify and replicate errors, automate UI testing, as well as perform iterative manual regression testing without the need to repeat them.

Support for an Expanding Array of Devices
AstroFarm supports Android as well as iOS/iPadOS devices.

Instant Inventory Review
Keep track of any device in your AstroFarm at a glance.

Easily Manage Who can Access What and When
Define access privileges using contributor and user management tools.

Grouping Devices and User Restrictions
AstroFarm admins can assign devices to specific groups of users, restricting user access and enabling efficient device and user management.

When to use AstroFarm?

	AstroFarm	Public Device Farm
Best Suited For	Companies who already own the devices they need	Companies need more or different devices than what they own
Device Rental Cost	Free	Paid (Most priced at $5 per device per hour or more)
Scalability	Keep adding more devices as you procure them or share from other locations	Rent access to more devices
Security	Device security under your control	Reliant on service provider to keep devices safe and secure

Integrate your Favorite Applications

GitLab

Appium

Android Studio

Xcode

Selenium

FAQs on Device Farm for Mobile App Testing

Find answers to some of the frequently asked questions.

What is a device farm?

A device farm is a testing environment created by adding a fleet of real devices to the cloud ensuring remote accessibility to geographically distributed testing, QA, and DevOps teams. This eliminates the need to purchase multiple devices for every location and also shipping devices from one location to the other. A device farm can be used to test an app’s compatibility with different device parameters such as screen sizes, device-types, and versions of operating systems. Testers can run tests on multiple devices, located in multiple locations at the same time.

What are the benefits of a device farm?

With a device farm, you can test your apps on the same device-models that your prospects are using, debug errors quickly, use different devices for testing purposes at anytime, from anywhere, test apps on different browsers, run tests on real user conditions, reduce the time to run and complete tests, and reduce the time to market.

How do I set up a device farm?

The steps to set up a device farm may vary from one solution to another. However, some steps are common in most solutions. For example, IT admins need to first enroll devices into a device farm solution in order to create a device farm. Then they need to give access to the farm and its devices to specific teams. Teams should then use the login credentials to access the solution’s console, where they can see the available devices and choose specific devices based on requirements.
For more information about how to set up a device farm, contact 42Gears.

How does a device farm work?

With a device farm in place, you can make all your existing devices available for mobile app testing purposes on one platform. You can check which devices are available at a given point in time and include them in your ongoing software testing projects. Contributors can add real devices via USB Hub to the Office Device Rack or even use their local machines to enroll devices toAstroFarm's cloud infrastructure. Testers can simply login to the console and access devices anytime, anywhere.

What is the best device farm solution to test your iOS and Android applications?

Picking the right device farm solution depends on specific requirements, but, in general, a good device farm solution should be compatible with different operating systems, secure, support various testing methodologies, and should integrate with different testing frameworks such as Selenium, Appium, Cucumber, etc. Write to us at sales@42gears.com to learn more about 42Gears’ private device farm solution, AstroFarm.

How do I build my own mobile device farm?

When you sign up for AstroFarm, you’ll get access to a web console that serves as your AstroFarm hub. You and your teammates can remotely add any device to the hub through an easy enrollment process and set up a testing environment. All the enrolled devices in the mobile device farm are immediately available for use remotely by members of the QA and DevOps teams.

How many devices can I add to my device farm?

You can scale your device farm for mobile application testing to any size. AstroFarm has no upper limit to the number of devices you can enroll for app testing, but there is a per-device add-on fee that you’ll need to pay.

What devices can I integrate into my AstroFarm device farm?

AstroFarm currently supports any Android device running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the latest versions of iOS/iPadOS devices. So you can create a diversified private device farm by including different types of mobile devices running different operating systems.

Why do I need AstroFarm? Where and how can I use it?

AstroFarm is all about convenience, efficiency, and optimal asset utilization. With AstroFarm, you can build your own private device farm, and leverage your own devices for mobile application testing, optimize device usage, maximize device ROI, and boost team productivity with device access across geographies. Sign up here and check out our documentation to get started.

Can I use AstroFarm for Automation and API testing?

Yes, AstroFarm supports both automation and API testing. Increase your test coverage with the Appium and Selenium automation frameworks. For a list of complete integrations, check here.

Does AstroFarm ensure data privacy?

AstroFarm complies with all global standards of security including SOC Type 2 and ISO 270001. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as usernames and passwords are encrypted and protected.

How long does it take for initial enrollment of devices?

Users can enroll Android and iOS/iPadOS on AstroFarm within minutes and set up their mobile app testing platform. Check out the documentation on how to enroll devices in AstroFarm.

Can AstroFarm reduce operation and maintenance costs?

By utilizing company-owned devices, businesses can reduce their investment costs by up to 68%. With AstroFarm, our customer Transact Technologies obtained 200% ROI just on direct equipment & transportation costs in their first few months of use. Read the case study here.

What is the difference between a Simulator and AstroFarm?

Simulators only allow you to test on virtual devices with predefined settings. But AstroFarm allows you to test on real devices under real-world conditions. View the execution of tests on multiple devices and track their performance in real time. This will assist you in accurately identifying errors and ensuring a well-developed product.

What are the different user roles supported by AstroFarm?

Two types of users can access the AstroFarm console.

Users - Users with admin privileges can manage other users, while those without them can only access devices assigned to the groups they are a part of.

Contributors - Contributors are users who can enroll devices to the AstroFarm console through the host machine. Users having admin privileges can add and manage Contributors.

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