Comparison of Runtime Testing Tools for Microservices

Recently there has been an increase in the number of software applications using the microservices architectural pattern. This is due to the benefits derived over the more traditional N-tier patterns that use monolithic designs for each of the tiers. The value of using the microservices architectural pattern, particularly in the cloud, has been pioneered by companies such as Netflix and Google. These companies have created protocols and tools to support the development of cloud-based applications. However, the testing of microservices applications continues to be challenging due to the added complexity of network communication between the collaborating services. In this paper we provide a comparison of several open-source tools used to support the testing of microservices, describe polyglot Ridesharing microservices reference prototype, and present the results of a study that measures the overhead to test the Ridesharing application. We also describe our experiences in configuring and running the testing tools on the prototype.