What is a sandbox environment? #
A sandbox environment is an isolated, secure virtual space in which software developers and IT departments can safely test, run, monitor and experiment with software or code without affecting the platform, network or system it is scheduled to run on.
What is sandbox testing? #
Testing new applications and code is an essential process that developers and IT departments need to undertake to mitigate any risk.
In order to achieve that, developers, IT departments and cybersecurity professionals use sandbox environments to test new programming code, new applications or potentially malicious software before exposing them to their operating systems, networks and databases to ensure that, once deployed, they run smoothly, existing data is not compromised and the organisation continues to run efficiently.
The sandbox environment provides a testing area that replicates the existing operating and network environment, but isolates it from the organisation’s other resources.
This means that if there any issues are found with the application or code then they are confined to the sandbox and will not have any detrimental effect on existing systems.
Once the applications or code have been fully tested they can then be produced, deployed within the organisation and made accessible to end users.
Image: Example scenario of a sandbox environment
Sandbox environment examples #
A sandbox environment is typically used to test software applications and code changes in an isolated, controlled environment. Here are some examples of things that can be tested in a sandbox environment:
- New features and functionality: Developers can test new features or functionality without affecting the production environment. This can help ensure that new features are working as intended before they are deployed to users.
- Performance testing: Developers can test the performance of their code under different scenarios, such as high traffic volumes or heavy data loads.
- Integrations: Organisations can test how the application integrates with other systems, such as APIs or databases.
- User acceptance testing (UAT): Testers can perform UAT and provide feedback on the user experience and functionality.
- Security and vulnerability testing: Security experts can test for security vulnerabilities and penetration testing. This can help identify potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the software before it is released to production.
