Cloud Computing as a Debug Tool

Lack of resources or the timely availability of the same has permitted large delays in the analyzing of software failures. When a software failure occurs during a test run, the tester documents the problem to the best of their ability. However, the software designer who analyzes the problem has a larger task at hand. Given that software quality is paramount in complex systems, it is imperative that this analysis is performed as soon as possible. The replication of analysis tools is expensive and maintenance of the same is even more so. The use of cloud computing whereby we provide the platform as a service may be the answer to the problem. This paper investigates the advantages of using this application of cloud computing whereby this technology delivers an analysis, development and design environment to the user. The users have the option of devising their own application that will run on the debug infrastructure which is exposed to the users through a private intranet. The paper will explore the system and cost effectiveness of this service in a development environment. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.