Test environment reference architecture

Test environment

Purpose

• Internal validation, bug fixing, development testing.

User Types

• Developers - Access for feature development, debugging
• QA/Test Engineers - Perform functional, regression, and integration testing
• Automated Testing Tools - Automated scripts or pipelines

Access Method

• Typically via direct login/password accounts (local/test accounts)
• No OpenID or external authentication (to maintain security and isolation)

Data

• Synthetic or anonymized datasets
• No real user information

Typical Activities

• Feature testing and debugging
• Functional verification

Test Environment requirements

The test environment should mirror the development setup as closely as possible and must meet the following technical and functional requirements:

• Minimal Restrictions - Configure with as few restrictions as possible to allow smooth debugging, integration, and testing.
• AI Configuration - Requires an active (paid) API key to access AI services such as OpenAI or other platforms.
• Database Requirements - Installation of Microsoft SQL Server is required:
  • Version: Standard or Enterprise
  • Full Text Search must be enabled to support advanced query functionality
• Security (SSL/TLS) - The environment must support SSL:
  • Browsers impose restrictions on HTTP, leading to reduced performance compared to HTTPS.
  • Supported certificate types:
    • Standard SSL certificate
    • Wildcard certificate
    • Self-signed certificate (acceptable for internal testing)
• Indicium Service Account - A dedicated service account is required for running Indicium. This account must have:
  • Write permissions on the Indicium directory
  • Access rights to both the IAM database and the application database
  • Secure management in line with the organization's IAM policies

Cloud

Architecture and connections

Cloud test environment reference architecture

Connections:

1. Internet → Azure SQL (VNet 1)
   Traffic from the Internet or external Azure services reaches Azure SQL Database directly, typically via secured endpoints.
2. Application Server (VNet 2) → Azure SQL Database (VNet 1)
   The application hosted in VNet 2 (e.g., an App Service plan) communicates internally with the Azure SQL database hosted in VNet 1.

Summary of commonly used ports:

Service	Typical Port Numbers
Azure SQL Database	TCP 1433 (secured via TLS)
HTTPS (external access)	TCP 443

Sizing (hardware cloud)

Recommended specifications (cloud):

Component	Azure	AWS	Google
SQL	AzureDB	AWS RDS db.m5.xlarge (4 vCPU, 16 GB)	SQL server 4 vCPU, 16 GB
Indicium & Universal	AppService Premium v3 P1V3 (2vCPU, 8 GB)	Elastic Beanstalk t3.large (2 vCPU, 8GB)	Cloud Run (Memory: 1 GB) Storage Bucket Class data: Default Class Standard

Cloud environment setup

For more information about setting up a cloud environment, see:

• Azure setup
• AWS setup
• Google Cloud setup
• Containerized setup

On Premise

Architecture and connections

On-premise test environment reference architecture

Connections:

1. Internet → External Firewall
   Traffic from the Internet first passes through an external firewall, controlling inbound access.
2. External Firewall → Reverse Proxy (DMZ)
   Allowed web traffic reaches a reverse proxy server placed in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).
3. Reverse Proxy (DMZ) → Internal Firewall
   Reverse proxy forwards legitimate requests through an internal firewall towards the internal networks.
4. Internal Firewall → App Server (Network 2)
   Internal firewall allows specific traffic to reach application servers within the secured network.
5. Client Network → App Server
   Internal clients (devices like phone, laptop, tablet, desktop) directly connect to the App server within the secured internal network.
6. App Server → SQL Server (Network 1)
   Application servers establish secure database connections to the SQL Server.

Summary of commonly used ports:

Service	Typical Port Numbers
HTTP	TCP 80
HTTPS	TCP 443
SQL Server	TCP 1433

Sizing (hardware on premise)

Recommended hardware specifications (IIS Server):

Component	Configuration
CPU	4 vCPUs
Memory	16 GB RAM
Storage	100–200 GB
OS	Windows Server 2019/2022

Recommended hardware specifications (SQL Server):

Component	Configuration
CPU	4 vCPUs
Memory	16 GB RAM
Storage	Windows/SQL installation: 200 GB SQL Data: 200 GB SQL Log: 100 GB Best practice is to separate the installation, data and log locations.
OS	Windows Server 2019/2022
SQL	SQL Server 2019/2022 Standard or Enterprise

On-premise environment setup

For more information about setting up an on-premise environment, see:

• On-premises (Windows) setup.