To make sure that the instances of your software as a service (SaaS) product can be produced and used properly, you must self-test the SaaS product before publishing it.

Self-test process

  1. Self-test the SaaS product
  2. Submit the self-test result

Self-test an SaaS product produced in SPI mode

  1. Check whether the SaaS product produced in service provider interface (SPI) mode can be purchased.
    1. Log on to the ISV portal of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace.
    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Listing.
    3. On the page that appears, find the target SaaS product and click Preview in the Actions column. On the product details page that appears, check whether the SaaS product can be purchased.
  2. Check whether the SaaS product is activated.
    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console.
    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click My software subscription. On the My software subscription page, check whether the purchased SaaS product is activated.
      • If the status of the SaaS product is Started, the SaaS product is activated.
      • If the status of the SaaS product stays in Starting, the SaaS product fails to be activated. You must check whether the SPI works properly.
      Product self-test snapshot 01
  3. Check whether you can log on to the back-end system of the SaaS product without authentication.
    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product and click Auto Login in the Actions column. Check whether you can log on to the back-end system of the SaaS product without authentication.
    The logon fails in any of the following cases:
    • The back-end system is inaccessible.
    • The SaaS product logon page appears.
    • The official website of the ISV appears.
    Product self-test snapshot 02
  4. Check the details of the SaaS product.
    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product and click Details in the Actions column. Check the SaaS product details obtained by Alibaba Cloud Marketplace through an SPI operation.Product self-test snapshot 03

    The details include logon URLs of the back-end and front-end systems, administrator account, and administrator password. If the details are empty, check whether the response of the SPI operation is correct.

  5. Check the built-in menu items for consumption.
    Log on to the back-end system of the SaaS product and check whether the built-in menu items for consumption are hidden or linked to pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console. These menu items include those for requesting invoices, renewing subscriptions, upgrading the SaaS product, and recharging accounts. If the menu items for consumption are not hidden, hide them or link them to pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console.

    The URLs of relevant pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console are as follows:

    Renewal and upgrade: https://market.console.aliyun.com/imageconsole/index.html

  6. Optional. Check whether subscriptions can be renewed.
    If the SaaS product supports the billing method of subscription, you must test the SPI operation for renewal.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product, click Renewal in the Actions column, and then pay the required fee.

    Product self-test snapshot 04

    On the Orders page of the ISV portal, the validity period of the SaaS product is the same as the validity period that appears in your product management system.

  7. Optional. Check whether the SaaS product can be upgraded.
    If the SaaS product supports upgrade, you must test the SPI operation for upgrade.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product, click Upgrade in the Actions column, and then pay the required fee.

    Product self-test snapshot 05
    Check whether the SaaS product is upgraded through the SPI operation in the specified upgrade mode. For example, the upgrade mode can be:
    • Version upgrade
    • Increase of the user quantity
  8. Optional. Check whether the SaaS product can be converted to the formal version from trial use.
    If the SaaS product supports trial use, you must test the feature of converting the SaaS product to the formal version from trial use.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product, click Trial to Formal in the Actions column, and then pay the required fee.

    Product self-test snapshot 06
  9. Optional. Check the Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing.
    If the SaaS product is bound to Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances or uses ECS instances at the underlying layer, you must apply for an ICP filing in Alibaba Cloud and obtain an ICP number from Alibaba Cloud. In this case, you must check the ICP filing.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product and check whether a correct IP address exists. If no IP address appears or the IP address is incorrect, check whether the response of the createInstance operation is correct.

Self-test an SaaS product produced in license mode

  1. Check whether the SaaS product produced in service provider interface (SPI) mode can be purchased.
    1. Log on to the ISV portal of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace.
    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Listing.
    3. On the page that appears, find the target SaaS product and click Preview in the Actions column. On the product details page that appears, check whether the SaaS product can be purchased.
  2. Check whether the SaaS product is activated.
    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console.
    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click My software subscription. On the My software subscription page, check whether the purchased SaaS product is activated.
      • If the status of the SaaS product is Started, the SaaS product is activated.
      • If the status of the SaaS product stays in Starting, the SaaS product fails to be activated. You must locate the cause of the failure.
      selftest_12
  3. Check whether the SaaS product can be activated based on the license.
    1. On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product and click My Licenses in the Actions column.
      Product self-test snapshot 08
    2. Copy the license and use the license to activate the SaaS product on the product activation page.
    3. Check whether the specifications of the activated SaaS product are the same as those in the order, including the number of users, model, version, and validity period.
  4. Check the built-in menu items for consumption.
    Log on to the back-end system of the SaaS product and check whether the built-in menu items for consumption are hidden or linked to pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console. These menu items include those for requesting invoices, renewing subscriptions, upgrading the SaaS product, and recharging accounts. If the menu items for consumption are not hidden, hide them or link them to pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console.

    The URLs of relevant pages in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console are as follows:

    Renewal and upgrade: https://market.console.aliyun.com/imageconsole/index.html

  5. Optional. Check whether subscriptions can be renewed.
    If the SaaS product supports the billing method of subscription, you must test the renewal feature.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product, click Renewal in the Actions column, and then pay the required fee.

    Product self-test snapshot 09

    On the Orders page of the ISV portal, the validity period of the SaaS product is the same as the validity period that appears in your product management system.

  6. Optional. Check whether the SaaS product can be upgraded.
    If the SaaS product supports upgrade, you must test the upgrade feature.

    On the My software subscription page of the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace console, find the target SaaS product, click Upgrade in the Actions column, and then pay the required fee.

    Product self-test snapshot 07
    Check whether the SaaS product is upgraded in the specified upgrade mode. For example, the upgrade mode can be:
    • Version upgrade
    • Increase of the user quantity

Submit the self-test result

  1. Log on to the ISV portal of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Listing.
  3. Click the row where the target SaaS product resides to view the product publishing progress. Click Upload your self testing result.
    Product self-test snapshot 10
  4. In the Confirm dialog box that appears, click OK. The SaaS product enters the next review step.
    Product self-test snapshot 11

After the self-test, wait patiently for the operational staff of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace to review the SaaS product. If the operational staff of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace reject the SaaS product, Alibaba Cloud Marketplace sends an email to notify you and instruct you to self-test the SaaS product again. Pay attention to the product review progress and check the email in time.

SPI-related topics