  Network testing plays an important role in the iterative process of
developing new communication protocols and algorithms. However, test
environments have to keep up with the evolution of technology and require
continuous update and redesign. In this paper, we propose COINS, a framework
that can be used by wireless technology developers to enable continuous
integration (CI) practices in their testbed infrastructure. As a
proof-of-concept, we provide a reference architecture and implementation of
COINS for controlled testing of multi-technology 5G Machine Type Communication
(MTC) networks. The implementation upgrades an existing wireless
experimentation testbed with new software and hardware functionalities. It
blends web service technology and operating system virtualization technologies
with emerging Internet of Things technologies enabling CI for wireless
networks. Moreover, we also extend an existing qualitative methodology for
comparing similar frameworks and identify and discuss open challenges for wider
use of CI practices in wireless technology development.
