Overview

For organizations that cannot expose their QA environments to the public internet due to compliance, security, or legal requirements, Thunders.ai offers a secure solution using self-hosted Browserless Docker instances connected through Azure Relay.

This approach allows you to run automated browser tests against internal applications without opening firewall ports or creating VPN tunnels, while maintaining complete control over your infrastructure and data.

Why Self-Hosting?

Many organizations face restrictions that prevent direct internet access to testing environments:

• Compliance Requirements Organizations subject to HIPAA, SOC2, GDPR, or similar frameworks may be prohibited from exposing testing environments to the internet.
• Legal Obligations Companies with legal restrictions on systems containing sensitive data need to keep these systems isolated from public access.
• Security Policies Enterprises with strict security policies require all external connections to go through approved, audited secure channels.
• Internal Infrastructure QA environments running on internal networks or on-premises data centers that cannot be made publicly accessible.
• Data Sovereignty Organizations that must keep all testing data within specific geographic or network boundaries.

How It Works?

The self-hosted architecture uses three key components:

1. Browserless Docker Instance (Your Infrastructure)

A containerized browser automation service that you deploy and manage within your own environment. This instance:

• Runs inside your network or private cloud
• Has access to your internal applications
• Never needs to accept inbound connections from the internet