How to set up testsuite files for execution across environments

I have a test suite file that needs ability to be executed from both mvn command line (from Jenkins) as well as on-demand from Eclipse.

The test suite file must have ability to support parameters, ie:

<suite name="test run1">
   <parameter name="testEnv" value="dev"></parameter>
   <parameter name="proxyServer" value="x"></parameter>
   <parameter name="proxyPort" value="y"></parameter>

If I leave as is, then mvn command line parameters don't work, as the values in the test suite file will override the parameters. i.e. this will not work:

mvn test ... -dtestEnv=E1QA -dproxyServer= -dproxyPort=

How can I write the test suite file so it supports both ad-hoc execution from Eclipse and mvn command line execution?

Solution

based on a combination of above answers, I've figured it out.

First remove the hard-coded parameters in the test suite file.

Next, ensure the parameters are supported in the pom file.

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>2.4.2</version>
            <configuration>
                <systemPropertyVariables>
                    <environment>${testEnv}</environment>
                    <environment>${proxyServer}</environment>
                    <environment>${proxyPort}</environment>
                </systemPropertyVariables>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Create constants file to contain default values for the parameters

public class Constants {
    public static final String DEFAULT_TEST_ENV = "dev";
    public static final String DEFAULT_PROXY_SERVER = "a-dev.phx.com";
    public static final String DEFAULT_PROXY_PORT = "8585";
}

In the testNG setup() method, use System.getproperty():

@BeforeClass(alwaysRun = true)
protected static void setUp() throws Exception {
    String testEnv = System.getProperty("testEnv", Constants.DEFAULT_TEST_ENV);
    String proxyServer = System.getProperty("proxyServer", Constants.DEFAULT_PROXY_SERVER);
    String proxyPort = System.getProperty("proxyPort", Constants.DEFAULT_PROXY_PORT);

    System.out.println("testEnv: " + testEnv);
    System.out.println("proxyServer: " + proxyServer);
    System.out.println("proxyPort: " + proxyPort);
}

I could put the default values in a config file, but for now, constants file seems easiest in its own class.