To use the development environment instead of the production environment, configure your computer, do everything the same as for production, then revert the configuration.
You can either configure DNS or use a VPN. You do not need to do both. DNS is preferred because it requires vastly less bandwidth and is less intrusive of your personal data, but the VPN only needs to be set up once.
DNS
The DNS server is hosted at 207.75.164.37. You will need a secondary resolver for real addresses, such as 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2 (Level3), or 8.8.8.8, or 8.8.4.4(Google).
Example
Primary: 207.75.164.37
Secondary: 4.2.2.1
Guides are available for Mac, Windows (do steps 1, 2, 3, 6), Linux, and most other devices. You can also do a web search.
Please remove the servers when you are done testing. If you don't, your client will tell us everywhere that you go.
If you would like to use IPv6, you can use 2001:48a8:68fe:0:0:0:0:37 instead of 207.75.164.37. Users may not need or want to use IPv6.
VPN
If you VPN, your DNS settings will default to 207.75.164.37 and 8.8.8.8. The server address is vpn.internet2.edu and a single account called "commitdev" is used for most purposes because we manage access control to components directly.
Server Address: vpn.internet2.edu
Mac: Go to System Preferences > Network. Click the +. Select VPN as Interface. Use the server address and account name above. Name the service anything. Click Authentication Settings... and enter the password and shared secret.
Windows 7: http://www.vpnvip.com/setup-l2tp-vpn-in-windows-7.html
Windows 10: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2569630/set-vpn-connection-windows.html
Linux: You know more than Nate does if you're running Linux as your personal OS
You can also do a web search.
Connect to use the development environment. Disconnect when you are done testing. If you don't, your client will send all data legibly through us.
Email ndk@internet2.edu to ask for the password and shared secret. If your requests still go to the wrong server, it is due to client configuration or a firewall running between your client and the VPN server, and you will need to configure your client.
Technical Details
The development environment is a nearly precise clone of the production environment, except with no sensitive data or keys. This is done to greatly reduce the possibility of errors being introduced in transition to production and to make development easier. It also allows us to do development and test work without involving every partner organization.
The DNS server answers to UDP and TCP queries over 53, but only for commonidtrust.org, and at a maximum of 5 per second. We have 3 total domains. Either approach will direct your DNS queries for the commonidtrust.org domain to the development environment instead of the production environment.