Forum Discussion

Colin_McCrae's avatar
Colin_McCrae
Community Hero
10 years ago

Problem - using a virtual machine with TestComeplete

Hi   I've been using TestComplete with a node locked license on my physical PC for over two years now. Which is fine.   However, I now need to be more mobile and can't have it tied to a single PC...
  • joseph_michaud's avatar
    joseph_michaud
    10 years ago

    Licenses must be specially marked ("VM-enabled") to allow them to be served by virtual machines.  Yours are not.

    Please open a support case for help with what you're trying to do.

Colin_McCrae's avatar
Colin_McCrae
Community Hero

Thanks for the speedy feedback.

 

It would be nice if your documentation reflected this point.

 

It's a pretty key piece of information!

 

I'll send off the support request to get it changed.

Colin_McCrae's avatar
Colin_McCrae
Community Hero
10 years ago

Many thanks to Joseph for his support assistance with this.

 

Just to add some extra info in case anyone else runs into it ....

 

  • If you have a Node Locked license, SmartBear need to enable it for VM activation. This has to be done though a support ticket. By default, this is not enabled.
  • A node locked license, on a VM, binds itself to several elements of the VM. In order to remain valid, these elements must remain unchanged.
  • The elements which must remain static are: The CPU type, the MAC address of the network adapter and the VM UUID.
  • I use VMWare. You will need access to the .VMX file for the VM using to host node locked TestComplete. You need to update the .VMX file with a couple of elements to force the MAC address and VM UUID to remain static. Links below.
  • Static MAC address: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=219
  • Static VM UUID: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1541
  • And obviously don't change the CPU type on the VM once it's up and running! (There may also be a dependency on the underlying CPU of the machine hosting the VM. All our dev machines use the same CPU type so I'm hoping this won't be an issue for me!)

 

I caveat all the above by adding that this is using VMWare and assuming you have access to the VMX file of the VM you are trying to use. No idea for other VM managers/hosts. Also, according to the above, my license *should* remain active, I haven't actually tested the theory yet!

 

I'll update here as and when I do.

 

If I have problems moving a copy (not a clone, that comes with a further set of problems) from machine to machine, I'll switch to a static hosted VM that I'll remote into using VNC (as it doesn't cause session problems when dropping in and out like RDP does...).