TestComplete License Manager Installation

[steve_mcclung]

I was going to install the License Manager on our virtual server until I found out I cannot do this for Floating Licenses.  I was going to install TestComplete on 5 workstations and identify the VM as the location of the license manager.  It appears now my only option now is to install the license manager on stand alone machine accessible via the network by the PCs we will have TestComplete installed on. 

My question is can the license manager be installed on the same PC on which I have TestComplete installed...getting a seperate workstation to use as the license manager will prove difficult here.

[joseph_michaud · Accepted solution]

While you can run a License Manager on a VM, the constraints imposed by the licensing system make using a VM worse than using a physical machine if you can't control how the VM is managed.  If you have the choice of using a physical machine, take it.

As for using the same machine to run TestComplete and serve licenses,.... yes, you can do that.  In fact, you have the same license server bits already installed as part of the TestComplete installation.  (The License Manager installation is just a repackaging of only the license server bits and pretty interface, and no TestComplete bits.)

[steve_mcclung]

Thank you Joseph.  Now, I have another question.  The complete configuration is as follows:  We have QA Complete installed and setup on a VM.  If we install TestComplete on 5 Physical machines, is it still feasible to integrate with QA Complete?

[joseph_michaud]

That should be fine.  As long as the QAC machine (virtual or otherwise) can talk to the TestComplete machines, and as long as the TestComplete machines can talk to the License Manager machine (wherever that is), you should be OK.

[Ravik]

Is it possible to access TestComplete on VM if Licence manager is install on Stand Alone (Local ) Machine.

If VM machine and Local machine having at different location (Local machine - INDIA, VM on US)

[joseph_michaud]

As long as TestComplete can access the License Manager over port 1947, it can get a license.  Problems occur, though, when the various intervening networks block traffic on this port.

[steve_mcclung]

Thanks your input helped me to resolve my issue.

I have another problem.  Trying to install TestComplete1130 on another PC here for another tester.  He had the trial version at one time.  Now, after his installation, the dialog box comes up indicating the Trial license has expired.  There is an option that says "Try to Find a License Again, if you have a floating user license activated on your network."  but when he clicks on it nothing happens.  When I did my installation the link took me to a configuration page and I was able to enter the search paramaters for our license manager server.  Thanks in advance for you feedback.

[joseph_michaud]

You're probably referring to the "Access to Remote License Managers" page in the license service's local Sentinel Admin Control Center ( http://localhost:1947/_int_/config_to.html )

More information is also found here:  Specifying License Manager for Connection

[debruey]

@joseph_michaud can you expand on the comment "While you can run a License Manager on a VM, the constraints imposed by the licensing system make using a VM worse than using a physical machine if you can't control how the VM is managed."? 

Are you saying that it will work to install TEstComplete license manager on (say) an Azure VM, with floating-license TestExecute running on VMs, as long as I have good control over the content and life of those VMs? What is the downside of doing so? Is the point that VMs are traditionally transient machines, and tearing down/setting up VMs for license servers becomes a problem?

Thanks. 

Don

[joseph_michaud]

It is not the lifetime and content of the VMs that matter.  It is the physical machine on which the License Manager VM runs that matters.  The licensing system as we are using it unfortunately depends on some aspects of the machine (ie CPU type) that are not virtualized.  In the end, this ties the licensing system to the underlying physical host on which the License Manager VM runs.  If you can't control your License Manager VM in the VM environment, then you don't know which physical host your VM is running on.

If you're running your License Manager VM in a cluster of identical physical hosts... no problem.  If your License Manager VM doesn't move from its physical host... no problem.  But if your License Manager VM is wandering about, running on non-identical physical machines... problem.  The licenses will be invalidated when the License Manager VM runs on a different physical host.

If you can control your VM environment, you can mitigate the problem by 'pinning' the VM to run on the same physical host.  This works well in most cases.

Remember: this is only a problem for the License Manager VM (serving the licenses).  It is not an issue for the VMs simply running TestComplete or TestExecute (which aren't serving licenses).  (And this is only a problem for the License Manager on VMs.  The licensing system uses different criteria to judge machine integrity for physical machines.)