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Agent Mode Licensing for the Rational Integration Tester Agent

Product Documentation


Abstract

In version 8.5.0.2 of Rational Test Virtualization Server and Rational Performance Test Server, the Rational Integration Tester Agent server-based component has been enhanced to add support for Agent Mode licensing. This is in order to enable support for token licensing and simultaneous session licensing for the Rational Test Virtualization Server and Rational Performance Test Server products.

Content

Unlike the PVU-licensing model, Agent Mode licensing requires that a Rational License Server is installed in the environment and configured with valid licenses in order for the Rational Integration Tester Agent to operate. Additionally, the Agent must be configured with the details of the license server so that the Agent is able to communicate with the license server at runtime. If a license cannot be obtained at runtime, the Agent will not run correctly.

The license type for the Rational Integration Tester Agent must be selected during installation. The license type cannot be changed after installation, so it is important to know the licensing model that you have purchased with Rational Test Virtualization Server or Rational Performance Test Server.

The installation of a Rational Integration Tester Agent using Agent Mode licensing requires manual configuration. Read through the Installation section at the end of this document before attempting to install the Agent.

Differences in Functionality Between License Types

The functionality that is available in a Rational Integration Tester Agent is almost identical regardless of whether PVU or Agent Mode licensing is used. The following points should be noted for Agents installed under Agent Mode licensing:

  • The Agent will attempt to obtain a license from the Rational License Server when it performs specific activities (see below), such as running a virtual service. If the Agent is unable to satisfy this request for a license, the activity will fail and the user will be informed. The Agent will keep the license for the duration of the activity, plus a cool-down period.
  • For all versions earlier than 8.7.0.3 and for version 8.7.1.0, the Agent must be registered for exactly one (no fewer, no more) Rational Test Control Panel domain. If the Agent's configuration file does not contain exactly one domain name, the Agent will not start correctly.  This requires the installer to set the domain configuration before attempting to run the Agent. For newer versions, however, this restriction does not apply.  The Agent can register with multiple domains.
  • The Simultaneous Session is a licence metric for Rational Test Virtualization Server (RTVS) and is used when RTVS is installed in Agent Mode. This metric enables the use of RTVS on any machine of any size. Unlike PVU licensing, there are no restrictions in terms of CPU cores or any other measurements of computation power; similarly, there are no restrictions in terms of the size or number of virtual services that can be deployed on this server. The license needs to be available through the Rational License Key Manager. When a user requests that a virtual service is started on a server, it checks whether or not it already has a license. If it does not, it acquires a license from the license server. That license is held by the server as long as it is running virtual services. When all virtual services on the server have shut down, the license will be held for a cool-down period of five minutes and then released back to the license manager.

Agent Activities
An Agent that is installed in Agent Mode will attempt to obtain a license from the configured license server when it is asked to perform certain supported activities:

Activity

RTVS Agent Mode

RPTS Agent Mode

Running a Test sequence or Suite with no stubs from RunTests, RQM, ANT, Quality Centre, etc.

ibmrtvs_simultaneous_session

ibmrpts_simultaneous_session

Launching an individual Stub or Suite containing stubs from RunTests, RQM, ANT, Quality Centre, etc.

ibmrtvs_simultaneous_session

Not supported

Launching a stub from RTCP

ibmrtvs_simultaneous_session

Not supported

Running a scheduled Test Sequence or Suite

ibmrtvs_simultaneous_session

Not supported

Used as part of a performance test

ibmrpts_simultaneous_session *

ibmrpts_simultaneous_session

Note *: You cannot run performance tests on a Rational Test Virtualization Server that uses a virtualization simultaneous session license. You need a separate license, RPTS, to run performance tests. It is recommended not to combine Rational Test Virtualization Server and Rational Performance Test Server functionality in a single server.

Note: If an Agent is only used to run a probe to collect performance data, it must be installed using the Probe Only option on the license page. This does not require any additional licenses.

Installation

Upgrades

If an existing installation of Rational Integration Tester Agent is being upgraded, then the licensing configuration cannot be changed.

New Installations

Because the new licensing model has been introduced as part of a fix pack, you must pay particular attention to the installation process to ensure that all the licensing options are available.

To install the Rational Integration Tester Agent using Agent Mode licensing, you must download Rational Test Virtualization Server or Rational Performance Test Server from IBM Passport Advantage.

If you are installing on a machine that is connected to the Internet, at the start of the Installation Manager (IM) based installation process, ensure that you search for updates. The installation will proceed as normal and you will be able to choose Agent Mode on the licensing panel.

To install on a machine with an Internet connection:
  1. Download the Rational Test Virtualization Server or Rational Performance Test Server main installation zip file from Passport Advantage, or install the product from the media and start Installation Manager.
  2. On the Install Packages page, select the Check for Other Versions, Fixes, and Extensions check box.


     
  3. Select the version to install and proceed with the installation.
  4. On the Licensing page, accept the license terms for Agent Mode.
  5. On the Configuration page, click Rational Integration Tester Agent Configuration Panel and click the appropriate Agent Mode license option for Rational Performance Test Server or Rational Test Virtualization Server.



If you are installing onto a machine that does not have Internet access:
  • Before installation, download a fix pack from Fix Central onto a machine with Internet access.
  • Copy the downloaded .zip file to the target machine and extract the .zip file image contents.
  • Open Installation Manager and add the fix pack diskTag.inf file as a repository.
  • Follow the instructions starting with step 2 in this procedure, and you will now be able to choose Agent Mode on the license panel.

Post Installation Configuration

When you installed the Agent (from Rational Test Virtualization Server or Rational Performance Test Server), you selected Agent Mode licensing during the installation process. After the installation completes, you must configure the Rational Integration Tester Agent with the host name of the license server from which it will obtain licenses.

Note: You cannot use Installation Manager to configure the license server details for the Rational Integration Tester Agent.

Configuring the Agent Under Windows

To configure the Agent with the name of the license server on the Windows platform, use the Rational License Key Administrator Client tool (LKAD). This tool is not distributed in Rational Test Virtualization Server or Rational Performance Test Server. Most customers who are running floating license servers will already have access to LKAD. LKAD is available on the IBM Passport Advantage site.

For information about setting up and using the Rational License key Administrator, see Use License Key Administrator (LKAD).

Configuring the Agent on non-Windows Platforms

The LKAD tool is only supported on the Windows platform. On other operating systems, you must set the name of the floating license server manually. There are two ways in which this can be done:
 
  • 1. Create a file containing the following details:
     
    • Create a file called .flexlmrc in the home directory of the account being used to run the Agent. This file should contain a single line specifying the servername.

      For example, you could create this file:
      /home/user/.flexlmrc

      and the file contains only this line:
      RATIONAL_LICENSE_FILE=@serverhostname

      Where serverhostname is the name of the machine on which the floating license server is running.






    •  
    2. Set the value using an environment variable. For example, in a Bash shell, execute the following before running the Agent process:
     
    • LM_LICENSE_FILE=27000@serverhostname
      export LM_LICENSE_FILE

      Where 27000 is the port number on which the license server is being run, and serverhostname is the name of the host on which the license server is running.

Domain Configuration

If you are using a Rational Test Virtualization Server version earlier than 8.7.0.3 or 8.7.1.0, ensure that the Rational Integration Tester Agent configuration file (agent.config in the installation configuration directory) is configured to register against exactly one domain. This limitation does not apply to newer versions wherein you can register the Agent with multiple domains.

For example:

<rtcp enabled="true">
  • <jmxPort value="8765"/>
    <rtcpURL value="http://localhost:7819/RTCP/"/>
    <domains>
      • <domain name="testDomain"/>
    </domains>
</rtcp>

By default, the <domains> element is commented out; uncomment the section to configure domains. For users of Rational Performance Test Server, registration with Rational Test Control Panel is optional.

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Document Information

Modified date:
26 May 2020

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swg27039621