Installing System Testing Agents

System Testing for C

When using Virtual Testers on remote target hosts, a daemon must be running on the target to act as an interface between the virtual tester and the System Testing Supervisor. This daemon is known as the System Testing Agent.

Note Always make sure that the version of the System Testing Agent matches the version of HCL OneTest™ Embedded. If you have upgraded from a previous version of HCL OneTest™ Embedded, you must also update all System Testing Agents on remote machines.

The installation directory of System Testing includes the following necessary agent files:

  • atsagtd.bin: the agent executable binary for UNIX

  • atsagtd.exe: the agent executable binary for Windows

  • atsagtd: the agent launcher for UNIX when using inetd

  • atsagtd.sh: a UNIX shell script that starts atsagtd.bin

On Windows platforms, the ATS_DIR environment variable must be set to indicate the directory where the atsagtd.exe and atsagtd.ini files are located. If the file cannot be found, only the current user on the current computer will be authorized.

Installing the Agent

There are two methods for installing the System Testing Agent:

  • Manual launch

  • Inetd daemon installation

To install a System Testing Agent for manual execution:

This procedure does not require system administrator access, but launching of the agent is not fully automated.

  1. Copy atsagtd.bin or atsagtd.exe to a directory on the target machine.
  2. On the target machine, set the ATS_DIR environment variable to the directory containing the agent binaries.
  3. Add that same agent directory to your PATH environment variable.

Note You can add these commands to the user configuration file: login, .cshrc or .profile.

  1. On UNIX systems, create an agent access file .atsagtd file in your home directory. On Windows create an atsagtd.ini file in the agent installation directory. See System Testing Agent Access Files.
  2. Move the agent access file to your chosen base directory, such as the directory where the Virtual Testers will be launched.
  3. Launch the agent as a background task, with the port number as a parameter. By default, this number is 10000.
    atsagtd.bin <port number>&
atsagtd <port number>

To install a System Testing Agent with inetd:

This procedure is for UNIX only. Launching agents on target machines is automatic with inetd.

With this method, the inetd daemon runs the atsagtd.sh shell script that initializes environment variables on the target machine and launches the System Testing Agent.

  1. Copy atsagtd.sh and atsagtd.bin to a directory on the target machine.
  2. On the target machine, set the ATS_DIR environment variable to the directory containing the agent binaries.
  3. Add that same agent directory to your PATH environment variable.

Note You can add these commands to the user configuration file: login, .cshrc or .profile.

  1. Log on as root on the target machine.
  2. Add the following line to the /etc/services file:
    atsagtd <port number>/tcp

The agent waits for a connection to <port number>. By default, System Testing uses port 10000.

Note If NIS is installed on the target machine, you may have to update the NIS server. You can check this by typing ypcat services on the target host.

  1. Add the following line to the /etc/inetd.conf file:
atsagtd stream tcp nowait <username> <atsagtd path> <atsagtd path>

where <username> is the name of the user that will run the agent on the target machine and <atsagtd path> is the full path name of the System Testing Agent executable file atsagtd.

To reconfigure the inetd daemon, use one of the following methods:

  • Type the command /etc/inetd -c on the target host.

  • Send the SIGHUP signal to the running inetd process.

  • Reboot the target machine.

In some cases, you might need to update the file atsagtd.sh shell script to add some environment variables to the target machine.

Return to your user account and create an agent access file .atsagtd file in your home directory. See System Testing Agent Access Files.

Forcing IPv4 only

You can force the agent to bind a socket listener using only IPv4 (excluding IPv6) by using the -IPv4 option:

atsagtd <port number> -IPv4

Troubleshooting the agent

To check the installation, type the following command on the host running HCL OneTest™ Embedded:

telnet <target machine> <port number>

where <port number> is the port number you specified during the installation procedure. By default, System Testing uses port 10000. The System Testing Agent should answer with the following message:

210 hello, please to meet you.

After the connection succeeds, press Enter to close the connection or type the following command to check that <username> is set up as a user:

Jef <username>

If the connection fails, try the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:

  • Check the target hostname and port.

  • Check the Agent Access File.

  • Check the target hostname and port in the atsagtd.sh shell script.

  • Check the /etc/services and /etc/inetd.conf files on the target machine.

  • If you are using NIS services on your network, check the NIS configuration.

To see the current working directory, type the following command:

PWD

To close the connection, type:

QUIT

Related Topics

System Testing Agent Access Files | About Virtual Testers