Run Unattended Scenario in VM environments

In order to execute test case scenarios that are scheduled to run in Virtual Machine environments during non-office hours, either by the ICTestAutomation ICConsole scheduling feature or any other scheduling mechanism, there are some thoughts to be considered.
This topic will give a brief overview of some items that are specifically to be considered in Windows environments, such as Server 2012 or higher, and Windows 8 or higher.

CitraTest will need the following configuration to be able to run unattended test case executions.

The desktop must be visible to any running test case. When minimizing the VM window, the desktop will no longer be visible to the test case.
Also, the desktop display settings must be equal to the desktop settings at test case development time.

The user account running CitraTest must be logged on to the virtual machine and the user session must be kept alive. A disconnect or Sign out will result in corresponding error messages and test case failure.

When running test case scenarios from the ICTestAutomation ICConsole scheduler, the TrendIC.ICConsole program must run with the same user credentials as the test cases are to run with. Test cases are run with credentials of the user account that is logged on.
Also, TrendIC.ICConsole must run in the same VM session as the test cases are to run in.

Any other schedule mechanism must comply with the above TrendIC.ICConsole considerations.

If the requirement is to have the Virtual Machine always locked or logged off, the method as outlined below would apply.

• Access the Virtual Machine via Remote Desktop session or Hyper-V connection, as the so called outer session, and then INSIDE that session launch one or more inner RDP sessions. Each of these inner sessions represents a separate CitraTest desktop machine, essentially.
• The outer session can be disconnected, and the inner sessions will still run. At this point the server would be locked or logged off, but yet there would still be desktop sessions running the scheduled test case scenarios.
• Note that running multiple scripts on a server is not allowed with a standard single machine license, it would need an upgraded license.

Set the following Group policy on each of the Virtual Machines

Local Group Policy Editor (Start>Run>gpedit.msc):

• Computer Configuration>Admin Templates>Windows Components>Remote Desktop Services>Remote Desktop Session Host.
• Remote Desktop Session Host\Connections:
  • “Restrict Remote Desktop Services users to a single Remote Desktop Services Session”=Disabled
• Remote Desktop Session Host\Remote Session Environment:
  • “Limit Maximum Color Depth”=Disabled
• Remote Desktop Session Host\Security
  • “Always prompt for password upon connection”=Disabled
• Remote Desktop Session Host\Session Time Limits
  • “Set time limit for disconnected sessions”=Disabled