test

SunVTS 5.0 User's Guide

Using Additional Features with the SunVTS CDE UI

This section describes additional SunVTS features using the SunVTS CDE user interface:

Using the Automatic Configuration Feature

The Automatic Configuration feature simplifies the SunVTS configuration steps by automatically assigning a predetermined set of test options. This feature provides the following benefits:

To Use the Automatic Configuration Feature

  1. Prepare any "intervention" devices and select the Intervention checkbox.

    See "Preparing Devices for Testing".

  2. Select Auto Config from the Select Test Mode panel.

    The Automatic Configuration dialog box is displayed (Figure 4-10).

  3. Select one of the following choices from the Automatic Configuration dialog box:

    • Comprehensive--sets all the test options for thorough testing. All applicable functional tests are enabled. The test session validates the full functionality of the system and provides you with assurance that the system is hardware fault free.

    • Confidence--sets all the test options such that there is limited functional test coverage as compared to the Comprehensive level of coverage. The Confidence level testing verifies the main functionality of the system in a shorter amount of time.

    Figure 4-10 Automatic Configuration Dialog Box

    Graphic

    Note -

    The Help button displays a dialog box with Auto Configuration information and instructions.

  4. Click on Select in the dialog box.

    SunVTS applies the predefined options and is ready to test selected devices.

  5. (Optional) Select or deselect the devices that you want to test in the System Map.

    This step is optional. For full system testing, use the devices that are selected by the Automatic Configuration feature.

  6. Click the Start button in the SunVTS main window.

    The test session runs with the predetermined set of options based on the level of coverage (comprehensive or confidence) that you selected. The AC Coverage (Confidence or Comprehensive) is displayed in the Status panel.

Connecting to Another Host

You can connect the SunVTS user interface on your local system to a SunVTS kernel that is running on another system in your network. Once you are connected to the remote system, all of the controls in the CDE UI control the testing of the remote system.

To Connect to Another Host

  1. Make sure that the SunVTS kernel is running on the remote system.

    You can do this in several ways. You can remote login (using rlogin or telnet) to the remote system and run the vtsk command.

    Note -

    On the remote system, you must login (or switch user) as a user that has SunVTS privileges (superuser by default) before you can start the SunVTS kernel (vtsk).

    Note -

    You can only connect to a system running the same version of SunVTS.

  2. On the local system (the system running the SunVTS UI), click on the Connect to Host button.

    The Connect to Host dialog box is displayed.

  3. Specify the name of the remote system to which you want to connect.

    Enter the hostname in the Connect to Host field. As you connect to various remote systems, SunVTS keeps track of those systems and displays them in the Hostname List. You can reconnect to one of those hosts by double-clicking on the host name in this list. This list is only maintained during your current SunVTS session. When you quit SunVTS, the Hostname List is cleared.

    Any number of UIs can connect to a SunVTS kernel and each UI displays a synchronous view of SunVTS.

  4. Click Apply in the Connect to Host dialog box.

    The SunVTS UI now controls the SunVTS testing of the remote system. The remote system hostname is displayed in the Status panel, confirming the connection.

Using the Email Notification Feature

You can have SunVTS send the test status messages to you using email.

To Enable Email Notification

  1. Select Notify from the Options menu in the Menu bar.

    The Notify Options dialog box is displayed.

  2. Select one of the following from the Send Email pull-down menu:

    • disabled--disables the email notification feature.

    • now--send email immediately one time, then disable the notification feature.

    • on error--send email when an error occurs.

    • periodically--send email at regular intervals as specified in the Log Period.

    • on_error&periodically--send email periodically and when an error occurs.

  3. Enter an email address in the email address field.

  4. If you selected Periodically or on_error&periodically, specify the log period in minutes (1-99999).

  5. Click on Apply.

    You will receive the SunVTS information messages in email based on your notification criterion.

Controlling the Size of the Log Files

The log file sizes of the SunVTS test error log (/var/opt/SUNWvts/logs/sunvts.err), the SunVTS kernel error log (/var/opt/SUNWvts/logs/vtsk.err) and the information log (/var/opt/SUNWvts/logs/sunvts.info) are each limited to a maximum size of 1 Mbyte by default. When the log file reaches the maximum size, the content is moved to a file called logfilename.backup. Additional events are added to the main log files. If the log file reaches the maximum size again, the content is moved to the backup file, overwriting the earlier backup file content. Only one backup file is maintained for each log file.

You can modify the log file maximum size specification.

To Modify the Log File Size Limits

  1. Select Option->Thresholds from the Menu bar.

    The Threshold Option dialog box is displayed.

  2. Use the arrows to increase the Max System Log Size number.

    Select a number from 1 to 5 (Mbytes). For example, if you choose 5 Mbytes, SunVTS will use up to 30 Mbytes for log files (there are three log files, each may also have an equal sized backup file).

  3. Click on Apply.

Tracing a Test

You can use the Trace test option to create a log of every system call made when a test is running. This feature logs the system calls using the standard UNIX command truss. The trace messages logged by this feature give you a powerful debugging tool for isolating the specific cause of an error.

To Enable Tracing

  1. Select Commands->Trace test from the Menu bar.

    The Trace Test window is displayed.

  2. Choose a test to trace from the list of test names and then select Apply, or double-click a test name to enable tracing and close the window.

    When you select a test, system call tracing is enabled immediately. If the test is already running when you select it, tracing begins immediately and the trace test messages appear in the SunVTS console window.

    Note -

    You can only select one test at a time to trace when using the SunVTS CDE user interface.

    Note -

    When using the Physical map view, you can only see one level in the hierarchy (such as one controller on a system board). Therefore, some devices that are several levels down are not available to trace. Use the Logical view to select tracing for these devices.

  3. Select File and click Apply to write the trace test messages to a file called /var/opt/SUNWvts/logs/sunvts.trace.

To Disable Tracing

  1. Bring up the Trace Test window again, click on the highlighted test name, and click Apply.

    This action deselects the test and disables tracing.

Preserving Test Options with Locks and Overrides

With locks and overrides you can preserve or override the options you set at the system level, group-level, and device-level (see Step 6).

Locks

Normally, when you change an option setting at the system level or group-level, the new option setting propagates down to all lower levels. Enabling the lock prevents an option setting made at a higher level from affecting the lower-level option setting.

Note -

The override option nullifies lower-level locks.

To Set (or Unset) a Lock

  1. Open the Test Advanced Options dialog box from the group-level or device-level you want to lock.

    To access this dialog box, place your pointer over the group or device and right-click. Then select Test Advanced Options from the menu.

  2. Click the Enable button to set the lock (or disable button to unset the lock).

    With the lock set, you can make option setting changes at higher levels without affecting the option settings of the locked device.

Overrides

You can use overrides to void the lock protection. Setting the system-level override nullifies all locks, and setting a group-level override nullifies all the locks below that group.

To Set (or Unset) an Override

  1. Open the Advanced Option dialog box at one of the following levels:

    • System level--select Option->Advanced from the Menu bar.

    • Group level--place your pointer over the group and right-click. Then select Test Advanced Options.

  2. Enable the Override setting (or disable the Override setting to unset it).

  3. Click Apply.

Scaling Your Test Session

You can use a combination of options to scale (increase or decrease testing intensity) to meet your diagnostic needs. For example, you can modify test options so that each test instance runs simultaneously, thus increasing the stress level for a single or multiprocessor system. The following procedures can be used individually or in combination to scale the test session.

To Modify the Number of Test Instances

You can scale your test session by running multiple copies of the same test on your devices. Each copy is call a test instance. Each test instance is a separate process of the same test. The number of test instances can be set at the system level, group level, and the device level as follows:

  1. Open the Test Execution dialog box at one of the following levels:

    • System level--select Option->Test Execution from the Menu bar.

    • Group level--place your pointer over the group and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

    • Device level--place your pointer over the device and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

  2. Use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the number of instances.

  3. Click Apply.

To Modify Test Concurrency Options

The test concurrency option sets the number of tests that run at a given time during a test session. You can set this value to one to run one test at a time, or increase the test concurrency value thus increasing the stress level of your test session.

There are two options in the Schedule Option dialog boxes (at the system level and group level) to scale your test session:

  1. Open the Schedule dialog box from one of the following levels:

    • System level--select Option->Schedule from the Menu bar.

    • Group-level--place your pointer over the group and right-click. Then select Schedule Options.

  2. Use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the System Concurrency and Group Concurrency values.

  3. Click Apply.

To Bind a Test to a Processor with the Processor Affinity Option (for Multiprocessor Systems)

By default, the Solaris kernel assigns each test instance to whichever processor is available at the time. On multiprocessor systems, you can bind (assign) a test instance to a particular processor as follows:

  1. Open the Test Execution dialog box at one of the following levels:

    • System level--select Option->Test Execution from the Menu bar.

    • Group-level--place your pointer over the group and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

    • Device-level--place your pointer over the device and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

    Note -

    The Processor Affinity field is only displayed on multiprocessor systems.

    Note -

    The Processor Affinity option is not available for processor tests such as cputest and fputest. These tests are associated with each individual processor on your system and you cannot bind these tests to a different processor.

  2. Select a Processor from the Processor Affinity field.

  3. Click Apply.

Using the Debugging Features

You can enable certain options that cause the SunVTS test session to output more test data than when you run the session with the default option values. The following procedures describe how to enable these features.

To Enable (or Disable) Verbose and Core File Options

  1. Open the Test Execution dialog box at one of the following levels:

    • System level--select Option->Test Execution from the Menu bar.

    • Group-level--place your pointer over the group and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

    • Device-level--place your pointer over the device and right-click. Then select Test Execution Options.

  2. Enable (or disable) one or more of the following options:

    • Verbose--displays verbose messages indicating when the test is starting and stopping during the test session.

    • Core File--when enabled, creates a core file when a test session results in a core dump. The core file is called sunvts_install_dir/bin/core.testname.xxxxxx , where testname is the test that dumped the core, and xxxxxx is a character string generated by the system in order to make the file name unique.

    Note -

    The Trace feature also provides additional test data. See "Tracing a Test".

Saving a Test Session Configuration for Repeated Use (Option Files)

You can use the Option Files feature to save the current set of selected devices and test options for reuse. This is a convenient feature when you plan to the same test session configuration over and over again.

The configuration information is saved in a filename of your choice in the /var/opt/SUNWvts/options directory.

Note -

Do not manually edit any option file. Unnecessary or spurious characters in the option file can cause unexpected behavior when you use it.

To Create an Option File

  1. Configure SunVTS for the test session that you want to save.

    See "To Configure SunVTS for a Test Session".

  2. Select Options->Option files from the Menu bar.

    The Option Files dialog box is displayed.

  3. Specify an option file name in the Option File field.

  4. Click on Store.

  5. Repeat Step 1 through Step 4 for each test session configuration you want to save.

  6. Click Close in the Option Files dialog box.

    The Option Files dialog box is closed, and your test session configurations are saved for future use.

To Load an Option File
Note -

Loading an option file that was created on another system is permitted, but you must make sure that the configuration is valid for the system you plan to test.

Note -

Do not load an option file that was created in a 64-bit environment into a 32-bit environment.

  1. Select Options->Option files from the Menu bar.

    The Options Files dialog box is displayed.

  2. Select an option file from the Option file list.

  3. Click Load.

    The test session configuration is loaded into SunVTS and the name of the option file is displayed in the Status panel. You can use this configuration, or modify it before you start the test session.

To Remove an Option File

  1. Select Options->Option files from the Menu bar.

    The Options Files dialog box is displayed.

  2. Select the option file that you want to delete from the Option File List.

  3. Click Remove.

  4. Click Close.

Using the Auto-Start Feature

You can use the auto-start feature, along with saved option files, to simplify the process of configuring a test session and running it.

To Configure SunVTS to use the Auto-Start Feature

  1. Select Options->Schedule from the Menu bar.

    The Schedule dialog box is displayed.

  2. Enable the Auto Start setting in the Schedule dialog box.

  3. Create an option file as described in "To Create an Option File".

    The option file that you create is configured to use the auto-start feature.

To Use the Auto-Start Feature

  1. Select Commands->Quit SunVTS->UI and Kernel.

    You must quit SunVTS and restart it for the auto-start feature to work.

  2. Use the following command to restart SunVTS from the command-line, specifying the option file that you created:


    # /opt/SUNWvts/bin/sunvts -o option_file

    SunVTS displays the main window and automatically starts the test session.

Suspending and Resuming a Test Session

You can suspend a test session while it is running. For example, you might want to look at messages on the Message panel that have scrolled out of view, or you may want to view and print a log file.

To Suspend and Resume a Test Session

  1. Select Commands->Suspend from the Menu bar.

    "Suspended" is displayed in the Status panel, and the test session pauses until you resume it.

  2. Select Commands->Resume from the Menu bar.

    "Testing" is displayed in the Status panel, and the SunVTS kernel resumes the suspended test session.

Recording and Replaying a Test Session

You can use the Record and Replay feature to record a SunVTS test session. Only one test session recording is saved at a time.

The events are recorded in a file called /var/opt/SUNWvts/vts_replay_file.

Once a test session is recorded, you can use the recorded events to drive the SunVTS kernel so it reproduces the recorded sequence of events at a later time.

Note -

The Record and Replay feature closely reproduces the sequence of events, but it cannot reproduce the time periods of these events because the execution times vary from one run to another.

Note -

Do not edit the /var/opt/SUNWvts/vts_replay_file.

To Record and Replay a Test Session

  1. Configure SunVTS for the test session that you want to run.

    See "To Configure SunVTS for a Test Session".

  2. Select Commands->Start testing with record from the Menu bar.

    The test session runs, and the events are recorded. When testing stops, the recorded session is available to replay.

  3. Select Commands->Replay to replay the test session.

    The kernel reruns the same tests, with the same configuration that you specified in Step 1.

    Note -

    During the replay, the kernel is actually rerunning the tests, not just re-displaying the recorded session.