SilkCentral^® Test Manager 2007 Release Notes

This file contains important information that may not appear in online Help. Read this file in its entirety.

For information about installation, deployment, and licensing issues, see the SilkCentral Test Manager Installation and Configuration Guide.

For an overview of the new features in the current release, see the What's New section below.

What's New

Integration with VMware Lab Manager

SilkCentral Test Manager has been seamlessly integrated with VMware Lab Manager 2.4 and 2.5. For full details regarding VMware Lab Manager, please visit http://www.vmware.com/products/labmanager

After configuring SilkCentral Test Manager for use with one or more VMware Lab Manager servers, you can choose to run tests on any of the configurations that are stored within your VMware Lab Manager libraries. SilkCentral Test Manager then automatically deploys those configurations (even multiple instances of the same configuration), runs tests, collects results, and subsequently undeploys the configurations.

SilkCentral Test Manager also provides you with the option of capturing LiveLink images of managed configurations with multiple settings ('always', 'on error', 'on error after the complete run of a test definition is finished', and 'never'). For further information regarding LiveLink technology, please visit http://www.vmware.com/products/labmanager

Enhanced Integration with Requirements Management Tools

Integration between Borland SilkCentral Test Manager and external requirements management tools has been enhanced. In particular, significant improvements have been made to integration with Borland CaliberRM and IBM Rational RequisitePro.

Borland CaliberRM – Automated Synchronization

When synchronizing requirements in SilkCentral Test Manager to a current baseline in a CaliberRM project, each requirement change in CaliberRM is automatically propagated to SilkCentral Test Manager, in real time. Additionally, synchronization log files now summarize error conditions at the tops of log files. Synchronization details follow the summaries. Using traces, changes to test definitions that are executed in SilkCentral Test Manager are immediately propagated to CaliberRM.

Borland CaliberRM - Baseline Support

SilkCentral Test Manager now supports synchronization of requirements that are stored in baselines within CaliberRM projects. Automated synchronization is not available when synchronizing to a non-current baseline (this is because baselines are not intended to be changed). Manual synchronization is possible in such cases however. Additionally, because traces are immutable in CaliberRM project baselines, changes to traces to test definitions in SilkCentral Test Manager are not propagated to CaliberRM project baselines.

IBM Rational RequisitePro - Support for RequisitePro Packages

The RequisitePro package structure is now supported by SilkCentral Test Manager.

External Requirements Management Tools - Single Sources of Truth

The Master/Slave option dialog has been removed from SilkCentral Test Manager. SilkCentral Test Manager treats external requirements management tools as "single sources of truth" and reflects external requirements management tools' project states in an unmodified way.

General Improvements to the Requirements Management Unit

The following improvements have been introduced in the Requirements Management unit:

• The Requirements Properties tab now shows both internal and external properties of requirements on a single page.
• Improved error messages and warning dialogs have improved error and warning diagnostics.
• Filtering is now possible on integration properties such as external IDs.
• Synchronization tasks can now be scheduled and automated using SilkCentral Test Manager's scheduling system.
• While executing manual synchronizations, a new progress dialog displays the number of requirements that have already been synchronized.
• Automated and scheduled synchronizations can be configured to automatically send synchronization log files to users via email notification.
• Integration with external requirements management tools can now be configured to prohibit upload of requirements from SilkCentral Test Manager to external tools.
• Integration to external requirements management tools can be also configured to prohibit editing of externally linked requirements by SilkCentral Test Manager users.

Usability Enhancements for Editing Manual Execution Steps

SilkCentral Test Manager's Web-based manual execution step editor has been improved.

• The manual execution step editor now allows you to insert new manual test steps at any point within step lists.
• You can 'Control-Left click' any manual test step line in a step list to enter editing mode.
• It is now possible to copy, cut, and paste test steps within the same step list and from one manual test definition to another.

AJAX Functionality

The SilkCentral Test Manager user interface has been improved to use AJAX technology to reduce page reload and wait times. The following elements now use AJAX technology:

• Collapse/expansion of nodes and opening of context menus in the Requirements Tree, Test Planning Tree, Execution Tree, Code Analysis Tree, and Reports Tree.
• Sorting of table columns.
• When navigating between view tabs, your requests are now handled by AJAX technology.
• Most dialogs within the SilkCentral Test Manager user interface now leverage AJAX technology.
• With AJAX functionality, links visible in your browser's address bar may no longer work when displayed in additional browser windows. Now, directly to the left of the Print this Page icon, a new Bookmark this Page icon has been introduced to allow you to generate AJAX compatible 'permalink' bookmarks that can be stored in your Favorites list for future reference.

Unicode File Support for Excel Plugin

SilkCentral Test Manager's Microsoft Excel plugin now supports Excel files that contain Unicode data.

JUnit 4 Support

SilkCentral Test Manager's JUnit integration has been updated to support unit testing with JUnit version 4.

Web Service for Creating Test Execution Definitions

SilkCentral Test Manager now provides a Web service interface that allows you to add, update, delete, and receive test execution definition data. Please see SilkCentral Test Manager API documentation for further details.

Enhanced Help System

SilkCentral Test Manager now has a completely restructured help system that makes it easier for Test Manager users of all expertise levels to find the information they are looking for.

New Quick Start Tasks guide users step-by-step through best practice use of Test Manager's core functionality.

Navigate to Help => Documentation => Test Manager WebHelp to view the new SilkCentral Test Manager WebHelp.

Navigate to Help => Documentation => SilkCentral Administration Module WebHelp to view the new WebHelp for Test Manager's Administration module.

Both help systems are also available as PDF documents, for users who prefer to view help in card copy form. See Test Manager Help (PDF) and SilkCentral Administration Module Help (PDF)

System Requirements/Prerequisites

For optimal performance of SilkCentral Test Manager, the following configuration is recommended:

General server requirements

Server requirements for standalone/evaluation environments

(up to 5 execution servers)

Server requirements for distributed small business environments

(up to 15 execution servers)

Server requirements for distributed standard business environments

(up to 30 execution servers)

Server requirements for distributed enterprise business environments

(more than 30 execution servers)

Execution server requirements (for all of the above environments)

The configuration below is a minimum configuration for simple executions. The actual requirements/prerequisites for execution servers depend on the application under test (AUT) and the type of testing.
For load testing, please refer to the environment requirements of SilkPerformer. Running load tests with the minimal configuration can result in inaccurate results.
For functional testing, please refer to the environment requirements of SilkTest. However a minimum of 1024 MByte main memory is recommended for intensive testing, like Web browser replay.

Client requirements

Known Issues

This section contains a list of known issues and provides work-arounds where available.

• Settings issues
• Test Plan issues
• Execution issues
• Reports issues
• Third party tools issues
• Display issues
• Issue Manager issues
• SilkTest 2006 R2 known issues
• SilkPerformer 2006 R2 known issues

Settings issues

• IIS integration does not work if Java 1.4 (and possibly earlier releases) is installed on the system. (30440)
  Workaround: Uninstall Java 1.4 or lower on the front-end server machine.
• If the database is disconnected (e.g., for administrative tasks), users which continue working with Test Manager may receive Nullpointer exceptions. (27023, 31596)
  Workaround: Wait until the administrator reconnects the database and login again.

Test Plan issues

• With the data-driven feature new parameters are generated from the columns of the assigned data set. If a value is empty (optional or undefined parameter) the value is marked as "<undefined>". This could be a problem with, for example, SilkTest scripts, because is also sent to the SilkTest agent via the execution interface. (31548)
  Workaround: In your data source/data set, define a valid value for optional parameters (e.g. 0 for a number) and check these values in your SilkTest scripts before using them.
• A data-driven test definition with the options "Each data row is a single test definition" and/or "Enable data-driven properties" enabled, is not supported as Setup & Cleanup test definition. Changing either of these options while a test definition is assigned to an execution definition can cause the results of a setup/cleanup test definition to vanish. (31484)
  Workaround: None.
• It is not possible to remove the data-driven properties from a test planning node. Due to this, you cannot remove an assigned data source in Administration/Configuration. (29280)
  Workaround:
  1.) Delete the test planning node
  2.) Delete the data source configuration (work cautiously with folders and test containers)
  3.) Recreate the test planning node
• Creating an automated test from a manual test does not work if the description is too long. Since the description for a new automated test is generated from the step descriptions, the resulting length for the description can exceed the allowed maximum of 2000 characters. (28564)
  Workaround: Reduce the length of the proposed description for the new automated test in the first wizard step to a maximum of 2000 characters.

Execution issues

• Data imported from a data source for data-driven tests appears in a single column. This happens when the locale of the computer on which the data source was created differ from the locale of the computer hosting Test Manager (if the default CSV separator of the two locale differ). (31145)
  Workaround: None. You need to make sure that the client on which new data sources are created uses the same CSV separator as Test Manager's application server.
• After starting an execution definition with "Run Once" it sometimes takes a long time for the execution definition to show up in the "Current Executions" section of the "Activities" page. The "Run Once" operation uploads all associated information of test definitions assigned to the execution definition to execution servers before initiating the execution, which takes time. If the application server is busy uploading data due other user's actions, this increases the delay further. (31542)
  Workaround: None.
• If the execution server runs as service, rather than as a Windows process, the execution server may have insufficient rights to detect the SilkTest installation directory via the file system and throws a Nullpointer exception. (31507)
  Workaround: Run the execution server in process mode to run automated SilkTest executions.
• When entering Unicode characters in the test step result field while executing a manual test, those characters are sometimes not displayed as entered when viewing the manual test results. (28194)
  Workaround: None.
• When creating a new filter (that has at least two criteria) within the Execution unit, and selecting "Execution Property" (the default) from the "Selection Criteria" drop-list box as the last of the criteria, you'll receive the error message, "Could not apply filter to tree: unknown resultingCategory: 3." (27063)
  Workaround: Select a value other than "Execution Property" from the "Selection Criteria" drop-list box on the "New Filter" dialog. Then re-select "Execution Property" from the list and continue configuring the filter.
• The last execution results of a test definition and execution definition cannot be deleted. (28563)
  Workaround: Run the execution definition again (via schedule or run once) in order to generate new results. Now the previous results can be deleted.
• If an execution server shuts down during the execution of an execution definition, the results of the already completed test definition executions are lost. (21303)
  Workaround: None.
• No warning that changes are lost is displayed if the Assigned Test Definitions tab is left without having clicked the Apply button. (19681)
  Workaround: Always apply changes before leaving the Assigned Test Definitions tab.
• When rerunning failed tests, the execution definition status (Execution/Document View) only displays the test definition executions which were re-run, not all. (21179)
  Workaround: Although the Document View does not display the total Execution definition status, reports display the status for all test executions.
• .NetExplorer Test Execution might not end if the event log is full, as in this case .NetExplorer brings up a message box. (25539)
  Workaround: None.

Reports issues

• When displaying the "Report" tab of the "Reports" unit, a "refresh" operation in the browser sometimes (rarely) displays a "500 Servlet Exception" . (28418)
  Workaround: Click the "Update" button on the current Report page.
• Full-text indices can't be used on text objects in Oracle databases because Test Manager uses the NCLOB data type. (26330)
  Workaround: Contact Borland Customer Support for information about possible solutions.
• When changing the Microsoft Excel report template, a "File Download" dialog appears. (23980)
  Workaround: This problem can occur on Windows 2000 operating systems. To solve the issue, open Windows Explorer and select Tools -> Folder Options -> File Types -> XLS -> Advanced. Check the Confirm open after download checkbox.
• If Microsoft Internet Explorer's security level is set to High (which is the default setting in Windows 2003 SP1), JavaScript is disabled and Test Manager will not work correctly.
  Workaround: Add the Test Manager URL and the chart server URL to your local intranet site or to the list of trusted sites in MS Internet Explorer.

Third-party tools issues

• VMware Lab Manager: A VMware Lab Manager installation can only be used by a single Test Manager installation, because checking out the same configuration from multiple installations would lead to deadlocks. (33908)
  Workaround: None
• VMware Lab Manager: If capturing a configuration lasts longer than 10 minutes no LiveLink is attached to the execution result. (33907)
  Workaround: None.
• It is possible to create traces in a CaliberRM project to test definitions in a SilkCentral Test Manager project that is not configured for integration with this CaliberRM project. This will lead to inconsistency of traces in CaliberRM and assignments of test definitions in Test Manager. Such traces should not be created. (31594)
  Workaround: None.
• CVS SourceControl Integration with public key authentication does not work if the front-end server service runs under the system user. (26807)
  Workaround: Start the front-end server service with a normal user account or use another authentication mechanism for CVS.
• Using the GoTo functionality in Test Manager for an assigned external issue from StarTeam always opens a new instance of StarTeam instead of reusing an existing instance. (27640)
  Workaround: None.
• The Check Connection command on the Edit Configuration dialog for the configuration of IBM Rational RequisitePro integration projects may fail although all provided data is correct. (20000)
  Workaround: To enable access for IBM Rational RequisitePro SDK to projects in MS-Access database files (*.mdb), the access rights of the .mdb file have to be set to (rw) for the Internet Guest account (e.g.: LAB\IUSR_LABMASTER). This can be done on the parent directory to enable access for all projects in the directory.
• The Check Connection command on the Edit Configuration dialog for the configuration of IBM Rational RequisitePro integration projects may fail although all provided data is correct. (20001)
  Workaround: To be able to get access to Requisite Pro project files, you must have access to them via a UNC path. The SilkCentral Test Manager Frontend Server using this file must therefore either run under a user account (default is system account for services) with proper rights (admin), or the share must be configured for NullSessionLogins access. Otherwise the connection to the RequisitePro project will fail. See the MS article for more details. To enable NullSessionLogin, run regedt32.exe on the Requisite Pro server machine and browse to: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\NullSessionShares. Then add a new line to the REG_MULTI_SZ field with the share name used by the service.
• If the configuration of External Traceability for SilkCentral Test Manager in Borland's Framework Administrator is changed, all existing traces to SilkCentral Test Manager test definitions may become invalid. (28566)
  Workaround: Use the synchronization functionality on the Properties tab of the Requirements unit to add the traces (assigned test definitions) a second time and delete any obsolete test definitions.
• You cannot set CaliberRM custom properties "Priority" and "Status" to map to SilkCentral Test Manager custom properties. These names are reserved by CaliberRM. (20710)
  Workaround: None.
• The PVCS support is limited to the English language version.
  Workaround: None.

Display issues

• Office Import Tool Help does not open in Firefox 2.0 browser.
  Workaround: Use another browser to display the Office Import Tool Help.
• In Issue Manager, release names within issues consist of "VersionName + BuildName". When performing an action in Test Manager, release names in the drop-down list are shown with "BuildName" only. (26970)
  Workaround: None.
• In Internet Explorer 6, drop-down menus in the background are clickable, even if a modal dialog is opened. (20471)
  Workaround: None.
• If you log in to Test Manager, and then log in again with another user account in a second browser window with the "Remember Login" option selected, the stored cookie is read by the first browser as well and the logged in user will change in the first browser. (21325)
  Workaround: If you must work with more than one open browser window with different user accounts, log in to Test Manager without selecting the "Remember Login" option.
• The preview wizard step in the Test Manager Office Import tool only shows the first 230 characters for requirements and manual tests that are imported. This is only a visual limitation on the preview page, the requirements and manual tests are actually imported with the full name. (20472)
  Workaround: None.

Issue Manager issues

• Files with less than three characters in the file name can not be uploaded. (27406)
  Workaround: Use only file names with three or more characters.
• Some imported custom reports might not work anymore due to database changes in version 4.0. (25225)
  Workaround: None.
• Parameter names with blank characters are not supported, though you will not receive an error message if you use a parameter name with blank characters. (25754)
  Workaround: None.

Resolved Issues

The following are resolved defects in SilkCentral Test Manager 2007.

Tested Software

This section describes the software with which SilkCentral Test Manager 2007 was tested.

Getting Help

Link to Technical Support page on Borland Web site

Installation Instructions

For information about installation, deployment, and licensing issues, see the SilkCentral Test Manager Installation and Configuration Guide.