What is Tagging?

Question

What is the purpose of Tagging an environment or a Machine?

Can I check the Tag from a test and do something like:

If the machine has a tag of "Skype instaled" then, run the test called, "Skype_Installed".

And tests will run only on machines that has specific tags...?

Thanks!

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lekfir

Answer 1

If the machine has a tag of "Skype instaled" then, run the test called, "Skype_Installed".

Tags - Is an optional parameters. You can tag a virtual or physical environment to help identify its use, click the double chevron to add a new tag. Click New tag to add the name and value for the tag. 

As you can see this functionality is available only when you have picked the Lab Center tab from Microsoft Test Manager. Tags help you identify the environments and machines for purposes of lab management and do not in any way permit test run delegation to an environment based on tag mapping. 

See this sample on msdn of how tags are used in environment and machine creation - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee943322.aspx 

HTH
Cheers, Tarun

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Answer 2

Hi lekfir,

Thank you for your post.

Tarun is right, Environment Tags are a set of name-value pairs that provide additional information about the environment. Machine tags are user-defined custom properties to track for the stored virtual machine or template. Both tags are used to name a object that you can find it easily. When you need a environment/machine for a specific usage, a tag helps you find the purpose object easily without check the detail environment/machine information to identify the object.

Thanks,

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Lily Wu [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us

Answer 3

Thanks Tarun,

So what is the best way to solve my needs?

I have tests that should run on different machines and the machines have different applications installed on them.

For example, Some of my machines have Skype latest version installed, Some have Skype not installed and some have Skype old version installed.

Test 1 checks when Skype latest version installed

Test 2 checks when Skype is not installed

Test 3 checks when Skype old version installed

and I want that the tests will run only on the machine that they can run on.

So:

Test 1 will run only on machines that the latest version of Skype installed

Test 2 will run only on machines that  Skype is not installed

Test 3 will run only on machines that the old version of Skype installed...

Thanks!

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lekfir

Answer 4

Thank you for getting back with the finer details lekfir. 

The short answer is use roles to manage your test agents. 

When you set up a test agent you have the option of defining a role,

When you have set up this physical or virtual agent go to lab center in mtm,

When you create an environment, you select a test controller to use for that environment. Then you must decide the roles that you require in your environment. A role specifies the purpose of a computer in the environment. For example, a specific role could be Web Server or Desktop Client. You select which machines to use in your environment and assign a role to that machine.

- The New Physical Environment view is displayed with the Machines page selected. From this page, you add the machines that you want in an environment and then you choose the role that this machine can be used for. A machine is a computer or virtual machine with the test agent software installed.

- The machine is now displayed in the list of machines for the environment.

- To select a role for this machine, click Select/Type role. Click the drop-down arrow to select a role from the existing roles, or type the role that you want to define.

Follwing the above instruction you have now set up your agents are associated them to roles. You can in your case define roles as Skype Version 1.0, Skype No Version, etc. 

Now in your define the test settings from properties in microsoft test manager you can define that your tests in suite A will need to be run on agents that have the role Skype Version 1.0 and bang all tests in test suite A will only run on any agent that has this role defined. 

Does this answer your question?

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Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help.

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Answer 5

Hi Tarun,

Your post was amazingly helpful for me, I have been searching for info like this for several months!

I am up to the point where my Environment can be configured to have several Client Machines all with different default Roles (eg. Chrome, Firefox, IE). How do I now go about changing test settings so that each 'Suite' (eg Suite A, Suite B) in my Test Plan will run on the machine with the Role I specify? Currently I can only see an area to define a single role for the whole Test Plan when I follow your directions for changing Test Settings. I feel I am missing one crucial step and can't see anywhere to edit a Suite to require a specific Role.

Cheers.