CTP provides you a number of ways to identify and respond to changes that impact your test environments as well as other key indicators that an asset might not be operating as expected. This includes checking for offline components, modified virtual assets, out of sync assets, inactive proxies, etc. These health checks are described in detail at Monitoring Environment Health.

Beyond these standard health checks, you can configure custom tests for a specific component instance. This helps you proactively identify test environment issues (e.g., dependencies that are behaving unexpectedly) before they compromise the accuracy of your test results. It also provides additional validation that virtual assets are accurately representing real interactions.

SOAtest tests for customized health checks can be associated with any component type (except the SOAtest Test Executor component type). These tests are executed immediately after provisioning and before any tests associated with the SOAtest test executor. A single component instance can have any number of test scenarios associated with it.

This topic does not apply to configuring tests for a SOAtest Test Executor component type. For details on configuring SOAtest Test Executors, see Integrating Testing with Environment Provisioning.

Configuring a Custom Health Check

To configure tests for a component (other than the SOAtest Test Executor):

1. Either create a new Component Instance for the desired component or edit an existing one.

2. In the Health Checks wizard page, specify which test scenarios you want to run, in what order, and with what variables and data sources. To add a scenario, use the test scenario selector, which lets you add specific scenarios or all scenarios on a particular SOAtest server. You can use the search bar to filter the list contents. The search functionality covers .tst names as well as associated metadata (environment variables, environment names, data sources, etc.). Note that the same test scenario can be added multiple times with different data groups and/or variable settings. 

   Configuration Tips

   Specifying test execution settings: The Execute tests setting determines whether test scenarios are batch-processed on each designated server or run separately in the specified order. Batch (fastest) optimizes performance. Sequential allows you to control the execution order and generates a separate report for each test scenario.

   Specifying test execution order: If Execute tests is set to Sequential, test scenarios will be executed in the order in which they are specified here. You can reorder tests by dragging and dropping them to the desired positions.

   Configuring additional options: To see additional configurable options for a test scenario (such as data groups you can activate or SOAtest environment variables you can modify), click the arrow to the right of that scenario’s name.

   Specifying test variable mappings: If a test scenario has variable sets defined, they will automatically be configured to use the existing values. Alternatively, you can specify literal values, use the values of variables defined in CTP , or use whatever value is active in the .tst at the time of the test. If you want to modify the variable mapping for this test job, see Configuring Variable Mappings.

   Specifying data groups: Specify which of the available data sets you want to be active for each test scenario with data groups.

   

   Specifying environments: By default, each scenario will be added with the variables from the active variable set (also known as a SOAtest environment). If you want to control what set of variable set is added with each scenario, hover over the .tst name, click the Environments link that appears...
   
   then click the Add link for the variable set(s) you want to add. 

   

   The green ball icon marks the variable set that is currently active for the given test scenario (on the SOAtest server).

3. In the Variables page, confirm that all variables are set as expected, then click Finish.

• • This variable mapping table lists all variables associated with this component instance—including any variables previously associated with this component and any variables that will be added to represent SOAtest .tst environment variables (as set in the previous wizard page). For details, see Working with Variables.
  • If you want to change a variable value, check Override, then specify the new value in the text field.
    

Launching Tests Upon Provisioning

If an environment includes components with custom health checks, the associated tests will be executed upon provisioning (following virtual assets, proxies, and provisioning actions—but before tests associated with SOAtest Test Executors). Test scenarios within the same component instance will run in parallel if they are hosted on separate SOAtest servers.

By default, Health Check Test aborts if an error occurs during environment provisioning. To change this behavior: 

1. In the system editor, click the edit icon in the Variables section.
    
2. Set the AbortOnError key to false and apply your changes.