Installing the server software on Ubuntu using microk8s

You can install Rational® Test Automation Server on the Ubuntu server that has a Kubernetes environment to run functional, integration, and performance tests. Rational® Test Automation Server combines test data, test environments, and test runs and reports into a single, web-based browser for testers and non-testers.

Before you begin

You must have completed the following tasks:

About this task

As part of the installation process, you might optionally migrate user data from a previous version of the product, or restore a backup of user data from the current version of the product. You must perform different steps, depending on which version of the user data backup file you are applying during the install. For more details, see the following table:

Backed up user data from To restore
Rational® Test Automation Server V10.0.2, Fix Pack 1 or earlier Perform step 6.
Rational® Test Automation Server V10.1.1 Perform step 11.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the Ubuntu server as a non-root user.
  2. Create a namespace to install the server software by entering the following command:
    kubectl create namespace test-system
  3. Add the repository to Helm to access the server install charts by entering the following command:
    helm repo add ibm-helm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/charts/master/repo/ibm-helm
  4. Run the following command to get the latest updates from the repository:
    helm repo update
  5. Create a secret to pull images that are used by Rational® Test Automation Server by entering the following command:
    Notes:
    kubectl create secret docker-registry cp.icr.io \
      -n test-system \
      --docker-server=cp.icr.io \
      --docker-username=cp \
      --docker-password={your_entitlement_key} \
      --docker-email=not-required@test
  6. Optionally, you can complete the following two steps to migrate user data from the previous version (V10.0.2, Fix Pack 1 or earlier):
    1. Run the following commands to start a pod that assists you in migrating user data:
      #Retrieve the backup yaml file
      curl  -Lo ibm-rtas-prod.tgz https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/charts/master/repo/ibm-helm/ibm-rtas-prod-2.1011.0.tgz
      
      #Extract the file
      tar xvf ibm-rtas-prod.tgz
      
      #Modify the backup yaml file with the release name for your server by replacing {my-rtas}
      sed -i 's/{{ \.Release\.Name }}/{my-rtas}/g' ibm-rtas-prod/files/import-prek8s-backup.yaml
      
      #Apply the backup yaml file to start the import-prek8s-backup pod
      kubectl apply -f ibm-rtas-prod/files/import-prek8s-backup.yaml -n test-system
    2. Run the following command to display the import-prek8s-backup pod's log, and then follow the instructions in the log to copy your backup file to where the pod is waiting to process it:
      kubectl logs import-prek8s-backup -n test-system

      When the user data backup is fully migrated, the import-prek8s-backup pod changes from Running to Completed state. To view the pod state you can run the kubectl get pod import-prek8s-backup -n test-system command.

      Progress can be monitored by displaying the log to check for updates. When the state of the pod is Completed, the log file displays the additional parameters that must be added to the helm install in step 9. The following is an example that shows the additional helm arguments:
      --set keycloak.keycloak.username=admin \
       --set execution.existingPostgresqlPassword=SwztX9JRO/yL9jtgioUiKMGjlsWfM7Ok \
       --set existingKeycloakPassword=jqdV7aveCa3WShkdSF/Z8hAasBupsvp6 \
       --set existingKeycloakPostgresqlPassword=pKVFQUQWRU7BJC6sKeOZIm8zCzLkbXM7 \
       --set existingOauthClientSecret=EMRpHBRurFIMB9X+nfwApnLBBpkvn8+z \
       --set existingPostgresqlPassword=8HY3nADjTZBC2lLj0i7Y7v6wHeEji9ds \
       --set existingSecretsMasterPassword=ibIPh6wGAv0IjsveOrYX1TRwo3ChvxWx \
       --set results.existingPostgresqlPassword=7X3aaAVeHxdzJ+BlFTG7G7rypzsbhd6D \
       --set rm.existingPostgresqlPassword=3uaEx5wTja+PSzvG64O1+cpO3glGAaVt \
       --set tam.existingPostgresqlPassword=7JO95keyZ/F9w5rBcXj2YZFKFf/aAK1F \
  7. Optional: To enable services in the Istio Service Mesh to be virtualized as stubs, you must add the following parameters to the helm install parameters in Step 9 before installing the server:
    --set execution.istio.enabled=true \
    --set execution.istio.clusterRoleBinding.create=true
  8. Optional: To enable the running of stubs that virtualize services in namespaces, add the following parameters to the helm install parameters in Step 9 before installing the server:
    --set execution.istio.namespaces='{namespaceA,namespaceB}' \
    Alternatively, you can add the parameters to the helm install parameters by using an array index notation.
    --set execution.istio.namespaces[0]=namespaceA \
     --set execution.istio.namespaces[1]=namespaceB 
    
  9. Run the following commands to install the server software on your computer:
    Notes:
    • You must substitute the value of the following variables with the actual value in the command:

      • {my-rtas} with the release name of your choice.

      • {my-ingress-dns-name} with the same Ingress DNS name that you used in ubuntu-init.sh.

        Note: You must provide the value that consists of lowercase alphanumeric characters, -(hyphen) or .(period). Also, the value must start and end with an alphanumeric character.
      • {my-super-secret} with a value of your choice.

        Note: You can use the password seed to create all other default passwords. You must store the password seed securely. When you install the server software by using the backup of the user data, you can reuse the password seed. You can use this seed to restore backup files either on the current or later versions of the server software.
      • {rlks-ip-address} with the IP address of Rational License Key Server.

      • {namespace} with the name of the namespace that you created.

    • If you migrated user data from a previous release (V10.0.2, Fix Pack 1), you must use the same {my-rtas} name that you chose then, during the install step.

    #Make sure the repository is current and retrieve the charts required to install the server
    helm repo update
    helm pull --untar ibm-helm/ibm-rtas-prod --version 2.1011.0
    
    #Install the server
    helm install {my-rtas} ./ibm-rtas-prod -n test-system \ 
    --set license=accept \
    -f ibm-rtas-prod/values-microk8s.yaml \
    --set global.ibmRtasIngressDomain={my-ingress-dns-name} \
    --set global.rationalLicenseKeyServer=@{rlks-ip-address} \
    --set global.ibmRtasPasswordAutoGenSeed={my-super-secret} \
    --set global.ibmRtasRegistryPullSecret=cp.icr.io \
    --set keycloak.keycloak.image.pullSecrets[0]=cp.icr.io
  10. Optional: Set the following parameters, if you have installed a Jaeger operator on the cluster and you want to use it for performance and Web UI tests logs:
    --set-string execution.annotations.sidecar\\.jaegertracing\\.io/inject=true
    --set global.jaegerAgent.enabled=true
    --set global.jaegerAgent.internalHostName=localhost
    --set global.jaegerDashboard.enabled=true
    --set global.jaegerDashboard.externalURL={my-jaeger-dashboard-url}
    Note: You must substitute {my-jaeger-dashboard-url} with the URL of the Jaeger server.
  11. Optionally, perform the following steps to restore the backed up user data from the current version:
    1. Stop Kubernetes by running the microk8s.stop command.
    2. Restore the backed-up user data by running the following commands:
      cd ibm-rtas-case/inventory/ibmRtasBase/files
      sudo ./backup.sh restore [options] <backup-name>
      Note: You must replace <backup-name> with the name of the back up file that you saved.
      For more information about using additional parameter and overwriting the existing Persistent Volumes, see Backing up and restoring the user data on Ubuntu topic.
    3. Restart Kubernetes by running the microk8s.start command to start Rational® Test Automation Server.
  12. Optional: Run the following command to verify and test the installed server software:
    $ helm test {my-rtas} -n {namespace}
    where:
    • {my-rtas} is the release name of your choice.
    • {namespace} is the name of the namespace that you created during the server installation process.

Results

On successful installation of Rational® Test Automation Server, the output displays the URL to access the Rational® Test Automation Server UI.

What to do next

You can back up the user data that are saved in the Kubernetes clusters to secure your data. See Backing up and restoring the user data on Ubuntu.