Distributed Testing - Requirements

To run distributed tests on remote computers, you need to enable remote desktop connections to them. You also need to add the user accounts for remote login to the Remote Desktop Users group on the remote computers. To do this:

1. Open the Control Panel > System applet.

2. On Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012:

   • In the left part of the System window, click Remote settings.

   • In the dialog that opens, select Allow remote connections to this computer.

     

   On Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008:

   • On the left of the System window, click Remote settings.

   • In the dialog that opens, select the Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure) check box or the Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network level Authentication (more secure) check box.

     

   On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003:

   • In the System Properties dialog, switch to the Remote page.

   • Select the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box (or similar).

     

3. Click Select Users. The Remote Desktop Users dialog opens.

4. Specify the user accounts allowed to access the computer, and click OK.

   Notes:

   You will use these accounts in your master test project to log in to the remote computers.

   These user accounts must have non-empty passwords.

5. Click OK to close the System properties and save the changes.

On remote computers with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems, choose whether to run TestComplete (TestExecute) with administrator privileges:

• If TestComplete (TestExecute) does not need administrator privileges to run the slave project, configure TestComplete (TestExecute) to run without them:

  1. On the remote computer, open Windows Explorer or any other file manager and find the executable file of TestComplete (TestExecute). The file name is TestComplete.exe for TestComplete and TestExecute.exe for TestExecute.

  2. Right-click the TestComplete (TestExecute) file and select Properties from the context menu.

  3. In the file properties dialog, switch to the Compatibility tabbed page.

  4. Uncheck the Run this program as an administrator option.

  5. Click OK.

• If TestComplete (TestExecute) needs administrator privileges to run the slave project, disable User Account Control (UAC) on the remote computer. To learn how to disable UAC, see Using TestComplete With Administrator Privileges.

  Disabling UAC reduces Windows security.

In addition, if a remote computer is running in the Remote Administration Server mode and there are user sessions opened on it, you need to close unnecessary sessions. To do this:

1. Log on to the remote computer locally.

2. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Services Manager. This will open the Remote Desktop Services Manager window.

3. Select the server in the left pane of the window. In the right pane of the window, switch to the Users tabbed page.

4. If there are several remote sessions, select one of the users with the Remote Desktop Protocol session, right-click it and select Log Off in the context menu.

Click Start, select Run, type gpedit.msc and press Enter. This will open the Group Policy Editor.

In the editor:

• Disable the following group policies on the remote computers:

  • Always prompt client for password upon connection

  • Prompt for credentials on the client computer (on Windows Vista and later)

  Note:

  If the remote computer belongs to a domain, these group policies must also be disabled on the domain controller. Ask your system administrator to do this.

  To disable these policies:

  1. In the tree on the left, select the following category:

     On Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2012:

     Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > All Settings

     On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008:

     Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Security

     On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003:

     Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services > Encryption and Security

  2. In the list on the right, double-click the Always prompt client for password upon connection item.

  3. Select Disabled and click OK.

• If the remote computer runs Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems, also do the following:

  1. In the tree on the left, select Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > All Settings.

  2. In the list on the right, double-click the Prompt for credentials on the client computer item.

  3. Select Disabled and click OK.

• If the remote computer runs Windows 10, also do the following:

  1. In the tree on the left, select Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Security.

  2. In the Setting list on the right, double-click the Require use of specific security layer for remote (RDP) connections item.

  3. In the subsequent dialog, select Enabled.

  4. In the Security Layer drop-down list of the dialog, select Negotiate.

  5. Click OK to close the dialog and save the changes.

• If the remote computer is configured to show a logon message when a user logs on, disable the message:

  1. In the tree on the left of the Group Policy editor, select Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.

  2. In the list on the right, double-click the Interactive logon: Message title for users attempting to log on item.

  3. In the resulting dialog, set the title of the logon message to an empty string and click OK to save the changes.

  4. Then, right-click the Interactive logon: Message text for users attempting to log on item.

  5. Set the text of the logon message to an empty string and click OK.

  If the message persists:

  1. On your remote computer, open the Registry editor (click the operating system Start or Windows button, select Run, type regedit and press Enter).

  2. Navigate to the following registry key:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

  3. Make sure that its LegalNoticeCaption and LegalNoticeText values are set to an empty string.

Sometimes, Windows is configured so that the user has to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete before signing in to prevent unwanted actions the software that simulates user behavior may perform. TestComplete does not provide any means to work around this feature, so we recommend you to turn it off. To do that:

1. On the target PC, press Win+R to open the Run dialog.

2. Type control userpasswords2 and press Enter.

3. In the subsequent User Accounts dialog, switch to the Advanced tab.

4. Unselect the Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete option.

5. Click OK or Apply.

To avoid issues during the testing, make sure that, when you connect to the remote machine, its desktop opens up immediately – that is, no additional screens appear (such as the login form, account selection window, or RDP Certificate Warning windows). To learn how to disable these additional screens, contact your IT department.