Launching dsClient

dsClient provides a command line interface to control dsTest and to manipulate and query active operations. dsClient operates independently from dsTest. It can be run on the same platform as dsTest or on any Linux-based platform and can attach to any dsTest server. Multiple instances of dsClient may be attached to one dsTest instance and all clients have the same level of access (i.e., one client can terminate operations that were initiated by another client).

No more than 40 dsClient sessions can be active on a single instance of dsTest at any one time. More than 20 clients attached may impact performance.

If you install dsClient on a platform other than one of your dsTest platforms, be sure to upgrade it when you upgrade dsTest. dsClient uses the same XML schema as dsTest and must be kept in sync in order for it to reliably parse and validate both your test configurations and responses from dsTest.

 

RPM based systems may require modification to the firewall settings. Refer to RPM Based System Connectivity Issues for more information.

Use the following command to launch dsClient:

dsClient [-d <IP address of server>[:<high priority TCP port>]] [-l {0-10}] [-c <dsTest command>] [-s]

-d <IP address of server>

Specifies the management address of the dsTest platform (default is the local server, 127.0.0.1). This should be the same address, and optionally port number, as specified with dsTest's -i launch option, not an address used for test traffic.

-l {0-10}

Sets the dsClient log level. This option should only be used as instructed by Support personnel.

-c <dsTest command>

Invokes a dsTest command and then terminates dsClient. This option is mainly used when controlling dsTest with an automation tool.

 

-s

Connects to dsTest using the low priority port. Connecting to dsTest in this way will allow you to interact with dsTest while it is provisioning a test or executing another high priority activity. Any commands issued using the low priority port are executed as system resources are available and thus do not interfere with high performance tests. Some commands such as notification registration must be executed on the low priority port.

 

-S

Specifies the port number for dsTest's low priority TCP port.

 

-z

Connects to dsTest using SSL/TCP.

To attach dsClient to a remote server:

~> dsClient -d 192.168.48.240

When dsClient is launched, the version is displayed:

~> dsClient

Application: dsClient  Version: 3.2.20160825  Build: Thu Aug 25 16:46:37 2016

dsTest>

At the dsTest> prompt you can enter any dsClient commands or dsTest commands. Responses from dsTest will be written to the console and may be redirected to a file if you wish to do so.

RPM-Based System Connectivity Issues

By default RPM-based systems (e.g. RHEL) have the firewall enabled. If this service is running and if there is no "ACCEPT" entry with the protocol and port specified for dsClient (TCP:9998 & TCP:9999), your attempt to connect dsClient to dsTest will be blocked by the OS with a "no route to host", "icmp-host-prohibited" or similar message returned.

 

In this situation, if you wish to make changes to the firewall settings, consult your IT administrator.

 

If your system is running in a protected environment, you may wish to disable the firewall service by entering the following commands (using root privileges):

 

~> service iptables stop

~> chkconfig iptables off

~> systemctl stop firewalld

~> systemctl disable firewalld

 

If you do not disable the firewall, you should also ensure the desired testing protocols (e.g. TCP, SCTP, UDP) and ports that will be used by the nodes in your dsTest configurations are open through the firewall.

 

Refer to this FAQ for the ports that must be open if dsClient and dsTest must communicate across a firewall.

 

We also recommend that SELinux be disabled, especially if you are using SCTP. Locate the SELINUX setting and change it to disabled:

 

    ~> vi /etc/sysconfig/selinux

              

          SELINUX=disabled

 

After changing either of these configuration items, you must reboot the server.