Run e-tester from a server and have staff remotely update scripts

Question

Can we run the floating e-tester from a server and have staff remotely access the server to run and update scripts instead of installing the client on everyone's workstation?

Answer 1

Original Question:
Can we run the floating e-tester from a server and have staff remotely access the server to run and update scripts instead of installing the client on everyone's workstation?
There are different alternatives to consider and different ways to answer the question.
1) You can run e-Tester with a floating license from a server and have people to use remote desktop to run and create scripts.
Pros:
* Multiple users can be updating scripts in the server at the same time.
* There is no need to install e-Tester in any other computer.
Cons:
* If the max number of floating licenses is reached no other person can open another instance of e-Tester.
* Having multiple people running scripts in the Job scheduler will create conflicts therefore is not recommended. Running multiple instances of e-Tester manually shouldn't cause problems, but it is a slow way to do regression testing. The job scheduler can run a script after another without user intervention. Teamwork can be affected if the default settings are changed by different users.
* Running thru remote desktop(or any other remote tool such as vnc) is slower than having etester in the computer. The refresh rate of the screen tends to be slower.
* If multiple users are using the server resources at the same time it can slow down the work of others. The server can run out of memory or it will be slow because the CPU running near max capacity.
2) You can run eTester with a node lock license from a server and have people to use remote desktop to run and create scripts.
Pros:
* Multiple users can be updating scripts in the server at the same time.
* There is no need to install eTester in any other computer.
* Only one license is required.
Cons:
* Having multiple people running scripts in the Job scheduler will create conflicts therefore is not recommended. Running multiple instances of etester manually shouldn't cause problems, but it is a slow way to do regression testing. The job scheduler can run a script after another without user intervention. Teamwork can be affected if the default settings are changed by different users.
* Running thru remote desktop(or any other remote tool such as vnc) is slower than having etester in the computer. The refresh rate of the screen tends to be slower.
* If multiple users are using the server resources at the same time it can slow down the work of others. The server can run out of memory or it will be slow because the CPU running near max capacity.
Notes:
1) Having eTester installed in each individual's computer will allow the person to run tests with no worries about conflicts of server resources or job schedules trying to start an etester instance. Installing etester is a one time thing that takes in general less than 10 minutes.
2) Instead of sharing the server resources you can share the place where the scripts reside. You can place the scripts in a central location and and configure etester to read the scripts from there. Instructions on how to do this should be in the knowledge base (if not please let me know)(Don't be lazy Zuriel, paste the link here).
3) You can consider to have eManager Enterprise if you want to have better organization of the scripts. In eManager Enterprise you can relate your test cases to your scripts, you can run the scripts from a central location, it is less limited for scheduling scripts than the JobScheduler, and it can be accessed from anywhere inside the company with a web browser (for security reasons requires username and password). eManager Enterprise doesn't have the ability to create or update scripts, it uses scripts that were created in eTester already.
eManager can also create schedules conflicts if multiple runs are attempted. There are ways to deal with this situation by having multiple computers to run the tests. (Please post in another thread if more information is necessary).
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Zuriel