Does Microsoft Test Managers recommended tests require test agents on the servers that an applications services run on

Question

I'm currently working on getting Microsoft Test Manager up and running with the recommended tests feature. I have created an environment that is returning recommended tests. Currently this environment only has the client machine.

I have not set up a test agent on the application server where all the services are running. Is this required for MTM to fully recognise all code changes?

Whilst I am currently getting results from just having the client side set up with a test agent. I want to be sure I'm getting the full benefits of the feature, even if there are only server side changes.

Answer 1

Normally its recommended to keep them outside the application environment itself. In part because the running of the tests will confuse results (for example if you are testing the response time of the system then the load of the test runner will directly skew results)

You can kick off the run on code changes using a build server such as TFS/Jenkins/Bamboo. This would also allow you to run separate suites if your changes relate to backend or frontend systems.