The Test Server Deployment functionality provides in-context preview by allowing a contributor to deploy their content to an external target (either an ASR or FSR), from which it can be rendered by any web application technology that can either read from a filesystem or access an ASR via HTTP (which includes all of the major web application technologies in use today, including Java, .NET, PHP, Ruby, Python, CGI, and so on).
Once a test server has been deployed to, it is allocated to the user or workflow that performed the deployment. Once the user or workflow has finished with the test server it is released and returned to the pool of test servers. This happens automatically in the case of a workflow sandbox and manually via a UI action for User Sandboxes.
The following process has to be followed to use the test server:
- Set up a test server pool.
- Deploy to a test server.
- Preview the content.
- Release the test server.
The following are the steps to configure a Web Project to use an FSR.
- Navigate to Company Home | Web Projects | <web project name>.
- Select the Edit Web Project Settings from the Action menu.
- Click on Next to reach the Configure Deployment Servers window.
- Click on the Add Deployment Receiver link as shown in the following screenshot:
- For Type, select Test Server, specify the Display Name, Host name, and the Target Name. Click on the Add button.
Similarly configure another test server, say with "cignex-test2" as the target.
Let's say, you as a content manager would like to deploy your User Sandbox to the test server for testing purposes.
Go to your User Sandbox and from the More Actions menu choose Deploy as shown in the following screenshot:
The Deploy Sandbox window displays, listing all of the unallocated test servers as shown in the next screenshot. Select a test server to use (only one test server can be allocated to a sandbox at a time), and click on OK. The Monitor Deployment information displays once the deployment completes. If an error occurs, the reason for the error is shown under the Deployment Failed message:
You can preview the content deployed on the test server either using Apache or application servers such as Tomcat or PHP, as per your FSR configuration settings.
Once a test server has been deployed to, it is allocated to the user or workflow that performed the "Deploy".
The administrator or content manager can see what test server is allocated to which sandbox by going to the Edit Web Project Wizard and viewing the Allocated field. Hovering over the Yes label will reveal the actual store name as a tooltip.
Test servers allocated to User Sandboxes can be released by the owner of the sandbox, the administrator, or the content manager. The Release Server option is available in the More Actions menu as shown in the following screenshot. A user can also view the deployment history by clicking on the View Deployments option available in the More Actions menu:
Test servers allocated to review sandboxes are automatically released by the system upon completion of the workflow. Once the user or workflow has finished with the test server, it is released and returned to the pool of test servers.
When you have a test server configured, you can deploy the content to that test server from the workflow process, similar to the way you deployed it from User's Sandbox. Refer to the following screenshot. You don't have to explicitly release the test server. Test servers allocated to the workflow review sandboxes are automatically released by the system upon completion of the workflow:
