System Requirements
What's New
Technical Notes
Known Issues
Contacting Compuware Technical Support
This section describes the minimum requirements for running the TrackRecord Windows Client.
The following system requirements are necessary for users to access the WebServer through a browser from their client machine:
The following sections detail the minimum system requirements necessary for installing each optional TrackRecord component.
All the client requirements listed previously, as well as the following minimum system requirements, are necessary to install a server that will house the database. This component can be installed on a central server on your network. A minimum of one server must be installed on a network for database access.
All the client requirements listed previously, as well as the following minimum system requirements, are necessary for installing TrackRecord’s email notification service:
Note: Microsoft Outlook is recommended on the Server where AutoAlert is installed to facilitate configuration and testing of the mail profile.
All of the client requirements listed previously, as well as the following minimum system requirements, are necessary for the machine upon which the WebServer component is installed:
Compuware TrackRecord can run in VMWare Workstation 5.5, Player 1.0, Server 1.0, and ESX/GSX Servers 3. The following requirements must be met:
The VMWare Bridged Networking type must be selected.
Environments must be running Compuware licensing in concurrent mode (node-locked licenses are not supported).
TrackRecord now uses the operating system's Regional Options on Windows client and Language Preference of Internet Explorer for date and time input and presentation. Import and export of TrackRecord data must be performed on machines with the same regional date and time settings.
TrackRecord now stores separate files in the database directory in addition to storing files in an Attach.dat file. To store files separately, the registry values must be modified. See Attaching an External File to an Item in the online help for further information.
Existing items may not match the current type structure if the type was edited in a previous Track Record release. This sometimes caused problems with graphical rendering and inconsistent query results of those items until the items were modified and saved back to the database. In 6.02.02 it is possible to reconcile existing items with the most recent structure of a current type structure. Such item reconciliation is performed as a special feature during Check Database by starting the TrackRecord windows client using the -ri command line parameter or by holding down the <Ctrl> key, while selecting Check Database from the Administrator menu in the TrackRecord Windows client.
It is strongly recommended that you reconcile existing items with the current type structure upon installation of TrackRecord 06.02.02. It is only necessary to reconcile existing items to the current type structure once. Further item reconciliations will be handled by the Type Editor. The number of items pending reconciled or the number of items reconciled is listed in the status dialog displayed at the end of Check Database.
The next release of TrackRecord is a major release focused on data integrity and stability. Therefore, integrations with certain obsolete technologies will be discontinued in TrackRecord 06.03. These include:
For more information on these dropped features, please contact Compuware Customer Support.
This section includes technical information that may affect how you use the product.
If the TRDBAService service will not start, the TrackRecord Database Administration Utility is unable to start. If the service will not start, the reason may be a corrupt TRDBAConfig.xml file. Verify this by checking the event log. Delete this file and restart the utility. Note: Uninstalling and installing TrackRecord does not help because the installation routine will not replace an existing TRDBAConfig.xml file and the uninstallation routine will not delete this file in order to preserve settings in case of an upgrade.
If a task is manually removed from the TRDBAConfig.xml file, it's placeholder is consumed. This causes the subsequent task created to have a duplicate task ID, which will result in a crash. Ensure that the task IDs are properly re-sequenced in the TRDBAConfig.xml file to avoid this issue.
The Database Administration Utility writes most of its output to the Windows Event Log. If the Event Log is filled, the messages will be discarded. If necessary, set the Event Log to automatically overwrite the oldest messages to prevent losing any messages. For information, refer to the online help for Microsoft Windows.
In previous versions of TrackRecord, there was an issue with minimize and maximize buttons disappearing after an outline report in a maximized state was viewed in Print/Preview. This is no longer an issue in TrackRecord 06.02.02. The minimize and maximize buttons will be restored to these outlines saved in previous versions by opening them in TrackRecord 06.02.02 and doing the following:
- Print/preview the outline
- Close the print preview window
- Save the outline.
Due to a change in the path of the QADirector 5.0 installation, the command path behind the View Test executable button (QADirector Test) in the sample database has changed. For new databases created using TrackRecord 06.02.00 and higher, and running QADirector 4.x, the View Test button should be updated with the old path to the QADirector executable. Also, if upgrading to QADirector 05.00, with databases created prior to TrackRecord 06.02.00, the View Test button should be updated to the new QADirector executable path. The following sections of the path should be updated accordingly:
In versions of TrackRecord prior to 6.2.1 the default database has an executable field on the requirement type. This executable field, View, would start Reconcile and bring up the associated requirement in Reconcile. This feature has been removed from the default database because the Reconcile interface which TrackRecord was using has been removed.
Versions of TrackRecord prior to 6.2.1 will continue to work with 1.x versions of Reconcile. They will not work with Reconcile 2.x and beyond. If you have questions on this behavior, please contact Customer Support for further details.
TrackRecord 06.02.01 includes a utility for updating 06.01.01 databases with the new DevPartner Studio product names. Documentation for using the database conversion utility is located in the Program Files\TrackRecord directory, in the file named releasenotes-cvt.html.
To enable a computer running Windows XP service pack 2 to be able to serve other machines, you must configure the Windows Firewall.
To enable the server to serve Windows clients on other machines:
Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Windows Firewall.
Select the Exceptions tab.
Click Add Program.
Double-click on FairCom Server.
Click OK.
To enable the server to serve Web clients on other machines:
Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Windows Firewall.
Select the Exceptions tab.
Click Add Program.
Click Browse, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\System32\inetserv\inetinfo.exe, and click OK.
Double-click on inetinfo.exe.
The TrackRecord directory structure has changed and databases are now installed in a different default location. As a result, after you upgrade to TrackRecord 06.02.02, you must copy the subfolders of your TrackRecord database folder to the new database folder. The following table lists the default location for TrackRecord 6.x databases:
| Version | Suite | Default Installation Directory |
| TrackRecord 06.00 and 06.01 | QACenter and DevPartner Enterprise Edition | x:\Program Files\Compuware\TrackRecord Server\Databases |
| TrackRecord 06.01.01 and 06.02 | QACenter and DevPartner Enterprise Edition | x:\Program Files\Compuware\TrackRecord\Databases |
Before running TrackRecord WebServer on Windows Server 2003, perform one of the following procedures to configure your server. If you do not, you will receive a "file not found" error when trying to access the WebServer home page.
Configure the server to allow ISAPI extensions:
Create a new application pool
Importing causes the workflow to lose some of its status/action relationships. After these relationships are recreated, the workflow operates normally.
When viewing an item of type "Requirement" on older TrackRecord databases, you might see a button on the upper-right labeled View. This button works correctly only if you have Reconcile 1.0 installed. Otherwise the button should be considered deprecated. It will be removed completely from TrackRecord after version 6.2.1.
When creating COM applications, all login and logout calls should be done from the same thread as nmdbinfo is singlethreaded.
When a new item is created by means of Save and Duplicate, the status of the newly created item is reset to the initial state and the date is set to the current date.
When you log on to TrackRecord Client as an administrator and begin to edit the Workflow or Edit Types, a message may appear informing you that active users are logged on.
The message box also appears when multiple Admin users are logged on at the same time. Making changes to the Workflow or Edit Types in this situation may cause the database to react adversely.
Starting the Workflow Editor from the client causes a second login to the TrackRecord database. This occurs because the Workflow Editor is a standalone executable. The application cannot detect that it is the same user logging on again.
The TrackRecord limit on file attachment size per item is 12 MB. After attachment, these files are compressed, stored in attach.dat, and can only be viewed through the TrackRecord Client or WebServer. Their compressed physical size when stored in the database can be notably smaller than the original file size.
When you upgrade TrackRecord 05.00.00 client or server to TrackRecord 06.00.00 or later, TrackRecord automatically updates its database. You will receive a warning message that only an administrator can update the database. Other users cannot connect to the database until the administrator makes the update. Note that TrackRecord 06.02.01 does not update a 06.00.00 database-- they are fully compatible.
A maximum of 12 databases can be open concurrently. If 12 are open and you attempt to open an additional database, an error will display. To open additional databases, modify the FairCom Server configuration. To do so, perform the following procedure:
The maximum length of a field name is 31 characters.
TrackRecord does not support double-byte languages, such as Japanese, Korean, and Chinese or right-to-left languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic.
Compuware recommends that you do not move or rename TrackRecord's Databases or Backups folders. Doing so will cause a loss in TrackRecord functionality. However, you can safely move and rename the subfolders.
After the AutoAlert software is installed, you must create a mailbox and mail profile for AutoAlert’s use. You can do so using your preferred information service, such as the Microsoft Exchange Server. To do so, follow these steps:
When creating a new user, any queries marked for electronic notification that apply to the new user will return all results during the next AutoAlert poll. This may result in a large volume of AutoAlert emails being sent to the new user during the first AutoAlert poll.
If a WebServer login fails, you will not receive an error message from within DCOMCNFG. Instead, when an attempt is made to login to a database through the WebServer, you will receive an automation error indicating that the configured identity is not correct. This is due to a DCOMCNFG login failure. To remedy this situation, ensure that the log in information is correct and ask a network administrator to grant the NT account "log on as a service" privileges.
There are two ways to log on to a database server not specified during installation:
1) At the login prompt, you can specify the database server using the following convention in the database field:
Hostname:databasename
Where “Hostname” is the DNS name or IP address of the alternate TrackRecord database server and “databasename” is the name of the database.
2) At the command line, you can use the –s switch to specify the server’s hostname. The convention is as follows:
<path to trackrecord executable> -u<login id> -p<password> -s<server> -d<database>
When making changes to the type structure, templates, user and group administration, rules, etc., these changes will not be reflected to the WebServer component if there are active Web session processes running. To ensure that your updates are immediately reflected in the WebServer, follow these steps:
This section describes known issues related to the current release of TrackRecord.
If TrackRecord version 06.01.01 or earlier is installed on your computer, or if you have a Beta version installed, Compuware strongly recommends that you uninstall the previous version. If prompted, reboot your PC before proceeding with the installation of TrackRecord.
If the installation detects a previous version, yet you have uninstalled all previous versions, check for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{CB535B40-A00D-45FF-8329-40B8E5EAFACB} registry key and delete it if it exists.
If the TrackRecord Windows client is installed on the same machine as the WebServer and a Web session consumes a license prior to the Windows Client, the Windows Client will not start. This happens because as Web clients log into the WebServer, license calls are made from the WebServer machine to the License server. To remedy this situation, follow these steps:
Note: If you receive an access denied error, try again in 40 minutes. If this is too long to wait or you still receive an access denied error, reboot your machine.
If you have a trial license and install TrackRecord and the TrackRecord WebServer on the same workstation, you must start TrackRecord before starting the WebServer or your system may hang. If this happens, reboot. Then, start TrackRecord before starting the WebServer.
The size limits of requests sent to IIS can be configured in Windows 2003. If they are not configured properly, attachments can fail. Two settings in Windows 2003 can limit the size of a request.
Open the metabase.XML file which is located in C:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv. Find the line "AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed" and change the value to at least "12582912".
Change the value of the registry setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\w3svc\parameters\MaxClientRequestBuffer to at least "12582912".
Attaching large files, larger than several megabytes, will often timeout with system and network performance being the major factor.
By default, when IIS is installed on any version of the Windows Server 2003 family, IIS only serves static content (HTML). To permit IIS to serve dynamic content, the administrator must unlock this content in the Web service extensions node in IIS Manager. To do this for the TrackRecord WebServer, the administrator must enable Active Server Pages and the ISAPI files used by the WebServer by either enabling a pre-existing Web service extension or adding a new Web service extension and enabling it.
Open IIS Manager, expand the master server node or Servername node, and select the Web service extensions node.
In the right pane of IIS Manager, right-click the Active Server Pages extension.
Select Allow.
Click Ok to save your changes.
Open IIS Manager, expand the master server node or Servername node, and select the Web service extensions node.
In the right pane of IIS Manager, right-click All Unknown ISAPI Extensions.
Select Allow.
Click Ok to save your changes.
Open IIS Manager, expand the master server node, and then select the Web service extensions node.
In the right pane of the IIS Manager, click Add a new Web service extension under Tasks.
In Extension, type a name for the extension that you want to add. For example, TrackRecord ISAPI Extensions.
In the Required files box, click Add, and then select the path and the name of the TrackRecord files that will handle requests for the TrackRecord WebServer. These files are typically located in c:\inetpub\cgi-win. The files you will need to add are itemview.dll and outline.dll.
Check Set extension status to Allowed.
Click Ok to save your changes.
The check box field is read-only in a WebServer Outline Report.
When printing an Outline Report in the WebServer, click in the frame containing the data that you wish to print before clicking the Print icon.
Compuware recommends that you do not add or delete any fields on the Attached File type. Doing so will result in an error when attempting to attach a file through the WebServer.
In the WebServer, Outline Report columns are read-only and can only be sorted in the TrackRecord Windows Client. To change the way your Outline Report columns are sorted, follow these steps:
If JRE is not installed, the Monitor Statistics window may not respond if you click Manage>Monitor Statistics.
The default time in the Database Administration Utility is taken from the system clock of the machine running the TRDBAService not the client.
An Administrator user running a check database cannot have a home page set in their browser if they are using a batch file to run check database. This will cause a dialog to appear at the end of the check and the system will not respond.
In TrackRecord, "Team Member" is a special type that identifies a user and is associated with the TR_User tag. Although you may create a child type of Team Member, do not attempt to create a child of the child type of Team Member. Doing so will cause unexpected results.
This is an example of a correct association:
This is an example of an incorrect association:
QAManager (Unexpected results will occur)
When you delete multiple fields, it is best to note the order that the fields were deleted. If you recreate the fields, you must do so in the reverse order that they were originally created. Then, perform a database rebuild and a Check Database to ensure data integrity.
When creating a new assignment type, ensure that you select the type and click New. Do not double-click the assignment type to open the dialog box. Doing so will create empty items and can result in loss of data integrity.
If you receive a "Can’t find project in source control" error while attempting to associate a release with a VCS label, the release type may not know which TrackRecord project, and consequently VCS project, to associate the label with. To associate a VCS project with a release, you must add a field to the Release type and then associate a VCS label. To do so, follow these steps:
Note: You must associate the new field with the same VCS project that the parent TrackRecord project is associated with.
There is a 4 gigabyte size limit for the TrackRecord database file. The attach.dat file is the most likely to encounter this issue. If you feel that you will reach this size limit, you should immediately begin archiving your old defects and the corresponding attachments, remove them from manage deleted items, then rebuild the database to reduce the .dat file size.
When exporting to an Access Database, Multi Item List field produce the following error: "Run-time error '3163 The field is too small to accept the amount of data you attempted to add." Insert or paste less data to work around this issue.
If you intend to duplicate a query, create it from the Query Editor rather than from an Outline Report.
The search string is limited to 33 characters. If it is not possible to modify the search string to fit these parameters, create a query to search for the string.
When importing duplicate items into the database, ensure that the Discard Duplicates option is selected. Otherwise, the existing item in the database will also be deleted.
The stack bar graph only displays results from the first page of an Outline Report. To display your Outline Report in a graph, select bar or pie graphs instead.
Executable buttons will not work in the web interface.
Compuware Customer Support can assist you with all your technical problems, from installation to troubleshooting.
Prior to contacting customer support, gather the following information:
800.538.7822
Refer to Compuware's Frontline support web site for fast access to critical information about your QACenter product. You can read and print documentation, download product fixes, review frequently asked questions, or directly e-mail Compuware with questions or comments. The first time you access FrontLine, you are required to register and obtain a password.
Refer to Compuware's corporate web site at http://www.compuware.com for information about Compuware customer support policies and problem resolution process.
Customer Support
Compuware Corporation
One Campus Martius
Detroit, MI 48226-5099
End of TrackRecord Release Notes
©2005 Compuware Corporation. All rights reserved. Unpublished rights reserved
under the Copyright Laws of the United States.