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Creating Lab Environments

To create either standard lab environments or SCVMM lab environments, you use Lab Center in Microsoft Test Manager. For an introduction to lab environments, see Using a Lab Environment for Your Application Lifecycle.

Requirements

  • Visual Studio Ultimate, Visual Studio Premium, Visual Studio Test Professional

Before you start

Before you create lab environments, you might need to configure your lab management components. See Test on a lab environment.

Important

To create a lab environment that can contain physical or virtual machines that are running Windows XP, perform the additional steps listed in Configuring Lab Environments that Contain Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Machines.

Creating a lab environment

To create a lab environment, open Microsoft Test Manager, choose Lab Center, and then choose the Lab tab. A list appears, showing the environments already deployed in your team project collection. Use this tab to create lab environments and manage those that are running. For information about managing lab environments and importing or creating stored virtual machines and templates, see Managing Lab Environments and Virtual Machines.

Environment list under Lab Center, Lab tab.

Follow these steps to create each type of lab environment:

Task

Description

Create a standard environment

You create a standard environment from virtual and physical machines that are already running, and then you can add virtual machines that are running on any virtualization platform.

  1. Choose New.

  2. In the New Environment wizard, choose Standard environment.

  3. Follow the instructions to add machines to the environment.

For more information, see Standard lab environments

Create an SCVMM Environment using running virtual machines

You can quickly create an SCVMM environment from virtual machines that are already running in an SCVMM host group. You can add a running virtual machine to only one lab environment at a time. However, when you delete the environment, you can add its virtual machines to another lab environment. Here’s how to create an SCVMM environment using running virtual machines:

  1. Choose New.

  2. In the New Environment wizard, choose SCVMM environment.

  3. Follow the wizard instructions to add running virtual machines to the environment.

For more information, see SCVMM (virtual) environments.

Create an SCVMM environment using stored virtual machines and virtual machine templates

You can create a new SCVMM environment by choosing virtual machines and virtual machine templates that are stored in your Lab Management library. When you choose a stored virtual machine, a copy of that virtual machine is added to your environment. When you add a template to your environment, a new virtual machine is created based on that template; however, you must create an identity for that virtual machine before you can add it to your environment.

Here’s how to create a new SCVMM environment from stored virtual machines and templates.

  1. Choose New.

  2. In the new environment wizard, choose SCVMM environment.

  3. Follow the wizard instructions to add stored virtual machines to the environment.

For more information, see Creating an SCVMM Environment Using Stored Virtual Machines and Templates.

Deploy a copy of a stored environment

To deploy a copy of an SCVMM environment that is stored in your Lab Management library, follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Deploy button.

    A list of available environments appears, showing environments that team members have defined.

  2. Select an environment from the list.

  3. Enter a name for your new environment.

  4. Choose Deploy the Environment.

For more information, see Deploying a Stored SCVMM Environment.

Create a network isolated environment

A network isolated environment is protected from network conflicts, so you can simultaneously run copies of one virtual machine in multiple environments. For more information, see Creating and using a network isolated environment.

What’s Next

Here are the tasks that you can perform after you create a lab environment:

  • Learn how to operate your lab environments, and how to manage lab environments and virtual machines, such as by using snapshots and creating templates. See Managing Lab Environments and Virtual Machines.

  • Run manual and automated tests in your lab environment by using Microsoft Test Manager, the Tcm.exe command line utility, or a build-deploy-test workflow. See Test on a lab environment.

  • Create build-deploy-test workflows to automate the process of creating a build of your application, deploying the build to your lab environment, and running tests on the deployed application. See Automated build-deploy-test workflows.

See Also

Concepts

Using a Lab Environment for Your Application Lifecycle

Test on a lab environment