Managing the CodeChecker Server

The CodeChecker Studio must connect to the CodeChecker Server to access and store all the elements required for carrying out a code review process.

The CodeChecker Studio can either be accessed:

  • as a stand-alone RCP,
  • as a perspective in RDi.

The features are identical no matter how the products is accessed.

Reference

For more information about installing the CodeChecker Studio and server, refer to Installing the CodeChecker Studio as a stand-alone RCP and Installing the CodeChecker Server.

To launch the stand-alone RCP, either double-click on the desktop icon or select  CodeChecker Studio from the Start menu or the toolbar.

To access the perspective in RDi, open the Window menu then select Open Perspective > Other.... Select  CodeChecker Studio, then click OK.

The CodeChecker Studio for RDi

The CodeChecker Studio must connect to the CodeChecker Server to access and store all the elements required for carrying out a code review process. Configuration options for the CodeChecker Server are managed in the Connection properties window.

After installing a new server or studio and the product is launched for the first time, the Connection Properties wizard opens automatically.

If the CodeChecker Studio should use new connection information to connect to the CodeChecker Server, click the  CodeChecker Server icon in the navigator to open the Connection Properties dialog.

Configure the server connection

The CodeChecker Studio must connect to the CodeChecker Server to access and store all the elements required for carrying out a code review process. The connection information defined when starting the studio is kept in memory in the Connection Properties window.

The Connection Properties dialog enables you to connect to another server or to use another user account. Define new connection information in the following fields:

The server Connection Properties window

Connection
This field displays the default name of the CodeChecker Server connection and cannot be edited.
Address/IP & Ports
Define the URL address where the CodeChecker Server is located.This URL is usually made up of a prefix, http:// or https://, then followed by the server's host name (DNS name or IP address) and the server's port. By default, the CodeChecker Server uses the 5253 port number or the 52530 port number for the secured connection, but these numbers may have been changed during configuration.

To save any changes made, click OK.

The CodeChecker Studio is connected to the new server. Refresh any views opened in the CodeChecker Studio to display the content associated with the new server.

Note

To connect to the server using a proxy, define the proxy parameter in the general network connection preferences of the eclipse platform (Preferences > General > Network Connections).

Step 1   Click the  Connection icon in the navigator to connect to the CodeChecker Server.

The CodeChecker Studio connection screen

Step 2   Define the Login and Password to connect to the CodeChecker Server.

Initially, the administration-level login must be used to define other users in the CodeChecker Studio. This default generated first user has access to all of the ARCAD CodeChecker features.

The credentials of the default ARCAD CodeChecker user are:

Login admin
Password quadra

Step 3   [Optional] Tick the Retain password box to save the connection information.

Step 4   Click Connect.

Result   The CodeChecker Studio is connected to the CodeChecker Server and is ready to be used.

Note

To change users, click the  Connection icon in the navigator. Connect to the CodeChecker Server using a different Username and Password.

Reference

For more information about configuring the CodeChecker Server, refer to Registering license keys.

Important!

This section does not describe the configuration required for TLS in the CodeChecker Server. The TLS configuration belongs to the AFS configuration layer. Refer to the CodeChecker Server Configuration Guide.

For security reasons, you may need to use an encrypted connection between the server and the studio. To do this you must activate the use of the HTTPS protocol, by checking the Use HTTPS option in the server connection parameters. However, this protocol, based on the TLS network protection layer, must be correctly configured to be implemented. Depending on the server settings, the client program will have to validate the server's TLS certificate and potentially use its own key.

In most cases, only the validation of the server certificate is required. If this certificate is the product of a chain of trust whose root is a recognized Certification Authority (CA) then there is nothing special to do on the client side. The Java virtual machine already recognizes and approves certificates from all the parties in the market. However, if the server's certificate was not issued by a CA, or your organization uses a specific CA, it is necessary to add the certificate of this CA, or directly the server's certificate in the studio configuration.

It is also possible that the server has been configured in such a way that the studio must also use a key pair (private, public) that requires the server to validate the studio's certificate.

In case the server uses a certificate that is not issued by a CA or requires the studio to use a key pair, the administrator will pass these materials to you. The most secure way to do this is to send them to you in a container, called a KeyStore, which is password protected. In case the HTTPS connection requires both the validation of the server's certificate and a key pair for the studio, it is possible that the administrator will send you two stores, one containing the certificate to be approved, this is called a TrustStore, the other containing only the studio's key pair. This last store keeps the name KeyStore.

It is also possible that the administrator transmits the certificate directly to you, without integrating it into a store, in this case make sure that the source of the transmission is not spoofed. Integrating the wrong trusted certificate can jeopardize the security of the entire installation.

Note

Certificates and key pairs have a limited validity period. This period varies, generally from 1 to 12 months. The following configuration procedure must therefore be repeated each time the equipment is updated. Knowing that an expired certificate or key pair will block the connection to the server.

Important!

An additional security process occurs when connecting to the server with HTTPS, to verify that the connection URL domain name matches the certificate Common Name (CN). The connection to the server fails if they do not match.

Once you have the KeyStore(s) and their respective passwords, or, if not available, the server certificate, follow the steps below to redefine the HTTPS protocol settings:

Step 1   To access the TLS Settings dialog, right-click on the ARCAD CodeChecker node and select  TLS Settings.

Step 2   Edit the absolute paths to the TrustStore and KeyStore and their corresponding passwords.

Step 3   Click the Import Certificate button to import your own certificates into the file indicated in the TrustStore path.

You can click the Import Certificate button to import the server's certificate if it was sent to you as is. It will be included in the TrustStore defined in this window.

Step 4   Click OK to save your changes or Cancel to keep the default settings.

Note

The Reset button resets access information and passwords to the default values provided by the CodeChecker Studio.

ARCAD CodeChecker has a set of default rule sets available. The rule sets are loaded when the CodeChecker Server starts. The default rule sets contain all the configuration elements (quality rules, metrics, metric models, validation expressions) required to get started with general code quality.

You can update the default rule sets to benefit from all the latest code quality tools ARCAD offers. To load the default rule sets, right-click on the  CodeChecker Server and select the  Reload default Rule Sets option, or click the  Reload default Rule Sets icon in the Navigator toolbar. A dialog opens, you can choose to duplicate the ones already present (Duplicate), leave out the existing entities (Only new) or overwrite existing entities (Overwrite). A confirmation dialog then opens to list the number of elements successfully loaded.

Reload default rule sets

Follow the subsequent steps to change the password of the currently logged-in user.

Step 1   To access the New Password wizard, click the  Change Password icon.

Step 2   Define a New Password and confirm it. Click OK.

Result   The password is changed.

To verify the version of a CodeChecker Server, click on the Server Information icon in the navigator. A dialog displays the selected server’s version and the user with which you are currently connected.

To view a studio’s client log, click on the  View client log icon in the navigator.