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USENIX, The Advanced Computing Systems Association

LISA '06 Abstract

Pp. 263–273 of the Proceedings

The NMI Build & Test Laboratory: Continuous Integration Framework for Distributed Computing Software

Andrew Pavlo, Peter Couvares, Rebekah Gietzel, Anatoly Karp, Ian D. Alderman, and Miron Livny, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Charles Bacon, Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

We present a framework for building and testing software in a heterogeneous, multi-user, distributed computing environment. Unlike other systems for automated builds and tests, our framework is not tied to a specific developer tool, revision control system, or testing framework, and allows access to computing resources across administrative boundaries. Users define complex software building procedures for multiple platforms with simple semantics. The system balances the need to continually integrate software changes while still providing on-demand access for developers. Our key contributions in this paper are: (1) the development of design principles for distributed build-and-test systems, (2) a description of an implemented system that satisfies those principles, and (3) case studies on how this system is used in practice at two sites where large, multi-component systems are built and tested.
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Last changed: 19 April 2007 ac