Megatest User Manual

Matthew Welland

Jan. 29, 2012


©2011 Matthew Welland. All rights reserved.
Megatest is free software released under the General Public License v2.0. Please see the file COPYING in the source distribution for details.
Email: matt@kiatoa.com.
Web: www.kiatoa.com/fossils/megatest
This document is believed to be acurate at the time of writing but as with any opensource project the source code itself is the reference. It is the responsibility of the end user to validate that the code will perform as they expect. The author assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that this document may contain. In no event will Matthew Welland be liable for direct, indirect, special, exemplary, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in this document, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
This document is a snapshot in time and Megatest software has likely changed since publication. This document and Megatest may be improved at any time, without notice or obligation.


Megatest/document Revision History

Notable revisions of the software are occasionally documented here.
Version Author Description Date
v1.25 matt converted to new document template \thedate


Table of Contents


1 Introduction

1.1 Megatest design philosophy

Megatest is intended to provide the minimum needed resources to make writing a suite of tests and implementing continuous build for software, design engineering or process control (via owlfs for example) without being specialized for any specific problem space. Megatest in of itself does not know what constitutes a PASS or FAIL of a test. In most cases megatest is best used in conjunction with logpro or a similar tool to parse, analyze and decide on the test outcome.

1.2 Megatest architecture

All data to specify the tests and configure the system is stored in plain text files. All system state is stored in an sqlite3 database. Tests are launched using the launching system available for the distributed compute platform in use. A template script is provided which can launch jobs on local and remote Linux hosts. Currently megatest uses the network filesystem to “call home” to your master sqlite3 database.

2 Installation

2.1 Dependencies

Chicken scheme and a number of “eggs” are required for building megatest. See the file utils/installall.sh for an automated way to install the dependencies on Linux.

2.2 Build and Install

Run “make test” to create the megatest executable. You may wish to copy the executable to a centrally accessible location.

3 Setup

3.1 Create megatest.config

Create the file megatest.config using the megatest.config template from the tests directory. At a minimum you need the following:
# Fields are the keys under which your test runs are organized
[fields]
field1 TEXT
field2 TEXT
​
[jobtools]
# The launcher launches jobs to the local or remote hosts,
# the job is managed on the target host by megatest,
# comment out launcher to run local only. An example launcher
# "nbfake" can be found in the utils directory. 
launcher nbfake
​
# The disks section specifies where the tests will be run. As you
# run out of space in a partition you can add additional disks
# entries.
# Format is:
# name /path/to/area 
[disks]
disk1 /tmp 

3.2 Create runconfigs.config

This file is used to set environment variables that are run specific. You can simply create an empty file to start.
# runconfigs.config

3.3 Create the tests directory and your first test

../tests
  ├── megatest.config
  ├── runconfigs.config
  └── tests
     └── mytest
           ├── main.sh
           └── testconfig

3.4 Create the testconfig file for your test

[setup]
runscript main.sh

3.5 Create your test running script, main.sh

#!/bin/bash
​
$MT_MEGATEST -runstep mystep1 "sleep 20;echo Done" -m "mystep1 is done"
$MT_MEGATEST -test-status :state COMPLETED :status PASS -m "This is a comment"

3.6 Run megatest and watch your run progress

megatest :field1 abc :field2 def :runname 2011week08.4a -runall
​
watch megatest -list-runs %
​
# OR use the dashboard
​
dashboard &

4 Choose Flow or Unstructured Run?

A flow is a structured and specifically sequenced set of tests. See the Flows chapter to understand the difference.

5 How to Write Tests

5.1 A Simple Test with one Step

mkdir simpletest
cd simpletest

5.2 Create your testconfig file

# testconfig
​
[setup]
runscript main.csh

5.3 Create the main.csh script

Note: Using csh is NOT recommended. Use bash, perl, ruby, zsh or anything other than csh. We use csh here because it is popular in the EDA industry for which Megatest was originally created.
#!/bin/tcsh -x
​
# run the cpu1 simulation.
#   The step name is "run_simulation"
#   The commandline being run for this step is "runsim cpu1"
#   The logpro file to validate the output from the run is "runsim.logpro"
​
$MT_MEGATEST -runstep run_simulation -logpro runsim.logpro "runsim cpu1"
$MT_MEGATEST -test-status :state COMPLETED :status $?
You can now run megatest and the created test directory will contain the new files “run_simulation.html” and “run_simulation.log”. If you are using the dashboard you can click on the run and then push the “View log” button to view the log file in firefox.

5.4 Simple Test with Multiple Steps

To run multiple steps simply add them to the main.csh file. Here we add a step to test “cpu2”. The second step that tests cpu2 will only run after the step that tested “cpu1” completes.
#!/bin/tcsh -x
​
# run the cpu1 simulation.
#   The step name is "run_simulation"
#   The commandline being run for this step is "runsim cpu1"
#   The logpro file to validate the output from the run is "runsim.logpro"
​
$MT_MEGATEST -runstep run_simulation_cpu1 -logpro runsim.logpro "runsim cpu1" && \
$MT_MEGATEST -runstep run_simulation_cpu2 -logpro runsim.logpro "runsim cpu2"
$MT_MEGATEST -test-status :state COMPLETED :status $?

6 Simple Test with Multiple Steps, Some in Parallel

6.1 The Makefile

A good way to run steps in parallel within a single test, especially when there are following steps, is to use the Unix Make utility. Writing Makefiles is beyond the scope of this document but here is a minimal example that will run “runsim cpu1” and “runsim cpu2” in parallel. For more information on make try “info make” at the Linux command prompt.
# Example Makefile to run two steps in parallel
​
RTLDIR=/path/to/rtl
CPUS = cpu1 cpu2
​
run_simulation_$(CPUS).html : $(RTLDIR)/$(CPUS)
	$(MT_MEGATEST) -runstep run_simulation_$(CPUS) -logpro runsim.logpro "runsim $(CPUS)

6.2 The main.csh file

#!/bin/tcsh -x
​
# run the cpu1 and cpu2 simulations in parallel. 
# The -j parameter tells make how many jobs it may run in parallel
​
make -j 2
$MT_MEGATEST -test-status :state COMPLETED :status $?

7 Simple Test with Iteration

Since no jobs run after the cpu1 and cpu2 simulations in this test it is possible to use iterated mode.

7.1 Update your testconfig file for iteration

[setup]
runscript main.csh
[items] CPU cpu1 cpu2

7.2 Rewrite your main.csh for iteration

#!/bin/tcsh -x

# run the cpu simulation but now use the environment variable $CPU
# to select what cpu to run the simulation against

$MT_MEGATEST -runstep run_simulation -logpro runsim.logpro "runsim $CPU"
# As of version 1.07 Megatest automatically converts a status of "0"
# to "PASS", any other number to "FAIL" and directly uses the value of
# a string passed in.
$MT_MEGATEST -test-status :state COMPLETED :status $?

7.3 Tests with Inter-test dependencies

Sometimes a test depends on the output from a previous test or it may not make sense to run a test is another test does not complete with status “PASS”. In either of these scenarios you can use the “waiton” keyword in your testconfig file to indicate that this test must wait on one or more tests to complete before being launched. In this example there is no point in running the “system” test if the “cpu” and “mem” tests either do not complete or complete but with status “FAIL”.
# testconfig for the "system" test
[setup]
runscript main.csh
waiton cpu mem

7.4 Rolling up Miscellaneous Data

Use the -load-test-data switch to roll up arbitrary data from a test into the test_data table.
# Fields are:
# category,variable,value,expected,tol,units,comment,status
​
$MT_MEGATEST -load-test-data << EOF
foo,bar,1.2,1.9,>
foo,rab,1.0e9,10e9,1e9
foo,bla,1.2,1.9,<
foo,bal,1.2,1.2,<,,Check for overload
foo,alb,1.2,1.2,<=,Amps,This is the high power circuit test
foo,abl,1.2,1.3,0.1
foo,bra,1.2,pass,silly stuff
faz,bar,10,8mA,,,"this is a comment"
EOF
New entries are keyed on the category and variable. If a new record is inserted with a category and variable that have already been used the new record will replace the old record.
Where value, expected and tol are specified the behavior is as follows.

7.5 Rolling up Runs

To roll up a number of tests in a sequence of runs to a single run use the -rollup command.
megatest -rollup :sysname ubuntu :fsname nfs :datapath none :runname rollup_ww38
All keys must be specified and the runname is the name of the run that will be created. All paths are kept original inside the database. When -remove-runs is used to delete runs the data is not deleted if there are rollups that refer to the data.

8 Dashboard

> dashboard &
figure dashboard.png
Pushing one of the buttons on the main dashboard will bring up the test specific dashboard. Values are updated in semi-real time as the test runs.
figure dashboard-test.png

9 Generating an OpenDocument Spreadsheet from the Database

And OpenDocument multi-paned spreadsheet can be generated from the megatest.db file by running -extract-ods
megatest -extract-ods results.ods :runname % 
You can optionally specify the keys for your database to limit further the runs to extract into the spreadsheet. The first sheet contains all the run data and subsequent sheets contain data rolled up for the individual tests.

10 Introspection

10.1 Getting previous test paths

megatest -test-paths -target %/%/% :runname % -testpatt % -itempatt % :status PASS 

11 Flows

A flow specifies the tests to run, the order and dependencies and is managed by a running megatest process.

12 Flow Specification and Running (Not released yet)

12.1 Write your flow file

flows/<flowname>.config
# Flow: <flowname>
[flowconfig]
# turn on item level dependencies
itemdeps on
​
[flowsteps]
# <testname>[,<predecessor>]
​
# Run the test "copydata"
copydata
​
# Run the test "setup" after copydata completes with PASS, WARN or WAIVE
setup,copydata
​
# once the test "setup" completes successfully run sim1, sim2 and sim3
sim1,setup
sim2,setup
sim3,setup

12.2 Run the flow

megatest -runflow <flowname> :FIELD1 val1 :FIELD2 val2 :runname wk32.4

13 Monitor based running

13.1 Monitor logic

Note: The monitor is usable but incomplete as of Megatest v1.31. Click on the “Monitor” button on the dashboard to start the monitor and give it a try.
figure monitor-state-diagram.png

14 Reference

14.1 Configuration file Syntax

Note: whitespace is preserved including at the end of line. Ensure your entries only have whitespace at the end of line when needed to avoid problems.

14.1.1 Sections

[section name]
This creates a section named “section name”

14.1.2 Variables

VARX has this value
The variable “VARX” will have the value “has this value”

14.1.3 Includes

[include filename]
The file named “filename” will be included as if part of the calling file. NOTE: This means no section can be named “include “ (with the whitespace).

14.1.4 Setting a variable by running a command

VARNAME [system ls /tmp]
The variable “VARNAME” will get a value created by the Unix command “ls /tmp”. All lines of output from the command will be joined with a space.

14.1.5 Notes

14.2 Environment variables

Variable Purpose
MT_CMDINFO Conveys test variables to the megatest test runner.
MT_TEST_RUN_DIR Directory assigned by megatest for the test to run.
MT_TEST_NAME Name of the test, corrosponds to the directory name under tests.
MT_ITEM_INFO Iterated tests will set this to a sequence of key/values ((KEY val) ...)
MT_RUN_AREA_HOME Directory where megatest was launched from and where the tests code can be found
MT_RUNNAME Name of this run as set by the :runname parameter
MT_MEGATEST Path/Filename to megatest executable. Found either from called path or but using the “exectuable” keyword in the [setup] section.
<field1> .... The field values as set on the megatest -runall command line (e.g. :field1 abc)

14.3 megatest.config

section variable value required comment
[setup] max_concurrent_jobs if variable is not defined no limit on jobs no
executable full path to megatest binary no Use only if necessary, megatest will extract the location from where it used to launch and add append that to the PATH for test runs.
runsdir full path to where the link tree to all runs will be created no Because your runs may be spread out over several disk partitions a central link tree is created to make finding all the runs easy.
[fields] string of letters, numbers and underscore string of letters, numbers and underscore at least one
[jobtools] launcher command line used to launch jobs - the job command (megatest -execute) will be appended to this no
workhosts list of hostnames to run jobs on NOT SUPPORTED RIGHT NOW n/a
[jobgroups] string of letters, numbers and underscore number no Control number of jobs allowed to concurrently run in categories. See [jobgroup] in testconfig
[env-override] string of letters, numbers and underscore any string no These are set on the test launching machine, not the test running machine. Typical usage is to control the host or run queue for launching tests. These values will not be seen by the test when it runs.
[disks] string of letters, numbers and underscore a valid path writable by the test launching process and by the test process yes The disk usage balancing algorithm is to choose the disk with the least space for each test run.

14.4 runconfigs.config file

section variable value required? comment
[default] string of letters, numbers and underscore any no variables set in this section will be available for all runs, defining the same variable in another section will override the value from the default section
[field1value/field2value...] string of letters, numbers and underscore any no the values in this section will be set for any run where field1 is field1value, field2 is field2value and fieldN is fieldNvalue.
Example: a test suite that checks that a piece of software works correctly for different customer configurations and locations each of which is done as a separate release regression run. The fields, CUSTOMER and LOCATION were chosen. The following runconfigs.config file would set some variables specific to runs for megacorp in India and femtocorp in the Cook Islands and New Zealand:
# runconfigs.config
[default]
ENCRYTION true
​
[megacorp/india]
TESTPATH /nfs/testing/megacorp_runs
​
[femtocorp/cook_islands]
ENCRYTION false
TESTPATH /afs/kiatoa/testing/cook_islands
​
[femtocorp/new_zealand]
TESTPATH /afs/kiatoa/testing/new_zealand
​
[megacorp/new_zealand]
TESTPATH /nfs/testing/megacorp_runs
Running megatest like this:
megatest :CUSTOMER megacorp :LOCATION new_zealand :runname week12_2011_run1 -runall
Would set:
ENCRYPTION true
TESTPATH /nfs/testing/megacorp_runs

14.5 Writing tests

14.5.1 testconfig file

section variable value required? comments
[setup] runscript name of script to execute for this test yes The script must be executable and either provide the full path or put a copy at the top of your test directory
[requirements] waiton list of valid test names no This test will not run until the named tests are state completed and status PASS
jobgroup
[items] any valid list of values no The test will be repeated once for each item with the variable name set to the value. If there is more than one variable then the test will be run against all unique combinations of the values
[eztests] any valid stepname command no Use in addition to or instead of runscript for easy implementation of steps. If <stepname>.logpro exists it will be applied to the <stepname>.log and resulting exit code will be used to determine PASS/FAIL/WARN

14.5.2 Command line

switch or param parameter purpose comments
-h brief help
-runall run all tests
-runtests test1,test2,... run one or more tests
-step stepname record a step requires :state and :status
-test-status record the test status requires :state and :status
-setlog logfilename set the logfile name for a test path is assumed to be relative to the test run directory
-set-toplog logfilename set the logfile name for the top test in an iterated test run each sub test can have its own logfile set
-m “comment” sets a comment for the step, test or run
:runname [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+ directory in which this run will be stored in the test run area
:state any value Set the step or test state, this is stored in the state field in the steps or tests table respectively For tests Megatest recognises “INCOMPLETE”, “COMPLETE”
:status any value Set the step or test status, this is stored in the status field in the steps or tests table respectively For tests Megatest recognises “PASS”, “FAIL”, and “CHECK”
-list-runs any value, % is wildcard Respects -itempatt and -testpatt for filters
-testpatt any value, % is wildcard
-itempatt any value, % is wildcard
-showkeys Print the keys being used for this database
-force Test will not re-run if in the “PASS”, “CHECK” or “KILLED”, using -force will force the run to be launched. WARNING: The -force switch will bypass any “waiton” dependencies.
-xterm Launch an xterm instead of run the test. The xterm will have the environment that the test would see.
-remove-runs Remove a run, test or subtest from the database and the disk. Cannot be undone. Requires -testpatt, -itempatt, :runname and all keys be specified.
Test helpers
-runstep Used inside a test to run a step, record the start and end of the step and optionally analyze the output using logpro.
-logpro If using logpro to acess the PASS/FAIL status of the step you specify the logpro file with this parameter.

A Data

B References