source: trunk/doc/maintenance @ 21213

This file contains notes about the care and feeding of the Athena
source repository.  It is intended primarily for the administrators of
the source tree, not for developers (except perhaps for the first
section, "mailing lists").  See the file "procedures" in this
directory for information about procedures relevant to developers.

The areas covered in this file are:

  Mailing lists
  Permissions
  Build machines
  The wash process
  Imake templates
  Release notes
  Release cycles
  Patch releases
  Third-party pullups for patch releases
  Rel-eng machines
  Cluster information

Mailing lists
-------------

Here are descriptions of the mailing lists related to the source tree:

  * source-developers

    For discussion of the policy and day-to-day maintenance of the
    repository.  This is a public list, and there is a public discuss
    archive on menelaus.

  * source-reviewers

    For review of changes to be checked into the repository.  To be a
    member of this mailing list, you must have read access to the
    non-public parts of the source tree, but you do not need to be a
    staff member.  There is a non-public discuss archive on menelaus.

  * source-commits

    This mailing lists receives commit logs for all commits to the
    repository.  This is a public mailing list.  There is a public
    discuss archive on menelaus.

  * source-diffs

    This mailing list receives commit logs with diffs for all commits
    to the repository.  To be on this mailing list, you must have read
    access to the non-public parts of the source tree.  There is no
    discuss archive for this list.

  * source-wash

    This mailing list receives mail when the wash process blows out.
    This is a public mailing list.  There is no discuss archive for
    this list.

  * rel-eng

    The release engineering mailing list.  Mail goes here about patch
    releases and other release details.  There is a public archive on
    menelaus.

  * release-team

    The mailing list for the release team, which sets policy for
    releases.  There is a public archive on menelaus, with the name
    "release-77".

Permissions
-----------

Following are descriptions of the various groups found on the acls of
the source tree:

  * read:source
    read:staff

    These two groups have identical permissions in the repository, but
    read:source contains artificial constructs (the builder user and
    service principals) while read:staff contains people.  In the
    future, highly restricted source could have access for read:source
    and not read:staff.

    Both of these groups have read access to non-public areas of the
    source tree.

  * write:staff

    Contains developers with commit access to the source tree.  This
    group has write access to the repository, but not to the
    checked-out copy of the mainline (/mit/source).

  * write:update

    Contains the service principal responsible for updating
    /mit/source.  This group has write access to /mit/source but not
    to the repository.

  * adm:source

    This group has administrative access to the repository and to
    /mit/source.

system:anyuser has read access to public areas of the source tree and
list access to the rest.  system:authuser occasionally has read access
to areas that system:anyuser does not (synctree is the only current
example).

The script CVSROOT/afs-protections.sh in the repository makes sure the
permissions are correct in the repository or in a working directory.
Run it from the top level of the repository or of /mit/source, giving
it the argument "repository" or "wd".

Build machines
--------------

We do release builds in a chrooted environment to avoid damaging the
machines we are building on.  So that builds can have access to AFS,
we mount AFS inside the chrooted environments and make a symlink from
/afs to the place AFS is mounted.  Each build machine has two such
environments, one in /rel (for the release build) and one in /rel/wash
(for the wash).  The second environment has to be located within the
first, of course, so that AFS can be visible from both.

To set up a build machine, follow these instructions after installing:

  * Set the root password.
  * Put "builder rl" in /etc/athena/access.
  * In /etc/athena/rc.conf, set SSHD and ACCESSON to true.  Set
    AFSADJUST, PUBLIC, and AUTOUPDATE to false.
  * Create /rel/wash/afs and parents.
  * Edit /usr/vice/etc/cacheinfo and change the AFS mountpoint from
    "/afs" to "/rel/wash/afs".
  * Reboot.  (Remote access daemons should work without AFS, more or
    less.)
  * Create symlinks /afs -> rel/wash/afs and /rel/afs -> wash/afs.
  * Run "/mit/source/packs/build/makeroot.sh /rel X.Y", where X.Y is
    the full release this build is for.
  * Run "/mit/source/packs/build/makeroot.sh /rel/wash".
  * Make a symlink from /rel/.srvd to the AFS srvd volume, if you're
    at that stage.
  * On Solaris, ensure that procfs is mounted on /rel/proc and
    /rel/wash/proc.  (A host of system tools fail if procfs is not
    mounted in the chroot environment.)  Add lines to /etc/vfstab to
    make this happen at boot.
  * On Solaris, install the Sun compiler locally.  Run:
      pkgadd -R /rel -d /afs/dev.mit.edu/reference/sunpro8/packages \
        -a /usr/athena/lib/update/noask `cat ../installed-packages`
    and follow the directions in
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/reference/sunpro8/README.  Repeat for /rel/wash.

Right now we have an issue doing a complete build of the source tree
from scratch, because programs which use gdk-pixbuf-csource at build
time (like gnome-panel) require /etc/athena/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders
to be set up.  Since we lack machinery to deal with that kind of
problem, the workaround is to run the build at least as far as
third/gtk2 and then run, from within the chrooted environment:

  mkdir -p /etc/athena/gtk-2.0
  gdk-pixbuf-query-loaders > /etc/athena/gtk-2.0/gdk-pixbuf.loaders
  gtk-query-immodules-2.0 > /etc/athena/gtk-2.0/gtk.immodules

The wash process
----------------

The wash process is a nightly rebuild of the source repository from
scratch, intended to alert the source tree maintainers when someone
checks in a change which causes the source tree to stop building.  The
general architecture of the wash process is:

  * Each night at midnight, a machine performs a cvs update of the
    checked-out tree in /afs/dev.mit.edu/source/src-current.  If the
    cvs update fails, the update script sends mail to
    source-wash@mit.edu.  This machine is on read:source and
    write:update.

  * Each night at 4:30am, a machine of each architecture performs a
    build of the tree in /rel/wash/build, using the /rel/wash chroot
    environment.  If the build fails, the wash script copies the log
    of the failed build into AFS and sends mail to source-wash@mit.edu
    with the last few lines of the log.

Source for the wash scripts lives in /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash.
They are installed in /usr/local on the wash machines.  Logs of the
start and end times of the wash processes on each machine live in
/afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/status/`hostname`.  See "Rel-eng
machines" below to find out which machines take part in the wash
process.

To set up the source update on a machine:

  * Ensure that it is in the set of machines installed onto by
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/inst, and run that script to install
    the wash scripts onto that machine.

  * Set up the cron job on the machine according to
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/README.

  * Ensure that the machine has a host key.

  * Ensure that rcmd.machinename has a PTS identity in the dev cell.

  * Ensure that rcmd.machinename is in write:update.

To set up the wash on a build machine:

  * Ensure that it is in the set of machines installed onto by
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/inst, and run that script to install
    the wash scripts onto that machine.

  * Set up the cron job on the machine according to
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/README.

  * Ensure that the machine has a host key.

  * Ensure that rcmd.machinename has a PTS identity in the dev cell.

  * Ensure that rcmd.machinename is in read:source.

  * Ensure that
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/service/wash/status/machinename.mit.edu exists
    and that rcmd.machinename has write access to it.

Imake templates
---------------

We don't like imake, but we have two sets of imake templates:

  * packs/build/config

    These templates are the legacy Athena build system.  They are no
    longer used by any software in the release; we install them in
    case someone wants to build some very old software.

  * packs/build/xconfig

    These templates are used for building software which uses X-style
    Imakefiles.  They may need periodic updating as new versions of X
    are released.  These templates are full of a lot of hacks, mostly
    because the imake model isn't really adequate for dealing with
    third-party software and local site customizations.

Release notes
-------------

There are two kinds of release notes, the system release notes and the
user release notes.  The system release notes are more comprehensive
and assume a higher level of technical knowledge, and are used in the
construction of the user release notes.  It is the job of the release
engineer to produce a set of system release notes for every release,
with early versions towards the beginning of the release cycle.  The
best way to make sure this happens is to maintain the system release
notes throughout the entire development cycle.

Thus, it is the job of the release engineer to watch the checkins to
the source tree and enter a note about all user-visible changes in the
system release notes, which live in /afs/dev.mit.edu/project/relnotes.
Highly visible changes should appear near the beginning of the file,
and less visible changes should appear towards the end.  Changes to
particular subsystems should be grouped together when possible.

Release cycles
--------------

Release cycles have five phases: crash and burn, alpha, beta, early,
and the public release.  The release team has a set of criteria for
entering and exiting each phase, which won't be covered here.  The
following guidelines should help the release go smoothly:

  * Crash and burn

    This phase is for rel-eng internal testing.  The release engineer
    needs to make sure that the current source base works well enough
    for testers to use it and find bugs.  For crash and burn to begin,
    the operating system support person for each platform must provide
    a way to install or update a machine to the new version of the
    operating system for that platform.

    Each platform needs a build tree and system packs volume.  The
    build tree should be mounted in
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/project/release/<version>/build/<sysname>.  The
    system packs volume should be mounted in
    /afs/dev.mit.edu/system/<sysname>/srvd-<version>.

    Each platform needs a new-release build machine to generate system
    packs to test.  Set it up according to the directions in "Build
    Machines" above.

    To do a full build for release testing:

    # Get tickets as builder and ssh to the wash machine
    rm -rf /rel/.srvd/* /rel/.srvd/.??*
    rm -rf /rel/build/* /rel/build/.??*
    chroot /rel sh /mit/source-X.Y/packs/build/build.sh -l &

    (It can be useful to run the ssh to the build machine inside a
    screen session so you don't have to log out of the build machine
    until the build is finished.)

    The crash and burn machines should be identified and used to test
    the update (and install, if possible).  System packs may be
    regenerated at will.  The system packs volume does not need any
    replication.

    Before the transition from crash and burn to alpha, the release
    engineer should do a sanity check on the new packs by comparing a
    file listing of the new packs to a file listing of the previous
    release's packs.  The release engineer should also check the list
    of configuration files for each platform (in
    packs/update/platform/*/configfiles) and make sure that any
    configuration files which have changed are listed as changed in
    the version script.  Finally, the release should be checked to
    make sure it won't overflow partitions on any client machines.

    A note on the wash: it is not especially important that the wash
    be running during the release cycle, but currently the wash can
    run on the new release build machine without interfering with the
    build functions of the machine.  So after updating the wash
    machine to the new OS for new release builds, the release engineer
    can set up the wash right away.

  * Alpha

    The alpha phase is for internal testing by the release team.
    System packs may still be regenerated at will, but the system
    packs volume (and os volume) should be read-only so it can be
    updated by a vos release.  Changes to the packs do not need to be
    propagated in patch releases; testers are expected to be able to
    ensure consistency by forcing repeat updates or reinstalling their
    machines.

    System release notes should be prepared during this phase.

    Before the transition from alpha to beta, doc/third-party should
    be checked to see if miscellaneous third-party files (the ones not
    under the "third" hierarchy) should be updated.

  * Beta

    The beta phase involves outside testers.  System packs and os
    volumes should be replicated on multiple servers, and permissions
    should be set to avoid accidental changes (traditionally this
    means giving write access to system:packs, a normally empty
    group).  Changes to the packs must be propagated by patch
    releases.

    User release notes should be prepared during this phase.  Ideally,
    no new features should be committed to the source tree during the
    beta phase.

    For the transition from beta to early:

    - Prepare a release branch with a name of the form athena-8_1.
      Tag it with athena-8_1-early.

    - Create a volume with a mountpoint of the form
      /afs/dev.mit.edu/source/src-8.1 and check out a tree on the
      branch there.  Set the permissions by doing an fs copyacl from
      an older source tree before the checkout, and run
      CVSROOT/afs-permissions.sh after the checkout.  Copy over the
      .rconf file from the src-current directory.  Have a filsys entry
      of the form source-8.1 created for the new tree.

    - attach and lock the branch source tree on each build machine.

    - Do a final full build of the release from the branch source
      tree.

  * Early

    The early release involves more outside testers and some cluster
    machines.  The release should be considered ready for public
    consumption.

    The release branch should be tagged with a name of the form
    athena-8_1-early.

  * Release

    The release branch should be tagged with a name of the form
    athena-8_1-release.

    Once the release has gone public, the current-release machines
    should be updated to the release and set up as the build machines
    for the now-current release.  Remove the /build and /.srvd
    symlinks on the new-release build machines, and make sure the wash
    is running on them if you didn't do so back in the crash and burn
    phase.

One thing that needs to happen externally during a release cycle, if
there is an OS upgrade involved, is the addition of compatibility
symlinks under the arch directories of various lockers. All of the
lockers listed in packs/glue/specs, as well as tellme, mkserv, and
andrew, definitely need to be hit, and the popular software lockers
need to be hit as well. Here is a reasonable list of popular lockers
to get in addition to the glue ones:

  consult
  games
  gnu
  graphics
  outland
  sipb
  tcl
  watchmaker
  windowmanagers
  /afs/sipb/project/tcsh

In addition, the third-party software lockers need to be updated; the
third-party software group keeps their own list.

Patch releases
--------------

Once a release has hit beta test, all changes to the release must be
propagated through patch releases.  The steps to performing a patch
release are:

  * Check in the changes on the mainline (if they apply) and on the
    release branch and update the relevant sections of the source tree
    in /mit/source-<version>.

  * If the update needs to do anything other than track against the
    system packs, you must prepare a version script which deals with
    any transition issues, specifies whether to track the OS volume,
    specifies whether to deal with a kernel update, and specifies
    which if any configuration files need to be updated.  See the
    update script (packs/update/do-update.sh) for details.  See
    packs/build/update/os/*/configfiles for a list of configuration
    files for a given platform.  The version script should be checked
    in on the mainline and on the release branch.

  * Do the remainder of the steps as "builder" on the build machine.
    Probably the best way is to get Kerberos tickets as "builder" and
    ssh to the build machine.

  * Make sure to add symlinks under /build tree for any files you have
    added.  Note that you probably added a build script if the update
    needs to do anything other than track against the system packs.

  * In the build tree, bump the version number in packs/build/version
    (the symlink should be broken for this file to avoid having to
    change it in the source tree).

  * If you are going to need to update binaries that users run from
    the packs, go into the packs and move (don't copy) them into a
    .deleted directory at the root of the packs.  This is especially
    important for binaries like emacs and dash which people run for
    long periods of time, to avoid making the running processes dump
    core when the packs are released.

  * Update the read-write volume of the packs to reflect the changes
    you've made.  You can use the build.sh script to build and install
    specific packages, or you can use the do.sh script to build the
    package and then install specific files (cutting and pasting from
    the output of "gmake -n install DESTDIR=/srvd" is the safest way);
    updating the fewest number of files is preferrable.  Remember to
    install the version script.

  * Use the build.sh script to build and install packs/build/finish.
    This will fix ownerships and update the track lists and the like.

  * It's a good idea to test the update from the read-write packs by
    symlinking the read-write packs to /srvd on a test machine and
    taking the update.  Note that when the machine comes back up with
    the new version, it will probably re-attach the read-write packs,
    so you may have to re-make the symlink if you want to test stuff
    that's on the packs.

  * At some non-offensive time, release the packs in the dev cell.

  * Send mail to rel-eng saying that the patch release went out, and
    what was in it.  (You can find many example pieces of mail in the
    discuss archive.)  Include instructions explaining how to
    propagate the release to the athena cell.

Third-party pull-ups for patch releases
---------------------------------------

In CVS, unmodified imported files have the default branch set to
1.1.1.  When a new version is imported, such files need no merging;
the new version on the vendor branch automatically becomes the current
version of the file.  This optimization reduces storage requirements
and makes the merge step of an import faster and less error-prone, at
the cost of rendering a third-party module inconsistent between an
import and a merge.

Due to an apparent bug in CVS (as of version 1.11.2), a commit to a
branch may reset the default branch of an unmodified imported file as
if the commit were to the trunk.  The practical effect for us is that
pulling up versions of third-party packages to a release branch
results in many files being erroneously shifted from the unmodified
category to the modified category.

To account for this problem as well as other corner cases, use the
following procedure to pull up third-party packages for a patch
release:

  cvs co -r athena-X_Y third/module
  cd third/module
  cvs update -d
  cvs update -j athena-X_Y -j HEAD
  cvs ci
  cd /afs/dev.mit.edu/source/repository/third/module
  find . -name "*,v" -print0 | xargs -0 sh /tmp/vend.sh

Where /tmp/vend.sh is:

  #!/bin/sh

  for f; do
    if rlog -h "$f" | grep -q '^head: 1\.1$' && \
       rlog -h "$f" | grep -q '^branch:$' && \
       rlog -h "$f" | grep -q 'vendor: 1\.1\.1$'; then
      rcs -bvendor "$f"
    fi
  done

The find -print0 and xargs -0 flags are not available on the native
Solaris versions of find and xargs, so the final step may be best
performed under Linux.

Rel-eng machines
----------------

The machine running the wash update is equal-rites.mit.edu.

There are three rel-eng machines for each platform:

  * A current release build machine, for doing incremental updates to
    the last public release.  This machine may also be used by
    developers for building software.

  * A new release build machine, for building and doing incremental
    updates to releases which are still in testing.  This machine also
    performs the wash.  This machine may also be used by developers
    for building software, or if they want a snapshot of the new
    system packs to build things against.

  * A crash and burn machine, usually located in the release
    engineer's office for easy physical access.

Here is a list of the rel-eng machines for each platform:

                       Sun       Linux

Current release build  maytag    kenmore
New release build      downy     snuggle
Crash and burn         pyramids  men-at-arms

For reference, here are some names that fit various laundry and
construction naming schemes:

  * Washing machines: kenmore, whirlpool, ge, maytag
  * Laundry detergents: fab, calgon, era, cheer, woolite,
    tide, ultra-tide, purex
  * Bleaches: clorox, ajax
  * Fabric softeners: downy, final-touch, snuggle, bounce
  * Heavy machinery: steam-shovel, pile-driver, dump-truck,
    wrecking-ball, crane
  * Construction kits: lego, capsela, technics, k-nex, playdoh,
    construx
  * Construction materials: rebar, two-by-four, plywood,
    sheetrock
  * Heavy machinery companies: caterpillar, daewoo, john-deere,
    sumitomo
  * Buildings: empire-state, prudential, chrysler

Clusters
--------

The getcluster(8) man explains how clients interpret cluster
information.  This section documents the clusters related to the
release cycle, and how they should be managed.

There are five clusters for each platform, each of the form
PHASE-PLATFORM, where PHASE is a phase of the release cycle (crash,
alpha, beta, early, public) and PLATFORM is the machtype name of the
platform.  There are two filsys entries for each platform and release
pointing to the athena cell and dev cell system packs for the release;
they have the form athena-PLATFORMsys-XY and dev-PLATFORMsys-XY, where
X and Y are the major and minor numbers of the release.

At the crash and burn, alpha, and beta phases of the release cycle,
the appropriate cluster (PHASE-PLATFORM) should be updated to include
data records of the form:

       Label: syslib     Data: dev-PLATFORMsys-XY X.Y t

This change will cause console messages to appear on the appropriate
machines informing their maintainers of a new testing release which
they can take manually.

At the early and public phases of the release cycle, the 't' should be
removed from the new syslib records in the crash, alpha, and beta
clusters, and the appropriate cluster (early-PLATFORM or
public-PLATFORM) should be updated to include data records:

       Label: syslib     Data: athena-PLATFORMsys-XY X.Y

This change will cause AUTOUPDATE machines in the appropriate cluster
(as well as the crash, alpha, and beta clusters) to take the new
release; console messages will appear on non-AUTOUPDATE machines.