Glossary of terms¶

F frontend

G group

H hacking session | health check | hidden device type | hostname

I inline | interface tag

J jinja2 | job context | job definition

M messageID | metadata | MultiNode

N namespace

O offline

Q query

S scheduler

U UART

V visibility | VLANd

W worker

action level¶

The pipeline is organized into sections and levels. The first section of the pipeline is given level 1. Sub-tasks of that section start with level 1.1 and so on.

alias¶

A string which can be used to relate the descriptive device-type name to a particular list of aliases which could be used to look up the matching device-type. This can be useful to list the device tree blobs (DTB) which can be used with this device-type. Aliases can be used in job submissions directly.

BMC¶

A Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) is an embedded controller on a computer mainboard which allows external monitoring and management of the computer system.

chart¶

A chart allows users to track results over time using queries.

CI loop¶

Continuous Integration (CI) typically involves repeated automated submissions using automated builds of the artifacts prompted by modifications made by developers. Providing feedback to the developers on whether the automated build passed or failed creates a loop. LAVA is designed as one component of a CI loop.

device¶

A device in LAVA is an instance of a device type.

Test writers: see device tag
Admins: see device dictionary

device dictionary¶

The device dictionary holds data which is specific to one device within a group of devices of the same device type. For example, the power control commands which reference a single port number. The dictionary itself is a key:value store within the LAVA server database which admins can modify to set configuration values according to the pipeline design.

device status transition¶

A record of when a device changed status, who caused the transition, when the transition took place as well as any message assigned to the transition.

device tag¶

A tag is a device specific label which describes specific hardware capabilities of this specific device. Test jobs using tags will fail if no suitable devices exist matching the requested device tag or tags. Tags are typically used when only a proportion of the devices of the specified type have hardware support for a particular feature, possibly because those devices have peripheral hardware connected or enabled. A device tag can only be created or assigned to a particular device by a lab admin. When requesting tags, remember to include a description of what the tagged device can provide to a Test Job.

device type¶

The common type of a number of devices in LAVA. The device type may have a health check defined. Devices with the same device type will run the same health check at regular intervals.

developer image¶

A build of Android which, when deployed to a device, means that the device is visible to adb. Devices configured this way will be able to have the image replaced using any machine, just be connecting a suitable cable, so these images are not typically deployed onto hardware which will be sold to the customer without having this image replaced with a production image.

dispatcher¶

A machine to which multiple devices are connected. The dispatcher has lava-dispatcher installed and passes the commands to the device and other processes involved in running the LAVA test. A dispatcher does not need to be at the same location as the server which runs the scheduler. The term dispatcher relates to how the machine operates the lava-dispatch process using lava-worker. The related term worker relates to how the machine appears from the server.

distributed deployment¶

A method of installing LAVA involving a single server and one or more remote workers which communicate with the master using HTTP. This method spreads the load of running tests on devices across multiple dispatchers.

DTB¶

Device Tree Blob - file describing hardware configuration, commonly used on ARM devices with the Linux kernel. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Device_tree for more information.

DUT¶

Device Under Test - a quick way to refer to the device in LAVA.

frontend¶

lava-server provides a generic frontend consisting of the Results, Queries, Job tables, Device tables and Charts. Many projects will need to customize this data to make it directly relevant to the developers. This is supported using the XML-RPC and REST API support.

group¶

LAVA uses the Django local group configuration (synchronizing Django groups with external groups like LDAP is not supported). Users can be added to groups after the specified group has been created by admins using the Django admin interface or the lava-server manage groups and lava-server manage users command line support.

hacking session¶

A test job which uses a particular type of test definition to allow users to connect to a test device and interact with the test environment directly. Normally implemented by installing and enabling an SSH daemon inside the test image. Not all devices can support hacking sessions.

health check¶

A test job for one specific device type which is automatically run at regular intervals to ensure that the physical device is capable of performing the minimum range of tasks. If the health check fails on a particular device, LAVA will automatically put that device offline. Health checks have higher priority than any other jobs.

hidden device type¶

A device type can be hidden by the LAVA administrators. Devices of a hidden device type will only be visible to owners of at least one device of this type. Other users will not be able to access the job output, device status transition pages or bundle streams of devices of a hidden type. Devices of a hidden type will be shown as Unavailable in tables of test jobs and omitted from tables of devices and device types if the user viewing the table does not own any devices of the hidden type.

hostname¶

The unique name of this device in this LAVA instance, used to link all jobs, results and device information to a specific device configuration.

inline¶

A type of test definition which is contained within the job submission instead of being fetched from a URL. These are useful for debugging tests and are recommended for the synchronization support within MultiNode test jobs.

interface tag¶

An interface tag is similar to device tag but operates solely within the VLANd support. An interface tag may be related to the link speed which is achievable on a particular switch and port - it may also embed information about that link.

jinja2¶

Jinja2 is a templating language for Python, modelled after Django's templates. It is used in LAVA for device-type configuration, as it allows conditional logic and variable substitution when generating device configuration for the dispatcher.

See: http://jinja.pocoo.org/docs/dev/

job context¶

Test job definitions can include the context: dictionary at the top level. This is used to set values for selected variables in the device configuration, subject to the administrator settings for the device templates and device dictionary. A common example is to instruct the template to use the qemu-system-x86_64 executable when starting a QEMU test job using the value arch: amd64. All device types support variables in the job context.

job definition¶

The original YAML submitted to create a job in LAVA is retained in the database and can be viewed directly from the job page. When resubmitting old job definitions, be aware that device templates and other system configuration may have changed since the original submission, so the job may behave differently or fail validation. If the job was a MultiNode job, the MultiNode definition will be the unchanged YAML from the original submission; the job definition will be the parsed YAML for this particular device within the MultiNode job.

messageID¶

Each message sent using the MultiNode API uses a messageID which is a string, unique within the group. It is recommended to make these strings descriptive (use underscores instead of spaces). The messageID will be included in the log files of the test.

metadata¶

Test jobs should include metadata relating to the files used within the job. Metadata consists of a key and a value, there is no limit to the number of key value pairs as long as each key is unique within the metadata for that test job.

MultiNode¶

A single test job which runs across multiple devices, or using multiple independent connections to the same device.

namespace¶

A simple text label which is used to tie related actions together within a test job submission where multiple deploy, boot or test actions are defined. A common use case for namespaces is the use of container in a test job where some actions are to be executed inside the container and some on the DUT. The namespace is used to store the temporary locations of files and other dynamic data during the running of the test job so that, for example, the test runner is able to execute the correct test definition YAML. Namespaces are set in the test job submission.

offline¶

A status of a device which allows jobs to be submitted and reserved for the device but where the jobs will not start to run until the device is online. Devices enter the offline state when a health check fails on that device or the administrator puts the device offline.

parameters¶

Parameters are used in a number of contexts in LAVA.

For the use of parameters to control test jobs, see the test action parameters documentation.
For the use of parameters within the codebase of the pipeline, see the developer guide.

PDU¶

PDU is an abbreviation for Power Distribution Unit - a network-controlled set of relays which allow the power to the devices to be turned off and on remotely. Many PDUs are supported by pdudaemon to be able to hard reset devices in LAVA.

physical access¶

The user or group with physical access to the device, for example to fix a broken SD card or check for possible problems with physical connections. The user or group with physical access is recommended to be one of the superusers.

pipeline¶

Within LAVA, the pipeline is the model for the dispatcher code where submitted jobs are converted to a pipeline of discrete actions - each pipeline is specific to the structure of that submission and the entire pipeline is validated before the job starts. The model integrates concepts like fail-early, error identification, avoid defaults, fail and diagnose later, as well as giving test writers more rope to make LAVA more transparent.

priority¶

A job has a default priority of Medium. This means that the job will be scheduled according to the submit time of the job, in a list of jobs of the same priority. Every health check has a higher priority than any submitted job and if a health check is required, it will always run before any other jobs. Priority only has any effect while the job is queued as Submitted.

production image¶

A build of Android which, when deployed to a device, means that the device is not visible to adb. This is typically how a device is configured when first sold to the consumer.

prompts¶

A list of prompt strings which the test writer needs to specify in advance and which LAVA will use to determine whether the boot was successful. One of the specified prompts must match before the test can be started.

protocol¶

A protocol in LAVA is a method of interacting with external services using an API (Application Programming Interface) instead of with direct shell commands or via a test shell. Examples of services in LAVA which use protocols include MultiNode and VLANd. The protocol defines which API calls are available through the LAVA interface and the Pipeline determines when the API call is made.

query¶

Queries are used to identify test jobs and associated results which match specified criteria based on the results or metadata.

remote worker¶

A dispatcher with devices attached which does not have a web frontend but which uses an HTTP connection to a remote lava-server to control the operation of test jobs on the attached devices.

restricted device¶

A restricted device can only accept job submissions from the device owner. If the device owner is a group, all users in that group can submit jobs to the device.

results¶

LAVA results provide a generic view of how the tests performed within a test job. Results from test jobs provide support for queries, charts and downloading results to support later analysis and frontends. Results can be viewed whilst the test job is running. Results are also generated during the operation of the test job outside the test action itself. All results are referenced solely using the test job ID.

retired¶

A device is retired when it can no longer be used by LAVA. A retired device allows historical data to be retained in the database, including log files, result bundles and state transitions. Devices can also be retired when the device is moved from one instance to another.

role¶

An arbitrary label used in MultiNode tests to determine which tests are run on the devices and inside the YAML to determine how the devices communicate.

rootfs¶

A tarball for the root file system.

rootfstype¶

Filesystem type for the root filesystem, e.g. ext2, ext3, ext4.

scheduler¶

There is a single scheduler in LAVA, running on the server. The scheduler is responsible for assigning devices to submitted test jobs.

target_group¶

In MultiNode, the single submission is split into multiple test jobs which all share a single target_group which uses a string as a unique ID. The target_group is usually transparent to test writers but underpins how the rest of the MultiNode API operates.

test case¶

An individual test case records a single test event as a pass or fail along with measurements, units or a reference.

test run¶

The result from a single test definition execution. The individual id and result of a single test within a test run is called the test case.

test shell¶

Most test jobs will boot into a POSIX type shell, much like if the user had used ssh. LAVA uses the test shell to execute the tests defined in the Lava Test Shell Definition(s) specified in the job definition.

test set¶

Test writers can choose to subdivide a single test suite into multiple sets, for example to handle repetition or changes to the parameters used to run the tests.

test suite¶

Individual test cases are aggregated into a test suite and given the name specified in the test job definition. The Test Suite is created when results are generated in the running test job. LAVA uses a reserved test suite called lava for results generated by the actions running the test job itself. Results in the lava suite contain details like the commit hash of the test definitions, messages from exceptions raised if the job ends Incomplete and other data about how the test behaved.

tftp¶

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a file transfer protocol, mainly to serve boot images over the network to other machines (e.g. for PXE booting). The protocol is managed by the tftpd-hpa package and not by LAVA directly.

token¶

LAVA uses tokens to authenticate users via the XML-RPC and REST APIs.

UART¶

A UART (Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) is the most common way to make a serial connection to a DUT. Some devices can support multiple UARTs. This can be useful as a way to isolate the test shell processing from kernel messages.

See: UART article on Wikipedia

visibility¶

Supports values of public, personal and group and controls who is allowed to view the job and the results generated by the job. This includes whether the results are available to queries and to charts:

visibility: personal

or:

visibility: public

group visibility setting should list the groups users must be in to be allowed to see the job. If more than one group is listed, users must be in all the listed groups to be able to view the job or the results:

visibility:
  group:
    - developers
    - project

In this example, users must be members of both developers group and project group. Groups must already exist in the Django configuration for the instance.

VLANd¶

VLANd is a daemon to support virtual local area networks in LAVA. This support is specialized and requires careful configuration of the entire LAVA instance, including the physical layout of the switches and the devices of that instance.

worker¶

The worker is responsible for running the lava-worker daemon to start and monitor test jobs running on the dispatcher. Each server has a worker installed by default. When a dispatcher is added to the master as a separate machine, this worker is a remote worker. The admin decides how many devices to assign to which worker. In large instances, it is common for all devices to be assigned to remote workers to manage the load on the master.