Steeplechase

In order to run our multi-machine tests, we are going to need some kind of process runner which can execute remote-control commands on the test machines. Our solution uses a technology called Steeplechase (https://github.com/mozilla/steeplechase), which has a simple command language. It uses another technology called signalingserver (https://github.com/luser/simplesignalling). This in turns relies on node.js (http://nodejs.org/), which allows a server to run javascript without having to have a browser.

So, first created another Linux VM to run these pieces in. It won't need as many cores nor as much RAM as the Jenkins machine, but it will potentially need some more disk space for logs or binaries. So, the specs on this machine:

• 2 cores
• 2 GB RAM
• 60 GB disk

 Now installed signalling server and its dependencies. I ran the following:

sudo apt-get install git nodejs
npm install socket.io

Now, I ran this to get the signaling server source:

git clone https://github.com/luser/simplesignalling

Finally, I started it up:

cd simplesignalling
nodejs ./server.js

Now, for steeplechase, we need the following dependencies:

sudo apt-get install python-setuptools

Clone the steeplechase repo:

git clone https://github.com/mozilla/steeplechase

We need to bootstrap the python environment for steeplechase.

cd steeplechase
sudo python setup.py install

The machine is now setup and ready to run steeplechase, but without test clients, there is nothing for steeplechase to talk to. Next installment, setting up the test clients.