Branches
Branches, Platforms, and OSes are related topics as they provide a method to associate metadata (descriptor info that acts as a build/release tag, alias, or label) with devices, device images, and Job Runs. XPRESSO in turn, correlates the applied metadata allowing you to perform additional data filtration, aggregation, charting, and analytics with your test results and as a means to set a baseline.
This topic describes Branch metadata; see the Platform topic and OS topic for the other two ways to apply metadata.
In XPRESSO, a Branch is an associated to an OS. Each branch can have multiple builds associated with it; each build in turn can be tagged with a unique label to implicitly identify it.
Branches form part of a build/release management technique; the goal of this methodology is to ensure significant builds can be validated to ensure image stability by executing a given set of Job Runs against the image. Branching also lets DevOps/NetDevOps teams work in parallel; it allows them to replicate and maintain “in-progress” images from "stable or baseline" images to support multiple concurrent release versions.
A branch is associated with a branch manager who is responsible for creating the branch.
Once a Branch is registered in XPRESSO, you can specify as part of the Run Request the applicable Branch that applies to the images running on the Device under test; or the image that is being provided as part the Clean instruction. See "Configuring Job Request Attributes" for more information.
Requesting a New Branch
This sub-topic only applies to Member and Privilege Member Roles.
You can view the current registered Branches on the Registered Branch page. Branch names are registered in a lower-case string format.
In the event your Branch is not registered in XPRESSO, you can make a request to the Group Administrator to add the Branch.
To Request a New Branch:
From the Main Navigation Bar, choose Main Menu→ENVIRONMENT→Branches to open the Registered Branches page.
Click the Request Branch button located on the top-right side of the page. The Request Branch form appears.
Configure the Name parameter and click the Send Request button. The request is forwarded to the Group Admin for processing.
Registering a New Branch
Only the Group Admin can register a new Branch in XPRESSO.
To Add (Register) a New Branch:
From the Main Navigation Bar, choose Main Menu→ENVIRONMENT→Branches to open the Registered Branches page.
Click the Add Branch button located on the top-right side of the page. The Add a New Branch form appears.
Configure the following required parameters:
Name: Enter a unique identifier for the Branch.
Associated OS: Select an OS from the pull-down menu to associate with the Branch. If the required OS type your require is not pre-registered in XPRESSO, refer to the OS topic for information about how to add (register) a new OS.
Branch Manager(s): Enter the name(s) of the branch owner(s); if there are multiple owners, separate each owner with a comma delimiter.
Click the Save button. The new Branch appears in the list of Registered Branches.
Only the Group Admin and System Admin can perform operations on a registered Branch.
From the Main Navigation Bar, choose Main Menu→ENVIRONMENT→Branches to open the Registered Branch page. All Branches registered to your Group display.
Locate and highlight the Branch that you want to perform the operation on and click one of the following floating action buttons located to the right of the selected Branch.
- Edit: Change all Branch details as required and click Save.
- Delete: Enter a reason for the branch deletion and click Delete; this information is retained in the history files.
NOTE:
The OS column associated with each Branch provides a link to the Branch OS details page. You can associate a new Branch or a new Platform to the OS by clicking the appropriate button on this page. See the OS topic for further information.
Refer to the following topics for other related Branch information: