Alex Doyle

Dedicated User Environment (DUE) is an open source tool for creating and supporting different Debian based build environments. Written in Bash, it is both a collection of wrapper scripts that allow for the configuration of build environments in Docker containers, and a launcher application that makes managing and working inside those containers as user friendly as possible. In addition, DUE supports configurations that can make building most software for any Debian based operating system as easy as building a package. Its user base can range from novice developers who want to try building something without changing their host machine configuration, to build systems engineers deploying it on shared user systems and integrating it with build automation. In this talk I'll discuss the number of problems that DUE solves, why it used internally at Cumulus Networks/Nvidia to support our Jessie and Buster based releases of Cumulus Linux, and how it became the recommended build environment for the ONIE open source project.

This introductory level talk will provide an overview of the build workflow for a Debian derivative by discussing the challenges inherent in being the sole manager of everything from source code commits to published packages. Real world examples will be provided from Cumulus Linux: a Debian derivative for white box network switches. Topics covered will include: - Incorporating Debian as the upstream. - Choosing software to meet build requirements. - Lessons learned after the aforementioned software was chosen. - Where some distribution specific customization will be required. - Difficulties in supporting multiple architectures. - The role of human factors in making the build system invisible. - And why a good dynamic package versioning scheme is very, very important. The intended audience would be anyone setting up a Debian Derivative, or anyone seeking a greater awareness of what commonly used Debian build tools are available, and what roles they perform.