Building a Bards Farm: Continuous Integration and Remote Control
summary
Built a self-hosted boards farm tied into KernelCI using LAVA for test dispatch and controlled by USB-relay-switched ATX supplies, 10‑port powered USB hubs and VLANed Ethernet for TFTP; farm hosts 35 boards (50‑board capacity) and already runs ~160k tests on unique boards. Automation works but needs hardware workarounds (cut ATX wires, custom relays), software fixes for many USB devices, patches for old U-Boots, and Lavabo for remote engineer access; multi-dispatcher and NFS-root are not yet supported.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Introduction to CI and project
- 2:38Understanding CI components
- 7:12KernelCI framework
- 9:43Integrating custom labs
- 13:22LAVA test automation
- 17:26LAVA architecture and setup
- 24:27Hardware build challenges
- 27:46Designing the test farm
- 36:05Project feedback and results
- 41:43Lavabo remote control tool
- 53:29Q&A and closing
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