Overview of Deployment and Testing๏ƒ

This section documents the full testing and deployment process, including how to:

  • Update the E3SM Spack fork to support new versions

  • Maintain and release new versions of mache for system-specific Spack configurations

  • Deploy RCs and full releases of E3SM-Unified on supported HPC platforms

  • Identify and resolve deployment issues

Phased Deployment Strategy๏ƒ

Testing typically begins with a partial deployment of an E3SM-Unified RC to a few key HPC systems. Once core functionality and package compatibility are verified, a full deployment to all supported machines is performed.

Each iteration involves collaboration between the Infrastructure Team and tool maintainers to:

  • Validate that tools like zppy, e3sm_diags, and mpas-analysis run correctly

  • Confirm compatibility with system MPI, compilers, and Python versions

  • Identify mismatches or conflicts in environment resolution

Key Components of the Deployment Process๏ƒ

The following steps and infrastructure are used when testing and deploying a new release:

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Updating the E3SM Spack Fork๏ƒ

  • Add new versions of performance-critical tools (e.g., NCO, ESMF, MOAB)

  • Create spack_for_mache_<version> branches for use in mache

๐Ÿงฉ Updating mache๏ƒ

  • Keep system-specific Spack environment templates in sync with E3SM module stacks

  • Create RC and final releases of mache

  • Use utils/update_cime_machine_config.py to streamline updates

๐Ÿš€ Deploying on HPCs๏ƒ

  • Use the deploy_e3sm_unified.py script and template infrastructure in e3sm_supported_machines

  • Build environments and activation scripts tailored to each system

๐Ÿงช Troubleshooting Deployment Issues๏ƒ

  • Resolve Spack build failures and MPI/compiler mismatches

  • Address problems with activation, modules, or symbolic links

  • Common pitfalls in default.cfg or shared.py configuration

Audience๏ƒ

This section is primarily intended for E3SM-Unified maintainers and release engineers. Familiarity with Spack, Conda, and HPC system environments is assumed.

โžก Start with: Updating the E3SM Spack Fork