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Setting Up and Managing a Build Lab 13
2
Setting Up and Managing a Build Lab
If you intend to build virtualized applications on a regular basis, set up a build lab to ensure quality
application builds to decrease build time. Perform certain steps on multiple operating systems to
ensure maximum compatibility and performance. Because many steps are time-consuming, the
process can move more efficiently if steps are performed on multiple machines. This process is
referred to as pipeline building, and is useful when virtualizing a high volume of applications.
Section 2.1, “Setting Up a Build Lab,” on page 13
Section 2.2, “Build Process,” on page 14
Section 2.3, “Build Testing Process,” on page 14
Section 2.4, “Profiling the Application,” on page 15
Section 2.5, “Managing Builds,” on page 15
2.1 Setting Up a Build Lab
Set up a build lab with the following six machine configurations:
Windows XP, Service Pack 3, x86 architecture
Windows XP, Service Pack 2, x64 architecture
Windows Vista, Service Pack 2, x86 architecture
Windows Vista, Service Pack 2, x64 architecture
Windows 7, Service Pack 1, x86 architecture
Windows 7, Service Pack 1, x64 architecture
Windows 8, x64 and x86 architecture
Regularly re-image each machine to an initial configuration, or clean state. Clean machines are
required to complete build and testing processes. Save an image of the initial configuration on a local
partition, then use third-party software to create an external drive to boot the machine from that
image.
Complete the following steps to setup the initial configuration for each machine:
1 Set up two partitions; one for the operating system and the other for the clean image.
2 Install the operating system.
3 Install all current patches for the OS, except for Microsoft Internet Explorer upgrades.
4 Create accounts for an administrator and a standard user.
5 Disable automatic updates.
The following steps are optional, but recommended:
Run Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 once, to prevent repeating the first-run wizard each time you
re-image the machine to a clean state.