This section introduces you to Build Forge® components and terminology.
The primary purpose of the system is to enable you to define and run projects. A project accomplishes a task, like building and packaging software. The power of the system comes from its ability to track, control, and report on the execution of complex tasks distributed over multiple hosts.
Project: a set of steps to be executed.
Step: a single executable operation that can be individually scrutinized for success or failure. When a project is run, each of its steps is run in the specified order on the specified servers. It can be run in an environment you specify. A step is made up of one or more commands. Each command may itself launch an executable file, a batch file, or script that launches many other commands. A command is anything that can be invoked from the command line of a given server.
Environment: defined in an Environment which consists of one or more environment variables. Environments can be assigned to servers, projects, or steps.
Server: is a host where an agent is installed. The agent enables the Management Console to communicate with the host and run a project or project step.
The Build Forge® system is made up of the following components arranged in a three-tier architecture:
The components can be deployed in a variety of ways, ranging from all components on a single host to a system that uses clustered Management Consoles and a large number of distributed server resources.