Using the INCHRON chronSUITE in
a Cloud Environment

Big projects demand tools that can utilize the full parallelism and performance of central IT resources. To achieve this, many development teams are turning to operate their tools in a cloud environment, allowing scalable centralized processing to be shared with members of teams collaborating remotely.

In contrast, even when using software on workstations, the configuration and deployment process can be controlled much more easily using a containerized approach. This shifts these tasks from development to IT, freeing up time for the development team to innovate.

Since the INCHRON chronSUITE is based on the Qt cross-platform application framework, this enables us to deliver it as a Docker container image.

As the name suggests, a container is a predefined environment where everything just works. By using Docker, the INCHRON chronSUITE is guaranteed to operate on any Linux or Windows machine without any issues due to missing packages or drivers. It can even be opened up to a wider user base by installing it on a headless server. Should you already have a Flexera license server, you’re all set to start your own private cloud.

CI/CD environments such as Jenkins or Azure DevOps enable the creation of automated and distributed process chains with the INCHRON chronSUITE in the loop. Configuration changes, updates, and improvements can be performed easily without disturbing the development process. Getting it up and running again is just a single command away. Alternatively, it can be fully automated. Massively parallel processing of simulations, validations and trace analysis is as simple as moving the work to containers on other machines.

INCHRON also uses Docker internally to streamline the development process and to provide a one-size-fits-all solution for the development of our chronSUITE timing toolkit. We maintain development containers that – once deployed – allow developers to quickly jump into the code without needing to worry about environment configuration. An additional benefit is the use of the same containers for our CI build process.

• The chronSUITE can become part of a continuous integration (CI) process for automated virtual verification after system changes.
• Multiple simulations, potentially using different stimuli or random seeds, can be executed in parallel to increase test coverage.
• Massive trace files acquired from HIL testing on your target can be automatically imported and evaluated, with the results then added to your database.
• Harnessing the power of Docker compose, it is possible to create a toolchain that incorporates everything you need and boots up with only a single command