Getting support
LAVA is free software and is provided “as is” without warranty of any
kind. Support is offered using the methods below and we will try to
help resolve queries.
Whenever you look for support for LAVA, there are some guidelines
to follow:
Guidelines
- If you are having problems, it may be helpful to check the mailing
list archives first - somebody else may have already seen and solved
a similar problem.
- Avoid putting LAVA job output directly into your email to a list or
IRC channel. Mailing list posts can include a few lines but not IRC.
- If you are using LAVA V1, rather than LAVA V2, you should always*
re-run your test with
logging_level: DEBUG
if you have not done
so already.
- Always use a pastebin for log output, and include a link to the
paste in your post.
- Paste content from the complete log, not the summary, so that you
get the complete lines.
- Include the job definition you used, either in this paste or another
paste.
- If you are administering your own instance, also include the device
type template and an export of the device dictionary.
- Provide details of which server you are using (with a URL
if it is publicly visible or a version string from the documentation
pages if not) and details of the actual device(s) in use.
Mailing lists
The primary method for support for LAVA is our mailing lists.
A few guidelines apply to all such lists:
- Reply to the list, adding the submitter in CC where appropriate.
- If your job uses URLs which are not visible to the rest of the list,
include a rough outline of how those were built and what versions of
tools were used.
- Avoid top posting.
- Always provide as much context as you can when phrasing your question
to the list.
lava-users
The lava-users
mailing list concentrates on support for current LAVA tests, involving
test writers, individual admins and LAVA developers. Users are
encouraged to contribute to answer queries from other users.
lava-devel
lava-devel
is an alias to linaro-validation
and is aimed at supporting test writers and admins who are adapting to the
LAVA V2 support and discussions relating to announcements from the
LAVA developers. Replies to the lava-announce list are directed here.
lava-announce
Subscribing to the lava-announce list is
recommended for everyone using LAVA, whether writing tests or
viewing reports or administering a LAVA instance.
As the work on LAVA V2 continues, it will become increasingly
important that all users of LAVA are aware of the upcoming
changes, new methods available in the refactoring and the removal of
old methods.
Replies to this list are sent to the lava-devel list - if you
are not subscribed to lava-devel
, please ask other users to CC you
on replies.
IRC
IRC is a common
support method for developers. Our team is spread geographically
around the world, with members in Europe, America and Asia. We are
usually talking on our IRC channel #linaro-lava
on
irc.freenode.net
.
Guidelines apply to IRC as well:
- Use a proxy or other service which keeps you connected to IRC. Developers
are based in multiple timezones and not everyone can answer all queries.
Therefore, you may have to wait several hours until the relevant
person or people are awake. Check back for replies on the channel
intermittently. If you disconnect, you will not see any replies
sent whilst you were disconnected from the channel.
- Ask your question, do not wait to see people joining or
talking. Don’t ask if you may ask a question!
- It is even more important with IRC that you always use a
pastebin, even more so than with mailing lists. See Guidelines.
- Do not assume that the person someone else spoke to last is also able
to answer your question.
- Do not assume that the person you spoke to last is also able to answer
your other question(s).
- Reply directly to a person by putting their IRC nickname at the
start of your message to the channel. In a busy channel, it can be hard
to spot replies not made to you.
- Developers are busy - IRC is part of our development process, so please
be considerate of the amount of time involved, there is code to write
and there are bug fixes to make for other users as well.
- Avoid personal messages unless there is a clear privacy issue involved
or you know the person well.
- You may well find that one of the Mailing lists actually provides
a faster answer to your question, especially if you are new to LAVA.
Pastebins
Pastebin services are provided online by multiple people. Some are
open to anyone, such as pastebin.com and
paste.debian.net. Others (like the
internal Linaro pastebin) are restricted and will require users to
register. Pastes will typically expire automatically, depending on
the options selected by the user creating the paste.
Wikipedia has more information