CloudBees Build Acceleration can build Visual Studio solutions in three different modes:
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Using Electrify (recommended for VC++)
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Using ecdevenv as a drop-in replacement for your command-line build
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Creating a makefile containing the devenv calls and/or MSBuild calls
Using Electrify
If you choose to use Electrify, specify your devenv.exe or msbuild command as follows:
electrify.exe --emake-cm=<cluster_manager_name_or_IP> <emake_options> --electrify-remote=cl.exe;link.exe;lib.exe --electrify-localfile=y --electrifymon --your devenv/msbuild command>
Using the ecmsbuild.exe wrapper with Electrify
The ecmsbuild.exe wrapper provides a simpler command syntax for using Electrify to build Visual Studio solutions and MSBuild projects from the command line.
ecmsbuild.exe command syntax
The syntax of the command is:
ecmsbuild <msbuild_project/solution/project> [<build> <configuration>] [<electrify_args>] [<msbuild_args>] [<ecmsbuild_args>]
You can provide the arguments in any order. Any --emake- and --electrify- prefixes are interchangeable. For example:
ecmsbuild.exe --emake-virtualize --emake-cm=localhost --emake-annodetail=basic solution.sln /t:rebuild /p:Configuration=Debug,Platform=Win32
The ecmsbuild.exe wrapper is best used for a single project. For multiple projects, CloudBees recommends that you use MSBuild. For details, see Using MSBuild.
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Following are the ecmsbuild.exe arguments:
| Argument | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
--electrify-virtualize= version |
Virtualizes the specified Visual C++ toolchain |
Detects the Visual Studio version from the solution or project file |
--electrify-tool=[msbuild|devenv] |
Overrides the default tool selection |
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--electrify-expand-inline-files=[true|false] |
Sets the |
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--electrify-force-z7=[true|false] |
Sets the |
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--electrify-split-pdbs=[true|false] |
Sets the |
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--electrify-max-source-files=< n > |
Sets the |
Unlimited |
ecmsbuild.exe variables
ecmsbuild.exe sets certain variables automatically:
| Electrify or MSBuild Parameter | Description | Default | Overridable? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Additional eMake roots for virtualization |
Added automatically. The solution directory and user profile directory are always added. |
No. But you can append additional roots. |
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Registry (”reg”) roots for virtualization |
Added automatically |
No. But you can append additional roots. |
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Number of threads |
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Yes |
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Enables the JobCache feature for all make invocations in a build. (Note that JobCache is incompatible with incremental builds and should be used only for full builds) |
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Yes |
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Commands to distribute to the cluster |
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Yes |
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Integrates local file access (create, rename, and so on) by locally running tools with the remote file system |
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No (causes an error) |
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Tells Electrify to monitor the local file system |
Set automatically |
No (causes an error) |
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Enables the reuse of MSBuild nodes |
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No (causes an error) |
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Used by Electrify to separate the Electrify arguments from the command that Electrify is about to run |
Added automatically by |
No (causes an error) |
For ecmsbuild.exe, you must set the eMake roots correctly for your project.
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Side effects of using ecmsbuild.exe
To ensure the correct operation of Electrify, ecmsbuild.exe has several side effects:
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Kills the following processes that might interfere with Electrify if they remain dormant:
msbuild.exe,mspdbsrv.exe,electrify.exe,electrifymon.exe,electrify_proxy.exe,csc.exe,link.exe, andcl.exe. -
Turns off the Visual Studio Customer Experience Improvement Program (VSCEIP).
For Visual Studio 2012 and newer, this is per machine; otherwise, it is user-specific.
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Prevents
mspdbsrvfrom existing after a job completes (setsMSPDBSRV=-shutdowntime 0) -
Prevents
VBCSCompiler.exefrom existing after a job completes (setsUseSharedCompilation=false) -
Enables JobCache by default (sets
--emake-jobcache=cland setsELECTRIFY_EXPAND_INLINE_FILES=truein environment).Can be overridden from the command line.
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Does not allow
--electrify-localfile=y,--electrifymon, or--as arguments (automatically added byecmsbuild.exe)
Using ecdevenv
If you choose to use ecdevenv, replace:
devenv.com Solution.sln /build Debug
with:
ecdevenv Solution.sln /build Debug -–emake-cm=<your_cm> /virtualize
ecdevenv does the following:
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Converts
Solution.slnto NMAKE format. -
Calls eMake on the generated files.
The /virtualize flag virtualizes the Visual Studio toolchain, negating the need to install Visual Studio on the agents. You must, however, ensure the relevant versions of .NET and redistributables are installed.
devenv must be in the PATH environment variable before you execute ecdevenv.
Creating a Makefile
Before you can use CloudBees Build Acceleration to build your Visual Studio project, make sure you have already installed and run Visual Studio on each agent host for each user (all ECloudInternalUsers ).
| Virtualization of the toolchain is not possible when using this method. |
If you currently invoke Visual Studio from inside a makefile, you are ready. If you invoke Visual Studio directly from the command line or through a batch file, you must create a makefile for eMake to run. For example:
all: devenv /build Release foo.sln
— or —
all: devenv /build Release foo.sln /project bar.vcproj
The makefile must invoke devenv with the options you currently use. Ensure the correct version of devenv is in your path:
devenv /?
and ensure that the usual Visual Studio environment variables are set.
For Visual Studio 2015 and later, you must add “ /vsp ” to the end of the command line. (When building from ecdevenv.exe, this is added automatically.)
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For example:
all: devenv /build Release foo.sln /vsp