Identifying problems in a deployment as soon as possible can help avoid errors on test station computers. Testing the deployment image on the development computer you use to create the deployment is helpful because the development computer includes the required tools to fix the issue and rebuild the deployment. You can also use a dedicated build computer on which you only create deployments and avoid any development tasks.

Using the same computer to develop and deploy a test system presents the following disadvantages:

  • The deployment might include files in an incomplete state. A common development practice of having multiple versions of a file to test different approaches can result in including one of these files in the deployment by mistake.
  • Files that were not submitted to the source code control (SCC) system do not produce errors during deployment because the files exist on the development computer. Additionally, adding new developers or moving to a new development computer might result in lost work.
  • The deployment might include files that reference dependencies using absolute paths. If these dependencies are installed to a different path, errors may occur on a deployed system. These errors will not occur on the development system since the dependencies exist at the absolute path.

Using a dedicated build computer offers the following advantages:

  • Files synchronized using an SCC system on the build computer can ensure that the files are in the correct state.
  • The build process can report as an error files not submitted to the SCC system.
  • You can automate the build process to run without negatively affecting developer productivity.

Virtual Machine or Image

If you do not have a separate computer available to dedicate to building deployments, you can use a virtual machine or a disk image the same way you use a dedicated build computer.