Occasionally, the Agent initiating the build may suffer from a high I/O load as a result of having to manage both file synchronization to and from remote Agents and writing the build's output to disk. This is especially relevant in the following scenarios: The initiating machine is utilizing more than one CPU for builds. A large number of remote Agents are set to participate in the build.
When this is the case, it may be beneficial to prevent the Agent that initiated the build from executing tasks that can also be run by remote Agents – compilation of source files, for example, in order to allow it to dedicate its resources entirely to build management and file synchronization.
The Avoid task execution on local machine whenever possible option can be enabled through the Agent Settings dialog box, Initiator->General page.
When the local machine is idling, this option (which is enabled by default) enables a "competition mode" where the same task also runs on the local initiator machine. This scenario allows speeding up the task execution as it runs in parallel on both machines; to complete the task, the output from the first machine is applied to the build. Note that if the initiating machine has a high I/O load, this option should not be used, as in this case the competition mode is not efficient. The "Restart remote processes on local machine when possible" option can be enabled/disabled through the Agent Settings dialog Initiator->General page.
IncrediBuild can utilize multiple CPUs and cores when executing a distributed process. This requires the purchase of a Multi-CPU license for each machine with multiple CPUs/cores (in trial licenses, all Agents automatically utilize up to eight available CPUs and cores). Once this is done, distributable tasks are run using each of the available CPUs/cores, depending on each Agent's current availability. If the machine's hardware supports Hyper threading, it is possible to use all logical cores in order to improve performance. This can be set under Agents Settings -> Agent -> CPU Utilization.
In builds involving a large amount of output data, writing the build's output files to disk can become a bottleneck and slow down the distribution process. This is especially relevant in the following scenarios: The Initiating machine is utilizing more that one CPU for builds. A large number of remote Agents are set to participate in the build.
In these cases, it can be very beneficial to set the project's output folders to a location that will perform as fast as possible. An ideal location for the project's output file would be a local, high-performance drive that is not running the Windows system.
In certain environments, a performance gain can be obtained by minimizing the number of accesses to directories performed during builds. This is especially common in the following scenarios: Builds that store input files in network-based file systems. Projects using an input file directory tree, which spreads over an unusually large number of directories.
IncrediBuild features two alternate methods for minimizing directory access. Only one of these options can be used at any time: Monitor file system changes to minimize directory access (Windows 32-bit platform only) – Try enabling this option first to see if performance is improved. This option can be enabled through the Agent Settings dialog Initiator->Advanced page. Minimal directory synchronization – (Visual Studio builds only); When this feature is enabled, IncrediBuild only performs source-file timestamp checking once, except when it is possible that a non-compilation build step has modified the source file or directory after starting the build (as is the case, for example, in custom build steps that "generate" source files). The minimal directory synchronization mode can be activated using the Agent Settings dialog Initiator->Advanced page.
The Network Connectivity Test can locate machines with weak network performance, which is slowing down builds. These machines can then be either upgraded or disabled from participating in remote builds.
Making sure that Windows File Search doesn't index your intermediate and output folders reduces overall disk access and speeds up your builds.
IncrediBuild automatically prefers Agents with stronger hardware over others, when assigning Agents as remote resources in distributed jobs. However, in some cases, it is helpful to fine-tune the Coordinator's assignment logic, instructing it to prefer certain Agents over others. For example, you might want to increase the assignment priority of Agents that are "dedicated" to function as computing resources in builds and do not run any other jobs. Another example is to increase the assignment priority of Agents running on hardware that IncrediBuild underrates for some reason.
Machines with slower CPUs and slower Ethernet cards may, in some cases, have a negative impact on overall build speed. If such a machine is being used by a developer who still wishes to run distributed builds, disable that user's Agent to prevent it from participating in other Agents' builds; if such a machine is used only as a remote resource, try unsubscribing it and see the effect on build time.
Some "real-time scanning" applications, such as anti-virus and firewall software, can have a negative effect on build performance. Configuring these applications not to scan files with extensions that are regularly used in builds (.obj, .pdb, .idb, .cpp, .c, .h, .sbr, .lib) or not to scan project intermediate folders, may improve performance.
Build priorities are useful when better performance is required for builds initiated by specific Agents. These Agents can then be given a higher priority to ensure that builds they start are assigned more Agents in comparison to others. Build priorities are set from the Coordinator Monitor.
Some applications are designed to run in the background and consume only as much CPU as is left unused by a PC. One common example is the SETI@home project. As IncrediBuild Agents also run in a low process priority, these applications may take away CPU from builds, slowing them down. If any CPU-consuming background application is running on a machine that is also used as an IncrediBuild Agent, use the Agent Settings dialog Helper->CPU Availability page to configure IncrediBuild to run alongside this application.
IncrediBuild caches files from remote Agents in a special file cache stored under the installation folder. If there is not enough space to store all of the files, additional synchronization is performed over the network, resulting in extra network load and decreased performance. To see if the file cache is full and needs resizing, see the "File Cache" column in the Coordinator Monitor.
In cases where problems are encountered when building several configurations at the same time, the Batch Build feature, the 'BatchBuildParallelExecution2010' registry key (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Xoreax\IncrediBuild\Builder) can be used. By default, this key is set to 1 (parallel building); setting it to 0 forces each configuration to be built separately (sequential building). | 