Updating Software in a System

Glossary terms: Package, Variant, System

These steps show how to use benchpark system external to compare and update the external packages defined by a Benchpark system against packages detected on the current machine. For adding a new system, please see Adding a System.

Detection includes both the general Spack search and searches at declared prefixes. When an existing version is detected with different spec details, Benchpark proposes updating that entry. Newly detected versions are added independently. Versions that are not detected remain declared unchanged and are reported as NOT_FOUND in the terminal; detecting a newer version does not prove that an older version is absent. Ambiguous matches within one version are reported for review.

Edits to declarations shared by multiple clusters apply to all of those clusters, assuming a shared software installation. The report lists the affected clusters.

Terminal output highlights confirmed entries in green, updates in blue, additions in cyan, review findings in yellow, and validator failures in red. Redirected output is plain text by default. Set SPACK_COLOR=always or SPACK_COLOR=never to override automatic color selection.

Note

You must run the following commands in the Fluxtainer environment. Software is detected for the current environment.

Spack Repository and Cache

benchpark system external uses the Spack and spack-packages checkouts in Benchpark’s configured bootstrap location. The command selects the pinned spack-packages repository for each Spack invocation, so detection does not depend on package repositories downloaded into ~/.spack or on the user’s Spack configuration.

Spack’s cache for this command is located at <bootstrap-location>/spack-user-cache. Spack creates this directory when the command first needs it; benchpark bootstrap does not create it in advance. The bootstrap location can be set with benchpark configure -bl <path>.

1. Lower the Recorded Tar Version

The Fluxtainer definition created in Adding a System records tar@1.35 as an external package. In systems/fluxtainer/system.py, change that entry to an older version:

"tar": {
    "externals": [
        {"spec": "tar@=1.34", "prefix": "/usr"},
    ],
    "buildable": False,
},

The system definition now differs from the Fluxtainer environment, which provides tar@1.35.

2. Preview the Detected Update

Run external detection from the Fluxtainer environment and request a proposed source change:

$ benchpark system external fluxtainer --propose

--propose reports eligible changes without modifying the file. If detection finds tar@1.35 and does not find tar@1.34, the proposal adds the detected version and retains the unconfirmed declaration unchanged:

  "externals": [
      {"spec": "tar@=1.34", "prefix": "/usr"},
+     {"spec": "tar@=1.35", "prefix": "/usr"},
  ],

3. Apply the Detected Update

Apply the proposed change to systems/fluxtainer/system.py:

$ benchpark system external fluxtainer --apply

Benchpark validates the detected change before writing it. After the command completes, the external tar list contains both versions. The unconfirmed tar@1.34 entry remains available for review. Changes that cannot be matched and applied unambiguously are reported for manual review.

Next Step

I want to initialize, build, and rerun my experiment using the updated system software stack.