Slurm Factory

Slurm Factory is a Python CLI tool that automates the building of relocatable Slurm workload manager packages using LXD containers and the Spack package manager. It creates optimized, portable packages that can be deployed across HPC environments with runtime path configuration and intelligent build caching for ultra-fast rebuilds.

Quick Start

Installation

# Install from PyPI (recommended)
pip install slurm-factory

# Or install with pipx for isolation
pipx install slurm-factory

# Verify installation
slurm-factory --help

Prerequisites

# Install and configure LXD
sudo snap install lxd
sudo lxd init

Build Your First Relocatable Package

# Build latest Slurm with CPU optimizations and caching
slurm-factory build --slurm-version 25.05

# Build with GPU support (includes CUDA/ROCm)
slurm-factory build --slurm-version 25.05 --gpu

# Build minimal package (smallest footprint)
slurm-factory build --slurm-version 25.05 --minimal

Deploy Anywhere

# Standard deployment
sudo mkdir -p /opt/slurm
sudo tar -xzf ~/.slurm-factory/builds/slurm-25.05-software.tar.gz -C /opt/slurm/
sudo tar -xzf ~/.slurm-factory/builds/slurm-25.05-module.tar.gz -C /usr/share/lmod/lmod/modulefiles/

# Load with default path
module load slurm/25.05

# Or deploy to custom location  
sudo tar -xzf ~/.slurm-factory/builds/slurm-25.05-software.tar.gz -C /shared/apps/
export SLURM_INSTALL_PREFIX=/shared/apps/software
module load slurm/25.05

Key Features

Use Cases

• HPC Cluster Deployment: Standardized Slurm installations across heterogeneous clusters
• Development Environments: Quick Slurm setup for testing and development
• Multi-Version Support: Running different Slurm versions side-by-side
• Performance Testing: Optimized builds for specific hardware configurations
• Container Deployment: Portable packages for containerized HPC environments

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   slurm-factory │───▶│ LXD Container│───▶│ Spack Build     │
│   CLI Tool      │    │ (Ubuntu 22.04)│    │ Environment     │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                                                      │
                                                      ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Target HPC      │◀───│ Portable     │◀───│ Optimized       │
│ Cluster         │    │ Packages     │    │ Slurm Build     │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Package Information

Documentation Structure

Latest Features

• Multi-Version Support: Build and deploy Slurm versions 25.05, 24.11, 24.05, 23.11, 23.02
• GPU Optimization: Optional CUDA support for GPU-enabled HPC clusters
• Portable Packages: Self-contained deployments with module system integration
• Modern Architecture: LXD containers with Spack package management
• Performance Focused: CPU-optimized builds with minimal package sizes

Built with ❤️ by Vantage Compute