Distributed Experts’ new product, NetBuild, uses Apple’s Rendezvous technology to reduce compilation time on large-scale projects by spreading the work across Mac OS X machines on a network. It works with systems running Mac OS X 10.2 (“Jaguar”) and higher with Apple’s December 2002 Developer Tools installed.
NetBuild supports gcc 2.95.2 and 3.1, as well as dual-processor Macs (both locally and remotely). It also sports recovery measures for both local and remote points of failure. The NetBuild system consists of NetBuild Local and NetBuild Remote. The former integrates with Project Builder, Apple’s integrated development environment for Mac OS X, and uses Rendezvous to discover NetBuild Remote installations. It also manages tasks on as many machines as you specify.
NetBuild Remote runs in the background on any machine on which it’s installed and waits for network build requests from NetBuild Local. From the NetBuild Remote preference pane, you can determine under which conditions builds are allowed or disallowed.
The NetBuild system is licensed on a per-seat basis with pricing starting at US$450 per seat, with a three-seat minimum. Volume discounts and site licenses are available. and a trial version of NetBuild is available at the Distributed Experts Web site.