3.3. Testing Icepack

This section documents primarily how to use the Icepack scripts to carry out icepack testing. Exactly what to test is a separate question and depends on the kinds of code changes being made. Prior to merging changes to the CICE Consortium master, changes will be reviewed and developers will need to provide a summary of the tests carried out.

There is a base suite of tests provided by default with Icepack and this may be a good starting point for testing.

The testing scripts support several features
  • Ability to test individual (via --test)or multiple tests (via --suite) using an input file to define the suite or suites
  • Ability to use test suite defined in the package or test suites defined by the user
  • Ability to store test results for regresssion testing (--bgen)
  • Ability to compare results to prior baselines to verify bit-for-bit (--bcmp)
  • Ability to define where baseline tests are stored
  • Ability to compare tests against each other (--diff)

3.3.1. Individual Tests

The Icepack scripts support both setup of individual tests as well as test suites. Individual tests are run from the command line:

./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach conrad --env cray --set diag1,debug --testid myid

Tests are just like cases but have some additional scripting around them. Individual tests can be created and manually modified just like cases. Many of the command line arguments for individual tests are similar to Command Line Options for --case. For individual tests, the following command line options can be set

--test TESTNAME
specifies the test type. This is probably either smoke or restart but see icepack.setup –help for the latest. This is required instead of --case.
--testid ID
specifies the testid. This is required for every use of --test and --suite. This is a user defined string that will allow each test to have a unique case and run directory name. This is also required.

--mach MACHINE (see Command Line Options)

--env ENVIRONMENT1 (see Command Line Options)

--set SET1,SET2,SET3 (see Command Line Options)

--acct ACCOUNT (see Command Line Options)

--grid GRID (see Command Line Options)

--pes MxN (see Command Line Options)

Like --case, --grid and --pes are not particularly useful right now within Icepack since the model can only run serially and only with the col grid setting. There are several additional options that come with --test that are not available with --case for regression and comparision testing,

--bdir DIR
specifies the top level location of the baseline results. This is used in conjuction with --bgen and --bcmp. The default is set by ICE_MACHINE_BASELINE in the env.[machine]_[environment] file.
--bgen DIR
specifies the name of the directory under [bdir] where test results will be stored. When this flag is set, it automatically creates that directory and stores results from the test under that directory. If DIR is set to default, then the scripts will automatically generate a directory name based on the Icepack hash and the date and time. This can be useful for tracking the baselines by hash.
--bcmp DIR
specifies the name of the directory under [bdir] that the current tests will be compared to. When this flag is set, it automatically invokes regression testing and compares results from the current test to those prior results. If DIR is set to default, then the script will automatically generate the last directory name in the [bdir] directory. This can be useful for automated regression testing.
--diff LONG_TESTNAME
invokes a comparison against another local test. This allows different tests to be compared to each other. The restrictions are that the test has to already be completed and the testid has to match.

The format of the case directory name for a test will always be [machine]_[env]_[test]_[grid]_[pes]_[sets].[testid] The [sets] will always be sorted alphabetically by the script so --set debug,diag1 and --set diag1,debug produces the same testname and test with _debug_diag1 in that order.

To build and run a test, the process is the same as a case. cd to the test directory, run the build script, and run the submit script:

cd [test_case]
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit

The test results will be generated in a local file called test_output. To check those results:

cat test_output

Tests are defined under configuration/scripts/tests/. The tests currently supported are:

  • smoke - Runs the model for default length. The length and options can
    be set with the --set command line option. The test passes if the model completes successfully.
  • restart - Runs the model for 14 months, writing a restart file at month 3 and
    again at the end of the run. Runs the model a second time starting from the month 3 restart and writing a restart at month 12 of the model run. The test passes if both runs complete and if the restart files at month 12 from both runs are bit-for-bit identical.

Please run ./icepack.setup --help for the latest information.

3.3.1.1. Individual Test Examples

  1. Basic default single test

    Define the test, mach, env, and testid.

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf --env gnu --testid t00
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1.t00
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

  2. Simple test with some options

    Add --set

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf --env gnu --set diag1,debug --testid t00
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1_debug_diag1.t00
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

  3. Single test, generate baseline dataset

    Add --bgen

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf -env gnu --bgen icepack.v01 --testid t00 --set diag1
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1_diag1.t00
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

  4. Single test, compare results to a prior baseline

    Add --bcmp. For this to work, the prior baseline must exist and have the exact same base testname [machine]_[env]_[test]_[grid]_[pes]_[sets]

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf -env gnu --bcmp icepack.v01 --testid t01 --set diag1
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1_diag1.t01
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

  5. Simple test, generate a baseline dataset and compare to a prior baseline

    Use --bgen and --bcmp. The prior baseline must exist already.

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf -env gnu --bgen icepack.v02 --bcmp icepack.v01 --testid t02 --set diag1
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1_diag1.t02
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

  6. Simple test, comparison against another test

    Use --diff. This feature is primarily used in test suites and has limited use in icepack, but is being described for completeness.

    --diff provides a way to compare tests with each other. For this to work, the tests have to be run in a specific order and the testids need to match. The test is always compared relative to the current case directory.

    To run the first test,

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf -env gnu --testid tx01 --set debug
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1_debug.tx01
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

    Then to run the second test and compare to the results from the first test

    ./icepack.setup --test smoke --mach wolf -env gnu --testid tx01 --diff smoke_col_1x1_debug
cd wolf_gnu_smoke_col_1x1.tx01
./icepack.build
./icepack.submit
./cat test_output

    The scripts will add a [machine]_[environment] to the beginning of the diff argument and the same testid to the end of the diff argument. Then the runs will be compared for bit-for-bit and a result will be produced in test_output. This is really more useful in CICE and for test suites right now. For example, CICE uses this feature to compare results from different pe counts or decompositions, single threaded vs multi-threaded, and so forth.

3.3.2. Test suites

Test suites support running multiple tests specified via an input file or files. When invoking the test suite option (--suite) with icepack.setup, all tests will be created, built, and submitted automatically under a directory called testsuite.[testid].[$date] as part of involing the suite. Because the tests are built and submitted automatically, this feature does not allow for customization of cases or tests like individual cases and tests do:

./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach wolf --env gnu --testid myid

Like an individual test, the --testid option must be specified and can be any string. Once the tests are complete, results can be checked by running the results.csh script in the [suite_name].[testid]:

cd base_suite.[testid]
./results.csh

The predefined test suites are defined under configuration/scripts/tests and the files defining the suites have a suffix of .ts in that directory. The format for the test suite file is relatively simple. It is a text file with white space delimited columns that define a handful of values in a specific order. The first column is the test name, the second the grid, the third the pe count, the fourth column is the --set options and the fifth column is the --diff argument. (The grid and PEs columns are provided for compatibility with the similar CICE scripts.) The fourth and fifth columns are optional. Lines that begin with # or are blank are ignored. For example,

#Test   Grid  PEs  Sets                Diff
 smoke   col  1x1  diag1
 smoke   col  1x1  diag1,run1year  smoke_col_1x1_diag1
 smoke   col  1x1  debug,run1year
restart  col  1x1  debug
restart  col  1x1  diag1
restart  col  1x1  pondcesm
restart  col  1x1  pondlvl
restart  col  1x1  pondtopo

The argument to --suite defines the test suite (.ts) filename or filenames and that argument can contain a path. icepack.setup will look for the filename in the local directory, in configuration/scripts/tests/, or in the path defined by the --suite option.

Because many of the command line options are specified in the input file, ONLY the following options are valid for suites,

--suite suitename1,suitename2
required, input filename with comma delimited list of suite or suites
--mach MACHINE
required
--env ENVIRONMENT1,ENVIRONMENT2
strongly recommended
--acct ACCOUNT
optional
--testid ID
required
--bdir DIR
optional, top level baselines directory and defined by default by ICE_MACHINE_BASELINE in env.[machine]_[environment].
--bgen DIR
recommended, test output is copied to this directory under [bdir]
--bcmp DIR
recommended, test output are compared to prior results in this directory under [bdir]
--report
This is only used by --suite and when set, invokes a script that sends the test results to the results page when all tests are complete. Please see Test Reporting for more information.

Please see Command Line Options and Individual Tests for more details about how these options are used.

3.3.2.1. Test Suite Examples

  1. Basic test suite

    Specify suite, mach, env, testid.

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

  2. Multiple test suites on multiple environments

    Specify multiple envs.

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite,quick_suite --mach conrad --env cray,pgi,intel,gnu --testid v01a
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    The interface supports both multiple suites and multiple environments from a single command line invokation. Each env or suite can also be run as a separate invokation of icepack.setup but if that approach is taken, it is recommended that different testids be used.

  3. Basic test suite, store baselines in user defined name

    Add --bgen

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a --bgen icepack.v01a
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    This will store the results in the default [bdir] directory under the subdirectory icepack.v01a.

  4. Basic test suite, store baselines in user defined top level directory

    Add --bgen and --bdir

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a --bgen icepack.v01a --bdir /tmp/user/ICEPACK_BASELINES
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    This will store the results in /tmp/user/ICEPACK_BASELINES/icepack.v01a.

  5. Basic test suite, store baselines in auto-generated directory

    Add --bgen default

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a --bgen default
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    This will store the results in the default [bdir] directory under a directory name generated by the script that includes the hash and date.

  6. Basic test suite, compare to prior baselines

    Add --bcmp

    ./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v02a --bcmp icepack.v01a
cd base_suite.v02a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    This will compare to results saved in the baseline [bdir] directory under the subdirectory icepack.v01a. You can use other regression options as well (--bdir and --bgen)

  7. Basic test suite, use of default string in regression testing

    default is a special argument to --bgen and --bcmp. When used, the scripts will automate generation of the directories. In the case of --bgen, a unique directory name consisting of the hash and a date will be created. In the case of --bcmp, the latest directory in [bdir] will automatically be specified. This provides a number of useful features

    • the --bgen directory will be named after the hash automatically
    • the --bcmp will always find the most recent set of baselines
    • the --bcmp reporting will include information about the comparison directory name which will include hash information
    • automation can be invoked easily, especially if --bdir is used to separate results

    Imagine the case where the default settings are used and --bdir is used to create a unique location. You could easily carry out regular builds automatically via,

    set mydate = `date -u "+%Y%m%d"`
git clone https://github.com/myfork/icepack icepack.$mydate
cd icepack.$mydate
./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray,gnu,intel,pgi --testid $mydate --bcmp default --bgen default --bdir /tmp/work/user/ICEPACK_BASELINES_MASTER

    When this is invoked, a new set of baselines will be generated and compared to the prior results each time without having to change the arguments.

  8. Create and test a custom suite

    Create your own input text file consisting of 5 columns of data,
    • Test
    • Grid
    • pes
    • sets (optional)
    • diff test (optional)

    such as

    > cat mysuite
smoke    col  1x1  diag1,debug
restart  col  1x1
restart  col  1x1  diag1,debug    restart_col_1x1
restart  col  1x1  mynewoption,diag1,debug

    then use that input file, mysuite

    ./icepack.setup --suite mysuite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a --bgen default
cd mysuite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh

    You can use all the standard regression testing options (--bgen, --bcmp, --bdir). Make sure any “diff” testing that goes on is on tests that are created earlier in the test list, as early as possible. Unfortunately, there is still no absolute guarantee the tests will be completed in the correct sequence.

3.3.3. Test Reporting

The Icepack testing scripts have the capability to post test results to the official wiki page. You may need write permission on the wiki. If you are interested in using the wiki, please contact the consortium.

To post results, once a test suite is complete, run results.csh and report_results.csh from the suite directory,

./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a
cd base_suite.v01a
#wait for runs to complete
./results.csh
./report_results.csh

The reporting can also be automated by adding --report

./icepack.setup --suite base_suite --mach conrad --env cray --testid v01a --report

With --report, the suite will create all the tests, build and submit them, wait for all runs to be complete, and run the results and report_results scripts.

3.3.4. Test Plotting

The Icepack scripts include a script (timeseries.csh) that will generate a timeseries figure from the diagnostic output file. When running a test suite, the timeseries.csh script is automatically copied to the suite directory. If the timeseries.csh script is to be used on a test / case that is not a part of a test suite, users will need to run the timeseries.csh script from the tests directory (./configuration/scripts/tests/timeseries.csh), or copy it to a local directory and run it locally (cp configuration/scripts/tests/timeseries.csh . followed by ./timeseries.csh /path/to/ice_diag.full_ITD. The plotting script can be run on any of the output files - icefree, slab, full_ITD, land). To generate the figure, run the timeseries.csh script and pass the full path to the ice_diag file as an argument.

For example:

Run the test suite.

$ ./icepack.setup -m conrad -e intel --suite base_suite -acct <account_number> --testid t00

Wait for suite to finish then go to the directory.

$ cd base_suite.t00

Run the timeseries script on the desired case.

$ ./timeseries.csh /p/work1/turner/ICEPACK_RUNS/conrad_intel_smoke_col_1x1_diag1_run1year.t00/ice_diag.full_ITD

The output figures are placed in the directory where the ice_diag file is located.

This plotting script can be used to plot the following variables:

  • area fraction
  • average ice thickness (m)
  • average snow depth (m)
  • air temperature (C)
  • shortwave radiation (\(W/m^2\))
  • longwave radiation (\(W/m^2\))
  • snowfall
  • average salinity (ppt)
  • surface temperature (C)
  • outward longwave flux (\(W/m^2\))
  • sensible heat flux (\(W/m^2\))
  • latent heat flux (\(W/m^2\))
  • top melt (m)
  • bottom melt (m)
  • lateral melt (m)
  • new ice (m)
  • congelation (m)
  • snow-ice (m)
  • initial energy change (\(W/m^2\))