Free estimate
Menu

Case studies

Developers inside a SCIF build releases with no network

Developers inside a SCIF needed to build and change releases with no network, and everything had to arrive on optical discs. We built them one offline kit and proved it with networking turned off before it left.

A customer's air-gapped engineering team. We built and delivered the offline build kit, as a subcontractor.

No networkneeded to build a release inside
Several discsone large project, reassembled inside the SCIF

Starting point: developers in a SCIF, nothing to download

The team’s developers work inside a SCIF, on an air-gapped network. They needed to build and change releases there, and to be as productive as a developer with a network connection. Everything they use has to arrive on optical discs, so whatever a build would normally download had to travel with the code.

  • Every build step had to work with no network: no package downloads and no access to remote repositories.
  • Everything had to arrive on DVD or Blu-ray discs.
  • The kit had to build the Windows and the Linux releases alike.

Approach: one kit that holds everything a build needs

  1. Packed everything a build needs into one kit. It holds every source repository, the dependency caches for Windows and Linux, a pre-built build image, and the Python packages, with scripts that unpack it and build a release. Written documentation travels with the kit, so the team can unpack and build without us.
  2. Proved the kit with networking off. Before the kit left, a machine with its networking turned off unpacked it and built a release from it.
  3. Split large projects across several discs. DVD or Blu-ray discs carry the kit into the SCIF, where the parts are reassembled and the kit unpacks as one.
  4. Kept a mirror of every repository current. A transportable mirror stays up to date, so each transfer starts from the latest copy of the code.
  5. Validated a third-party component. On the air-gapped system, its outputs matched the expected results exactly.
Your software is split across several DVD or Blu-ray discs; the discs are carried into the SCIF, where the software is reassembled, then built and run on the machines inside.your softwaresplitDVD or Blu-raydiscscarried ininside the SCIFreassembledbuilt and run hereYour software is split across several DVD or Blu-ray discs; the discs are carried into the SCIF, where the software is reassembled, then built and run on the machines inside.your softwaresplitDVD or Blu-raydiscscarried ininside the SCIFreassembledbuilt and run here
Fig. 1 Large projects are split across several discs and reassembled inside.

Results: releases are built inside the SCIF with no network

The kit lets developers inside the SCIF build releases from source with no network, and its transportable mirror keeps every repository current.

Engineering write-up: Delivering software to air-gapped systems and SCIFs on optical discs

Release engineering: Every Windows and Linux release from one build

Buy from us or team with us: Contracting

Send us the systems your software must run on.

Estimates are free. Send the scope through the contact form; we reply within one business day and send a written quote within five business days.

Get a free estimate