Horde Devices

The Horde device manager administers mobile and console development kit resources. The service is used extensively at Epic Games and is quite mature. It features:

• Configurable device platforms and pools
• Shared remote device resources with user checkouts
• Automation device reservations with issue reporting and recovery
• Dashboard support for managing hardware
• Device usage history, telemetry, and pool health reporting
• Integration with the Gauntlet automation framework

Shared Pools

Horde users use shared pools to check out remote device resources for development and testing. Users check out devices through the dashboard, with devices being returned to the pool either by an explicit check-in or when a configurable duration has been exceeded.

There is a notification sink that notifies users 24 hours before the check-in will expire so they can renew if desired. There is a subsequent notification once the checkout has expired and the device is returned to the pool.

It is also possible to set up automation jobs targeting the checked-out devices to install builds, for example.

Automation Pools

The device manager supports automation job device reservations, which can be constrained by pool, platform, and model.

We recommend that you use the Gauntlet integration with the reservation system. However, you can also drive custom solutions using the same REST API.

Platform and Pool Configuration

Device platform hardware is partitioned into pools for use by automated tests and users. Device platforms and pools are configured using the Devices section of the globals.json file (see DeviceConfig).

Configuration Example

The following config fragment declares a device manager configuration that:

• Adds an Android device platform specifying several models

• Adds two device pools, an Automation pool which automated tests can use, and a Shared pool from which users can check out remote device hardware

        "devices": {
            "platforms": [
                {
                    "id": "android",
                    "name": "Android",
                    "models": [
                        "Pixel4",
                        "Pixel5",
                        "Pixel8"
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "pools": [
                {
                    "id": "ue5",
                    "name": "UE5",
                    "poolType": "Automation"
                },
                {
                    "id": "remote-ue5",
                    "name": "Remote UE5",
                    "poolType": "Shared"
                }
            ]
        }
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  "devices": { "platforms": [ { "id": "android", "name": "Android", "models": [ "Pixel4", "Pixel5", "Pixel8" ] } ], "pools": [ { "id": "ue5", "name": "UE5", "poolType": "Automation" }, { "id": "remote-ue5", "name": "Remote UE5", "poolType": "Shared" } ] }

Device Configuration

Shared and automation devices are added and managed through the Horde Dashboard by navigating to SERVER > Resources > Devices.

This includes support for:

• Adding and editing devices
• Putting devices into maintenance mode
• Adding inline notes about a device
• Moving devices between pools
• Viewing pool health and usage telemetry
• Viewing job history and the last user to modify the device

Gauntlet Integration

Gauntlet tests can reserve hardware from the Horde device manager. This integration includes features such as reporting problems with devices and recovery with new devices. It also supports reservation blocks, which can be used to reuse a device with an installed build across a series of automation tests.

Gauntlet Integration Example

The following BuildGraph fragment declares:

• HordeDeviceManager and HordeDevicePool properties that specify your Horde server and which pool to use.

• Adds a BootTest Android node, which will reserve an Android Pixel 8 for the test

        <Property Name="HordeDeviceManager" Value="https://horde.yourdomain.com" />
        <Property Name="HordeDevicePool" Value="UE5" />
  			
        <Node Name="BootTest Android">
            <Command Name="RunUnreal" Arguments="-test=UE.BootTest -platform=Android " -deviceurl="$(HordeDeviceManager)" -devicepool="$(HordeDevicePool)" -PerfModel=Pixel8/>
        </Node>
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  <Property Name="HordeDeviceManager" Value="https://horde.yourdomain.com" /> <Property Name="HordeDevicePool" Value="UE5" /> <Node Name="BootTest Android"> <Command Name="RunUnreal" Arguments="-test=UE.BootTest -platform=Android " -deviceurl="$(HordeDeviceManager)" -devicepool="$(HordeDevicePool)" -PerfModel=Pixel8/> </Node>