Astronomical Data Archive System Test Based on Docker Technology

With the fast development of docker container technology and more and more being used for the astronomical software applications, it is important for software developers and testers in this area to understand and make the best use of the core virtualization technology. The goal of this paper is to introduce how to apply docker container technology through testing of astronomical data archive system that achieves long-term storage of scientific data and query of data products, supports all levels of data products, engineering data, calibration data, and management of auxiliary data. The test covers function of scientific data product storage, retrieval, extraction, maintenance, analysis and control. It also points out that traditional astronomical software environment is complex and relies on more third-party libraries, which costs much time to locate software defects and reproduce the testing environment. This paper describes the advantages and importance of docker container technology in the application of astronomical data archive system test, including test environment standardization, test data isolation, test function scalability and test efficiency. This paper also provides useful references for docker container technology in other astronomy software test and applications.