Build lab

A build lab is a machine which produces official builds of Windows NT. Initially, there was a single machine per target architecture. However, as the number of developers grew, teams working on different components were assigned their own build labs. This carried over to Source Depot branch names, which led to the term being also used for the teams themselves and the branches.

Builds that were not built by a build lab are called private builds. They are identified by having the  file flag set in the executable's version information and by including the account name of the person who initiated the build in the branch part of the build tag.

Meanings
In builds up to pre-reset Longhorn, the following labs are seen:


 * Lab01: NT core (kernel, bootloader, low level functionality)
 * Lab02: Networking
 * Lab03: Server components (despite client builds being compiled by this lab)
 * Lab04: Management
 * Lab06: User experience (Windows shell)
 * Lab07: Internet Information Services/COM+