diff --git a/.docker/base.Dockerfile b/.docker/base.Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..13af12510
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.docker/base.Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+# Use Ubuntu Jammy (latest LTS) as the base image
+FROM ubuntu:jammy
+
+# Install necessary tools, MPICH, UUID library and developer files
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+    build-essential \
+    git \
+    mpich \
+    libmpich-dev \
+    uuid \
+    uuid-dev \
+    autoconf \
+    libtool \
+    cmake \
+    cmake-curses-gui \
+    wget \
+    axel \
+    curl \
+    vim \
+    nano \
+    gdb \
+    cgdb \
+    curl \
+    valgrind
+
+# Set WORK_SPACE environment variable and create necessary directories
+ENV WORK_SPACE=/home/codespace
+RUN mkdir -p $WORK_SPACE
+
+# Clone the repositories
+WORKDIR $WORK_SPACE/source
+RUN git clone https://github.com/ofiwg/libfabric.git && \
+    git clone https://github.com/mercury-hpc/mercury.git --recursive
+
+COPY ./ ${WORK_SPACE}/source/pdc
+
+ENV LIBFABRIC_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/libfabric
+ENV MERCURY_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/mercury
+ENV PDC_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/pdc
+ENV LIBFABRIC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/libfabric
+ENV MERCURY_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/mercury
+ENV PDC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/pdc
+
+RUN mkdir -p $LIBFABRIC_SRC_DIR \
+    mkdir -p $MERCURY_SRC_DIR \
+    mkdir -p $PDC_SRC_DIR \
+    mkdir -p $LIBFABRIC_DIR \
+    mkdir -p $MERCURY_DIR \
+    mkdir -p $PDC_DIR
+
+
+# Save the environment variables to a file
+RUN echo "export LIBFABRIC_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/libfabric" > $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo "export MERCURY_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/mercury" >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo "export PDC_SRC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/source/pdc" >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo "export LIBFABRIC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/libfabric" >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo "export MERCURY_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/mercury" >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo "export PDC_DIR=$WORK_SPACE/install/pdc" >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh
+
+
+# Build and install libfabric
+WORKDIR $LIBFABRIC_SRC_DIR
+RUN git checkout v1.18.0 && \
+    ./autogen.sh && \
+    ./configure --prefix=$LIBFABRIC_DIR CC=mpicc CFLAG="-O2" && \
+    make clean && \
+    make -j && make install && \
+    make check
+
+ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$LIBFABRIC_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
+ENV PATH="$LIBFABRIC_DIR/include:$LIBFABRIC_DIR/lib:$PATH"
+RUN echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LIBFABRIC_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh  && \
+    echo 'export PATH=$LIBFABRIC_DIR/include:$LIBFABRIC_DIR/lib:$PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh
+
+
+# Build and install Mercury
+WORKDIR $MERCURY_SRC_DIR
+ENV MERCURY_CMAKE_FLAGS="-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$MERCURY_DIR -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=mpicc -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON -DBUILD_TESTING=ON -DNA_USE_OFI=ON -DNA_USE_SM=OFF -DNA_OFI_TESTING_PROTOCOL=tcp "
+RUN git checkout v2.2.0 \
+    mkdir -p build 
+WORKDIR ${MERCURY_SRC_DIR}/build
+RUN cmake $MERCURY_CMAKE_FLAGS ../ && \
+    make -j && make install && \
+    ctest
+
+# Set the environment variables
+ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$MERCURY_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
+ENV PATH="$MERCURY_DIR/include:$MERCURY_DIR/lib:$PATH"
+RUN echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$MERCURY_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh \
+    echo 'export PATH=$MERCURY_DIR/include:$MERCURY_DIR/lib:$PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.docker/local.Dockerfile b/.docker/local.Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5a0e0302
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.docker/local.Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Note: Run `docker build -f .docker/Dockerfile -t pdc:latest .` from the root directory of the repository to build the docker image.
+
+# Use Ubuntu Jammy (latest LTS) as the base image
+FROM zhangwei217245/pdc_dev_base:latest
+
+# Build and install PDC
+ENV PDC_CMAKE_FLAGS="-DBUILD_MPI_TESTING=ON -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON -DBUILD_TESTING=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$PDC_DIR -DPDC_ENABLE_MPI=ON -DMERCURY_DIR=$MERCURY_DIR -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=mpicc -DMPI_RUN_CMD=mpiexec "
+
+
+WORKDIR $PDC_SRC_DIR
+RUN rm -rf build && \
+    mkdir -p build
+
+# COPY ../  ${PDC_SRC_DIR}
+# RUN ls -l $PDC_SRC_DIR
+
+WORKDIR ${PDC_SRC_DIR}/build
+RUN cmake $PDC_CMAKE_FLAGS ../ 2>&1 > ./cmake_config.log || echo "ignoring cmake config error and proceed" && \
+    make -j && make install
+
+# Set the environment variables
+ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$PDC_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
+ENV PATH="$PDC_DIR/include:$PDC_DIR/lib:$PATH"
+RUN echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$PDC_DIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh && \
+    echo 'export PATH=$PDC_DIR/include:$PDC_DIR/lib:$PATH' >> $WORK_SPACE/pdc_env.sh
+
+
+# WORKDIR $PDC_SRC_DIR/build
+# RUN ctest
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.docker/local.Dockerfile.dockerignore b/.docker/local.Dockerfile.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c29c58f5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.docker/local.Dockerfile.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# Exclude files and directories from the Docker build context
+!/.git/
diff --git a/src/server/CMakeLists.txt b/src/server/CMakeLists.txt
index 5653602d9..c5c377bc8 100644
--- a/src/server/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/server/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,72 +1,4 @@
-find_package(MERCURY REQUIRED)
 
-if(PDC_ENABLE_FASTBIT)
-    add_definitions(-DENABLE_FASTBIT=1)
-    find_path(FASTBIT_INCLUDE_DIR fastbit/iapi.h)
-    find_library(FASTBIT_LIBRARY fastbit $ENV{HOME}/cori/fastbit-2.0.3/install)
-endif()
-
-if(PDC_ENABLE_ROCKSDB)
-    add_definitions(-DENABLE_ROCKSDB=1)
-    find_path(ROCKSDB_INCLUDE_DIR include/db.h)
-    find_library(ROCKSDB_LIBRARY rocksdb 8.1.1< REQUIRED)
-endif()
-
-if(PDC_ENABLE_SQLITE3)
-    add_definitions(-DENABLE_SQLITE3=1)
-    find_package(SQLite3 3.31.0 REQUIRED)
-endif()
-
-include_directories(
-  ${PDC_COMMON_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-  ${PDC_INCLUDES_BUILD_TIME}
-  ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}
-  ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}
-  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-  ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_analysis/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/dablooms
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_obj/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_region/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_query/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_transform/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_analysis/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/profiling/include
-  ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/utils/include
-  ${MERCURY_INCLUDE_DIR}
-  ${FASTBIT_INCLUDE_DIR}
-  ${ROCKSDB_INCLUDE_DIR}
-)
-
-add_definitions( -DIS_PDC_SERVER=1 )
-add_definitions( -DPDC_LUSTRE_TOTAL_OST=${PDC_LUSTRE_TOTAL_OST} )
-if(PDC_ENABLE_TIMING)
-    add_definitions(-DPDC_TIMING=1)
-endif()
-
-
-add_library(pdc_server_lib
-               pdc_server.c
-               pdc_server_metadata_index.c
-               pdc_server_metadata.c
-               pdc_client_server_common.c
-               dablooms/pdc_dablooms.c
-               dablooms/pdc_murmur.c
-               pdc_hash-table.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_analysis/pdc_server_analysis.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region/pdc_server_data.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region/pdc_server_region_cache.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region/pdc_server_region_transfer.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/server/pdc_server_region/pdc_server_region_transfer_metadata_query.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/utils/pdc_region_utils.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_analysis/pdc_analysis_common.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_transform/pdc_transforms_common.c
-               ${PDC_SOURCE_DIR}/src/api/pdc_analysis/pdc_hist_pkg.c
-)
 if(PDC_ENABLE_FASTBIT)
     message(STATUS "Enabled fastbit")
     target_link_libraries(pdc_server_lib ${MERCURY_LIBRARY} ${PDC_COMMONS_LIBRARIES} -lm -ldl ${PDC_EXT_LIB_DEPENDENCIES} ${FASTBIT_LIBRARY}/libfastbit.so)
@@ -80,27 +12,4 @@ elseif(PDC_ENABLE_SQLITE3)
     target_link_libraries(pdc_server_lib ${MERCURY_LIBRARY} ${PDC_COMMONS_LIBRARIES} -lm -ldl ${PDC_EXT_LIB_DEPENDENCIES} SQLite::SQLite3)
 else()
     target_link_libraries(pdc_server_lib ${MERCURY_LIBRARY} ${PDC_COMMONS_LIBRARIES} -lm -ldl ${PDC_EXT_LIB_DEPENDENCIES})
-endif()
-
-add_executable(pdc_server.exe
-               pdc_server_main.c
-)
-target_link_libraries(pdc_server.exe pdc_server_lib)
-
-
-add_executable(pdc_server_metadata_index_test
-               pdc_server_metadata_index_test.c
-)
-target_link_libraries(pdc_server_metadata_index_test pdc_server_lib)
-
-
-if(NOT ${PDC_INSTALL_BIN_DIR} MATCHES ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/bin)
-install(
-  TARGETS
-    pdc_server.exe
-    pdc_server_lib
-  LIBRARY DESTINATION ${PDC_INSTALL_LIB_DIR}
-  ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${PDC_INSTALL_LIB_DIR}
-  RUNTIME DESTINATION ${PDC_INSTALL_BIN_DIR}
-)
-endif()
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/server/pdc_server.c b/src/server/pdc_server.c
index 95e90b146..d73fd9b9f 100644
--- a/src/server/pdc_server.c
+++ b/src/server/pdc_server.c
@@ -2384,4 +2384,4 @@ server_run(int argc, char *argv[])
     MPI_Finalize();
 #endif
     return 0;
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/server/pdc_server_metadata.c b/src/server/pdc_server_metadata.c
index 1f5e58c3a..137516479 100644
--- a/src/server/pdc_server_metadata.c
+++ b/src/server/pdc_server_metadata.c
@@ -1845,7 +1845,7 @@ PDC_Server_query_kvtag_someta(pdc_kvtag_t *in, uint32_t *n_meta, uint64_t **obj_
                             *obj_ids = (void *)realloc(*obj_ids, alloc_size * sizeof(uint64_t));
                         }
                         (*obj_ids)[iter++] = elt->obj_id;
-                        break;
+                        // break; // FIXME: shall we break here? or continue to check other kvtags?
                     }
                 } // End for each kvtag in list
             }     // End for each metadata from hash table entry