test/format is currently executed with PALite, which has several limitations that impact testing throughput. To improve performance, realism, and parallelism, we should majorly transition test/format runs to use PALI.

This work involves updating the underlying configuration to mostly replace PALite with PALI (perhaps limiting to ~1 palite task), validating that the new setup works consistently.

Palite limitations:

• Cannot run multiple jobs in parallel (jobs stall).
• Throughput is significantly lower compared to classic (around 5–10%).
• Limited to a small number of tables in test/format.
• Makes long-running and high-throughput testing difficult.

PALI resolves these constraints and provides a more realistic testing environment.

Outcome:

test/format runs successfully with PALI.