@Before
  public void init() {
    // create a configuration
    conf = HadoopUtils.createConfiguration();

    // set this to a relatively high value - it will be bumped back down in
    // testMoreWorkersThanMapSlots
    conf.setInt("mapred.tasktracker.map.tasks.maximum", 100);

    // create a metadata
    metadata = new MrsImagePyramidMetadata();
    metadata.setTilesize(tileSize);
    metadata.setTileType(DataBuffer.TYPE_FLOAT);
  }