Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of Meetings/Workshops/20110316

Timestamp:

Mar 16, 2011, 6:50:41 PM (15 years ago)

Author:

/O=GRID-FR/C=FR/O=CNRS/OU=LAL/CN=Michel Jouvin

Comment:

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Meetings/Workshops/20110316

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+= Quattor Workshop - CERN - 16-18/3/2011 =
+[[TracNav]]
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+[[TOC(inline)]]
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+
+[http://indico.cern.ch/conferenceTimeTable.py?confId=118603#all.detailed Agenda].
+
+== Quattor Status Report - M. Jouvin ==
+
+See [http://indico.cern.ch/getFile.py/access?contribId=16&sessionId=13&resId=0&materialId=slides&confId=118603 Slides].
+
+== Core Tools ==
+
+=== Quattor Configuration Modules - L. Munoz Meijias ===
+
+Recent addition
+ * `ncm-ofed` (from Stijn): Infiniband configuration, very preliminary
+ 
+Obsolete/suspect modules
+ * `ncm-http`: used only at CERN
+ * `ncm-tomcat`: used only at CERN
+ * `ncm-tomcat2`: who uses it?
+ * `ncm-rproxy`: replaced by `ncm-squid`?
+ * `ncm-smartd` and `ncm-smartd5`: same schema, what is the difference?
+ 
+Component quality: testing is tedious, old bugs are often back...
+ * CAF is a critical tool to help with component reliability
+   * Can run commands, update/write files with traceability and a real test suite
+ * LC status: still maintained, private copy in Quattor
+   * LC::File should not be used directly, CAF::FileWriter and CAF::FileEditor instead
+   * LC::Process no longer expands to a subshell: new version will allow to split command on whitespaces
+   
+`ncm-accounts`: rewritten twice in last 2 years, hope v6 will fix all problems definitely
+ * Very fast with large number of accounts
+ * It correctly handles creation of user's home directories
+ 
+`ncm-networks`: lot of complains, ugly code, need rewriting, must review what the component should really do
+ * Define IP config for network cards
+ * Define bridge devices: required for virtualization support
+ * Tuning of device parameters
+ * Configuration of channel bonding: kernel module manipulations should be done with ncm-modprobes
+ * Must work on diskless servers: no more restart of the network just for testing
+ * TCP-parameters should be controlled by ncm-sysctl
+ * IPv6 support: schema extension needed
+ * Loic may try to look at it
+ 
+`ncm-sudo`: CERN needs to be able to manage sudoers.ldap
+
+`ncm-useraccess`: proposal to remove PAM-based ACL support
+ * Mistake to have put it here, use `ncm-pam` instead
+ 
+`ncm-authconfig` rewritten with LDAP support
+
+`ncm-modprobe`: support for SL4 to SL6
+ * SL3 support removed
+ 
+`ncm-spma` v2: new incompatible schema, 2-phase upgrade needed
+
+`ncm-chkconfig`: problem with removal of ability to specify both `on` and `off`
+ * Need ability to say "set service on to runlevel ",4,5 but off at other levels"
+
+CCM: no changes since Feb. 2009, MS patches still not there?
+ * Still no support for local profiles required for easier testing
+
+`ncm-ncd`: version 1.3 by MS allows subclassing
+ * Some components won't work with 1.2 in the future
+ * Should try to enable `-t` in Perl to get warnings about dangerous components
+ * `cdp-listend` and `ncm-cdispd` should drop privileges when not needed
+ 
+RHEL6 support: another platform to maintain... introduces Perl 5.12
+ * Major language changes but backward compatible
+ * Use stricter modes in Perl 5.12 to identify improvements needed to existing components
+ * Don't jump to quickly into new, incompatible features
+ * Core libraries (CAF, LC) are not affected by the changes
+ 
+Some actions needed
+ * Identify obsolete components and move them to another location (delete them?)
+ * Identify and fix components using backquotes to spawn commands instead of CAF::Process
+ * Do a Quattor component release? or official/recommended list of components?
+   * Can the new build tools help with this?
+   * What process?
+ 
+Luis will no longer be able to (significantly) contribute as he's leaving CERN...
+
+
+=== Aquilon and other MS Developements Status - N. Williams ===
+
+Main developments: integration with ESX through QRD
+
+Profile signatue: decided it was not the way to go, just encrypting profiles over the wire through Krb host keytab
+
+ncm-network: MS would like to be involved in rewrite, ready to contribute
+
+ncm-modprobes: difficulties with last version because of removal of shell expansion
+
+RHEL6: found various issues, some of them not identified at CERN (in particular AII-related ones)
+ * Goal: support ready in a few months, fixing problems as they are discovered
+
+Aquilon: will add support for "clusters" in a way similar to SCDB to help with use of QWG templates.
+
+Will start looking at support Solaris 11 in the future.
+ * Probably not before autumn
+
+May also look at feeding their internal Windows management system from Quattor.
+
+
+== QWG Templates ==
+
+=== QWG Templates Update - M. Jouvin ===
+
+See slides.
+ 
+=== Nagios Templates - R. Starink ===
+
+Almost done
+ * monitoring/nagios/config: server configuration
+   * RPM includes
+   * Apache configuration
+   
+Difference between generic and local configuration: most work done locally, still need to be merged
+
+Pnp4Nagios: service tpl needs site modifications
+
+Hierarchy of Nagios servers: optional
+
+Grid monitoring: based on EGEE/EGI work
+ * Uses YAIM, not easy to integrate into existing QWG templates. More discussion required.
+   * Replace ncm-yaim by ncm-filecopy?
+ * Not generic
+ 
+Summary
+ * No visible progress yet but some progress behind the scenes
+ * Merge into SVN requires time and dedication: would like to test results
+ * Grid monitoring to be done after completion of base work
+ 
+
+=== LEMON - I. Fedorko ===
+
+Exception sensor: runs on the monitored node to report abnormal conditions (based on local conditions and metrics collected by other sensors on the node) and optionally run a corrective action.
+
+LEMON usage: CERN (several instances at CC and in online farms), CNAF, MS
+
+Backends
+ * Supported: Oracle and flat-files
+   * No alarming possible with flat-files: rely on PL/SQL (available for most DBs)
+ * Postgres/MySQL support should be possible to add as internally LEMON is DB vendor independent
+ 
+LEMON usage at CERN: 11K entities (8K machines), 5+ Knodes with 150-200 metrics
+ * Performance monitoring
+ * Application monitoring
+ * Infrastructure metrics: temperature, power...
+ * 5 core sensors covering 60% of measurements
+ * 1 LEMON server (+1 for historical data) 
+
+Quattor management of LEMON
+ * LEMON agent configured with ncm-fmonagent
+ * LEMON client configuration files signed with SINDES
+ 
+Current activities
+ * Federation of instances (worked with MS)
+ * Virtual machines monitoring: Quattor used to generate images (golden nodes) leading to several VM instances sharing the same SINDES certificate
+   * Also customized sensors for hypervisors
+ * New LEMON web for better scalability and improved flexibility (more dynamic operations)
+
+Future
+ * Consolidation of monitoring activities at CERNIT, including experiment support
+ * New DB schema for increased scalability
+ * DB data export for data mining
+ * Exception classification for alarming
+ * Remote instances (monitoring of remote T0)
+   * Probably integrating with Nagios for collection
+ * Interfacing to Nagios: interested by ideas/experiences
+ * Interfacing with Windows monitoring
+ 
+LEMON development team at CERN: 1 to 1.5 FTE
+ * Enough for maintenance for CERN usage
+ * Not enough to do major reengineering: a problem as the use cases have changed
+   * Consolidating monitoring activities (and manpower) is one direction
+   * Interacting with other tools is the other direction
+   
+   
+== CMS Experience with Quattor - J. A. Coarasa Perez ==
+
+CMS online computing infrastructure requirements
+ * Complete autonomy from CERN IT and network
+   * Myrinet core network
+ * Redundant services (2 different computing rooms distant of 200m), managed remotely from a central control room
+ * Fast configuration turnaround
+ * Ability to read from electronics at 100 kHz (100 GB/s)
+ * Computing power to do data selection (2 GB/s output): ~2500 cores
+ * Enough disk storage for 2 days:  ~300 TB
+ * Spare computers for quick replacement in case of failure (~200)
+ 
+Limited manpower: ~5 FTEs
+
+Quattor is the core configuration management tool
+ * Computers installed through Quattor but not using AII
+ * Based on a (very) old Quattor version: 1.3
+   * panc 6
+   * RPM repositories hosted on NetApp filers with 6 SWrep servers
+ * Performance: 10mn for compiling the whole 2500 machines
+   * Time to deploy changes:  ~10 mn (cdp notification used)
+   * Reinstallation of 1K machines in 1h 1/4
+   * Problem when SWrep servers were overloaded: spma timeout, no retry
+
+Well defined template structure/layout (CMS specific)
+   
+Some CMS-specific developments
+ * Dropbox for RPMs to allow people without Quattor expertize to update their SW in a traceable/reproducible way
+ * Buggy components requiring workarounds (in particular for configuration removal)
+ * Copy of configuration files to individual computers: copyd
+ * Network configuration derived from DNS
+ * RPMs used to create users
+ * Web frontend to CDB configuration: template summarizer (parsing part of the profiles according to CMS way of configuring systems)
+ * Software Update Tools: allow to update existing RPM in a group of computers (dropbox)
+   * Upgrade or downgrade
+   * Allows to rollback changes
+   * Allow to check the status of the update
+   * Perform checks on the RPM: already exists, not named properly...
+   * Cannot be used to add a new RPM to the configuration: need to request addition of a new RPM
+   * Only one person can run it at any time
+ * Ability to run commands on a set of computers selected based on the use of a given template (like a type)
+ 
+Conclusions
+ * Quattor has been and is scalable to CMS needs
+ * Not always as flexible as we'd like...
+ 
+