Prev | Chapter 6. Production Environments | Next

## Starting and Stopping an OpenACS instance.

The simplest way to start and stop and OpenACS site is to run the startup shell script provided, `/var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/etc/daemontools/run`. This runs as a regular task, and logs to the logfile. To stop the site, kill the script.

A more stable way to run OpenACS is with a "keepalive" mechanism of some sort, so that whenever the server halts or is stopped for a reset, it restarts automatically. This is recommended for development and production servers.

The Reference Platform uses Daemontools to control AOLserver. A simpler method, using `init`, is here.

1. Daemontools must already be installed. If not, install it.

2. Each service controlled by daemontools must have a directory in `/service`. That directory must have a file called `run`. It works like this:

   - The `init` program starts every time the computer is booted.

   - A line in `init`'s configuration file, `/etc/inittab`, tells init to run, and to restart if necessary, `svscanboot`.

   - `svscanboot` checks the directory `/service` every few seconds.

   - If it sees a subdirectory there, it looks for a file in the subdirectory called `run`. If it finds a run file, it creates a `supervise` process

   - `supervise` executes the run script. Whenever the run script stops, `supervise` executes it again. It also creates additional control files in the same directory.

   Hence, the AOLserver instance for your development server is started by the file `/service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/run`. But we use a symlink to make it easier to add and remove stuff from the `/service`, so the actual location is `/var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAMEetc/daemontools/run`.

   Daemontools creates additional files and directories to track status and log. A daemontools directory is included in the OpenACS tarball at `/var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/etc/daemontools`. To use it, first ill any existing AOLserver instances. As root, link the `daemontools` directory into the `/service` directory. Daemontools' `svscan` process checks this directory every five seconds, and will quickly execute `run`.

       [$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME etc]$ killall nsd
       nsd: no process killed
       [$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME etc]$ emacs /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/etc/daemontools/run
       [$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME etc]$ exit

       [root root]# ln -s /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/etc/daemontools/ /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME

   Verify that AOLserver is running.

       [root root]# ps -auxw | grep nsd
       $OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME   5562 14.2  6.2 22436 15952 ?       S    11:55   0:04 /usr/local/aolserver/bin/nsd -it /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/etc/config.tcl -u serve
       root      5582  0.0  0.2  3276  628 pts/0    S    11:55   0:00 grep nsd
       [root root]#

3. The user $OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME can now control the service $OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME with these commands:

   - `svc -d /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME` - Bring the server down

   - `svc -u /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME` - Start the server up and leave it in keepalive mode.

   - `svc -o /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME` - Start the server up once. Do not restart it if it stops.

   - `svc -t /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME` - Stop and immediately restart the server.

   - `svc -k /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME` - Sends the server a KILL signal. This is like KILL -9. AOLserver exits immediately. If svc -t fails to fully kill AOLserver, use this option. This does not take the server out of keepalive mode, so it should still bounce back up immediately.

4. Install a script to automate the stopping and starting of AOLserver services via daemontools. You can then restart a service via `restart-aolserver $OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME`

       [root root]# cp /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/packages/acs-core-docs/www/files/restart-aolserver-daemontools.txt /usr/local/bin/restart-aolserver
       [root root]# chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/restart-aolserver
       [root root]#

5. At this point, these commands will work only for the `root` user. Grant permission for the `web` group to use `svc` commands on the $OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME server.

       [root root]# /usr/local/bin/svgroup web /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME
       [root root]#

6. Verify that the controls work. You may want to `tail -f /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/log/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME-error.log` in another window, so you can see what happens when you type these commands.

   Most of this information comes from Tom Jackson's AOLserver+Daemontools Mini-HOWTO.

Table 6.1. How it Works

Program | Invoked by this program ... | ... using this file | Where to find errors | Log goes to | Use these commands to control it
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
svscanboot | init | /etc/inittab | ps -auxw | grep readproctitle | n/a |
aolserver | ``supervise (a child of svscanboot) | /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/run | /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/log/error.log | /var/lib/aolserver/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME/log/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME.log | svc -k /service/$OPENACS_SERVICE_NAME
postgresql | Redhat init scripts during boot | /etc/init.d/postgresql | /usr/local/pgsql/data/server.log |  | service postgresql start (Red Hat), /etc/init.d/postgresql start (Debian)

Prev | Home | Next
Chapter 6. Production Environments | Up | AOLserver keepalive with inittab

View comments on this page at openacs.org