Oracle VM Manager uses a job operations framework that supports a flexible approach to the configuration of physical and virtual objects. Oracle VM Manager maintains an accurate and consistent view of the virtualization environment while users perform separate and simultaneous jobs. Each configuration change (a transaction performed by a single user) is considered a job.
The following sections describe jobs, and how resources are locked and released at the start and conclusion of each job, and how to manage jobs.
A job is a configuration change that affects one or more physical or virtual objects. Examples of user operations that can be included in a job are:
Adding or deleting a server pool
Adding a VNIC to a virtual machine
A single job can contain one or many individual operations. When a job is in progress, a yellow lock appears to the left of the resources included in the job.
A single job can contain one or many individual operations. When a job is in progress, a yellow lock appears to the left of the resources included in the job.
Objects involved in a job are locked to all other Oracle VM Manager users until the job is completed or aborted. Only a user with the same permission level on the object can unlock it. This assures that a consistent and accurate view is maintained for all users.
The state of locked objects cannot be known until the locks are cleared. The state of Oracle VM Manager is always accurately reflected by the state of objects that are not locked.
A number of different users may perform jobs simultaneously, provided they are performed on different objects. For example, suppose User A has created a Finance-One server pool and begins a job by moving Oracle VM Servers into another server pool. At the same time, User B modifies the resources of the Commodities server pool. Each user has a separate job pane for jobs, and would see each other's objects as locked. The objects remain locked until the jobs are completed.
Prior to completing a job, a lock can be cleared in two ways:
By logging out the user who initiated the lock. This action can be performed by the user, or by an Oracle VM Manager administrator.
By direct action of an Oracle VM Manager administrator.
As a job completes, its progress is shown in the Jobs tab. All locks are cleared when a job completes.
Job operations are validated by Oracle VM Manager as they are added to the Job tab. The failure of any operation causes the following to happen:
The job is cancelled.
All operations specified by the job are cancelled.
The state of Oracle VM Manager is rolled back to the state it was prior to the start of the job.
All locks in the operation are released.
When a job operation fails, one or more events may be generated and displayed in Oracle VM Manager. Events are flagged with yellow or red icons in the navigation tree. To clear the errors you need to acknowledge the event. To acknowledge events, see Section B.1.11, “Acknowledging Events/Errors”.
To get information on failed events, click Failed in the Jobs tab or in the Job Summary pane.
A job listed in the Job tab can have any of the states defined in Table B.1, “Job states”.
Table B.1 Job states
Job State | Definition |
---|---|
Completed | The job has completed. |
In Progress | The job is in progress. |
Aborted | The job has been aborted. Oracle VM Manager has rolled-back to its previous state and all locks have been released. |
Failed | The job has failed. Oracle VM Manager has rolled-back to its previous state and all locks have been released. |
Oracle VM Manager periodically performs recurring jobs, such as repositories and file systems refresh, and Yum updates for Oracle VM Servers. Select the Jobs tab and then select the Recurring sub-tab to view and edit the settings for these jobs.
Recurring jobs are listed in Table B.2, “Recurring Jobs”.
Table B.2 Recurring Jobs
Recurring Job | Definition |
---|---|
Refresh Repositories' File System Task | Oracle VM Manager performs refresh operations for all file systems containing repositories owned by Oracle VM Manager to help keep in synch with file system changes. The Refresh Repositories' File System Task minimizes the amount of time that the file system is locked. If the file system size or free size changes, the change is reflected in the repository and the file system size is displayed in the Oracle VM Manager user interface. The default setting for this job is disabled with an interval of one hour. |
Yum Update Checker Task | The Yum Update Checker Task periodically checks that all owned Oracle VM Servers known to Oracle VM Manager have the latest versions available in the Yum repository. The default setting for this job is enabled with an interval of six hours. |
To edit a recurring job
Select the Jobs tab and then select the Recurring sub-tab.
Select a job in the Recurring Jobs table.
Click Edit... in the toolbar.
The Edit Recurring Job:
job_name
dialog box is
displayed. Edit the recurring job as required and click
OK.
A job begins when you make any change in Oracle VM Manager. Each change you make appears in the Job Summary pane as a discrete operation. Job operations can be comparatively minor actions, such as renaming a virtual machine. Operations may also have a wider scope, such as the creation of a new network or storage device. Performing any of these actions changes the configuration of Oracle VM Manager. When a new job is started, information about the job is displayed in the Job Summary pane at the bottom of the management pane to show the job's progress.
If a job is running or fails to complete, you can abort the job to cancel it. For example, a virtual machine or Oracle VM Server may be in an unresponsive state and fail to respond to a start or stop request. The appropriate action is to abort the job. Administrators can abort the jobs of all users.
If you abort a job, all queued operations roll back to the pre-job state. Some job operations, such as renaming an object, complete quickly. Others, such as adjusting the memory used by a virtual machine, take longer.
There are two ways to abort a job:
Using the Jobs tab
Using the Job Summary pane.
Both procedures for aborting jobs are listed below.
To abort jobs using the Jobs tab:
Select the Jobs tab.
Select one or more jobs in the Jobs table.
Click Abort Job in the toolbar.
In the Abort Job Confirmation dialog box, click OK to abort the jobs.
To abort jobs using the Job Summary pane:
Select a jobs in the Job Summary pane.
Click Abort in the Abort column.
In the Abort Job Confirmation dialog box, click OK to abort the job.
If a job succeeds, all operations associated with it performed in Oracle VM Manager. A Job Succeeded message appears in the Job Progress area.
If a job fails, the state of Oracle VM Manager returns to its pre-job state. Click Details to see high-level information on all operations in the job.
Jobs may hang or remain in progress every time a virtual machine is started or stopped. A virtual machine may be in an unresponsive state for a variety of reasons and consequently fail to respond to a start or stop request. The appropriate action in this case is to abort the job. For example, when starting a PVM virtual machine using PXE type boot with an invalid network URL, this causes the virtual machine status to be in progress indefinitely. To resolve this, abort the virtual machine start job. Edit the virtual machine and provide the correct URL.
If an object has an error event associated with it you must acknowledge the event to clear the error and return the object to normal operations. For example, this can occur if an Oracle VM Server or virtual machine appear as Stopped (Error) in the status. The object in error is flagged with a red icon in the navigation tree. Oracle VM Servers, virtual machines, repositories and storage objects can have error events associated with them. The following procedures show you how to clear errors and return the object to normal operations.
To acknowledge Oracle VM Server error events:
Click the Servers and VMs tab.
Select the Oracle VM Server in the navigation tree.
Select Events from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane.
Select the error event and click Acknowledge , or click Acknowledge All to clear all errors.
To acknowledge virtual machine error events:
Click the Servers and VMs tab.
Select the server pool, or Oracle VM Server on which the virtual machine resides in the navigation tree.
Select Virtual Machines from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane.
Select the virtual machine in the management pane table. Click Display Selected VM Events... .
The Events dialog box is displayed. Select the error event and click Acknowledge , or click Acknowledge All to clear all errors. Click Close.
To acknowledge storage repository error events:
Click the Repositories tab.
Select the repository in the navigation tree.
Select Events from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane.
Select the error event and click Acknowledge , or click Acknowledge All to clear all errors.
To acknowledge storage error events:
Click the Storage tab.
Select File Servers, SAN Servers, or a storage server in the navigation tree.
Select Events from the Perspective drop-down list in the management pane.
Select the error event and click Acknowledge , or click Acknowledge All to clear all errors.