Sun HPC ClusterTools 3.0 Administrator's Guide: With CRE

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Appendix B Cluster Management Tools

This appendix describes a set of cluster administration tools that are installed with the Sun HPC ClusterTools 3.0 release.This toolset, called the Cluster Console Manager (CCM), allows you to issue commands to all nodes in a cluster simultaneously through a graphical user interface. The CCM offers three modes of operation:

cconsole - This interface provides access to each node's console port through terminal concentrator links. To use this tool, the cluster nodes must be connected to terminal concentrator ports and those node/port connections must be defined in the hpc_config file. See the Sun HPC ClusterTools 3.0 Installation Guide for details.

ctelnet - This interface initiates simultaneous telnet sessions over the network to all nodes in the cluster. Note that if passwords are required, every node must be able to accept the same password.

crlogin - This interface uses rlogin to log you in to every node in the cluster. Note that if you launch crlogin while logged in as superuser, all rlogin sessions will be done as superuser. Likewise, if crlogin is launched from an ordinary user prompt, all remote logins will be done as user.

Each of these modes creates a command entry window, called the Common Window, and a separate console window, called a Term Window, for each node. Each command typed in the Common Window is echoed in all Term Windows (but not in the Common Window). Every Term Window displays commands you issue as well as system messages logged by its node.

Note -

If the cluster nodes are not connected to a terminal concentrator (for example, the Sun HPC 10000 has no provision for a terminal concentrator), only ctelnet and crlogin can be used, not cconsole.

Launching Cluster Console Tools

All CCM tools are launched using the same command-line form:

% tool_name clsluster_name

where tool_name is cconsole, ctelnet, or crlogin, and cluster_name is a name given to the cluster at installation time. For example,

Launch ctelnet by entering:
% ctelnet hpc_cluster

Launch crlogin by entering:
% crlogin hpc_cluster

Launch cconsole by entering:
% cconsole hpc_cluster

If you want to use cconsole to monitor messages generated while rebooting the cluster nodes, you will need to launch it from a machine outside the cluster. If you launch if from a cluster node, it will be disabled when the node from which it is launched reboots.

Note -

Because cconsole accesses the console ports of every node in the cluster, no other accesses to any console in the cluster will be successful while the cconsole session is active.

Note that all three CCM commands take the standard X/Motif command-line arguments.

Common Window

The Common Window is the primary window used by the system administrator to send input to all the nodes. This window has a menu bar with three menus and a text field for command entry. The Common Window is always displayed when CCM is launched.

Menu Bar

The menu bar has three menus:

Hosts

Options

Help

Note that in this manual, the CCM term Hosts refers to Sun HPC Cluster nodes.

Hosts Menu

The Hosts menu displays a list of the nodes contained in the cluster, plus two other entries, Select Hosts and Exit. Table B-1 describes these menu choices.

Table B-1 CCM Menu Entries


Entry	Function
Host toggle buttons	Selects whether or not the host gets input from the Common Window text field. There is a separate toggle button for each node currently connected to the CCM. ON -- Enables input from the Common Window text field to the node. OFF -- Disables input from the CCM.
Select Hosts	Displays the Select Hosts dialog window. See "Select Hosts Dialog Box"" for details.
Exit	Quits the CCM program.

Select Hosts Dialog Box

The Select Hosts dialog enables you to add or delete nodes during the current CCM session. The scrolled text window in the Select Hosts dialog displays a list of the nodes that are currently connected to CCM.

There are three Select Hosts dialog buttons, which are described in Table B-2

Table B-2 Select Hosts Dialog Buttons


Entry	Function
Insert	Opens a Term Window and establishes a connection to the specified hosts(s). Adds the host(s) specified in the Hostname text field to the list of accessible hosts. The inserted host name(s) are displayed in the hosts list in the scrolled text window and in the Common Window.
Remove	Deletes the host selected in the Hosts list in the scrolled text window.
Dismiss	Closes the Select Hosts dialog.

To Add a Single Node

Enter the hostname in the Hostname text field.

Select Insert.

Entering a valid host name opens a Term Window for the specified host and establishes a connection to that host. The name of the selected host appears in the scrolled text window and in the hosts list on the Hosts menu in the Common Window.

To Add All Nodes in a Cluster

Enter the clustername in the Hostname text field.

Select Insert.

CCM automatically expands the cluster name into its constituent host names and then opens one Term Window for each node. A connection is established for each of the constituent host names. CCM automatically displays the names of the hosts in the cluster in the scrolled text window and in the hosts list on the Hosts menu in the Common Window.

To Remove a Node

Select the name of the host in the list in the scrolled text window.

Select Remove.

This closes the corresponding Term Window and disconnects the host. The name of the removed host disappears from the scrolled text window and from the hosts list on the Hosts menu in the Common Window.

Options Menu

The Options menu has one entry, Group Term Window; see Table B-3 for a description.

Table B-3 Group Term Window Entry


Entry	Function
Group Term Windows	This is a toggle button that groups and ungroups the Common Window and the Term Window. ON -- Group; the Term Windows follow the Common Window when the Common Window is moved. OFF -- Ungroup: the Term Windows and the Common Window move independently.

Help Menu

The Help Menu has three entries; see Table B-4 for a description

Table B-4 Help Menu


Entry	Function
Help	Displays a Help window--the interface to the Sun online help system.
About	Displays the About box, which contains information on the CCM application, such as version number.
Comments	Displays the Comments box, which allows you to enter comments about the software and send them to the development team.

Text Field

The text field is where you enter commands you want executed simultaneously on multiple nodes. The state of the host toggle buttons under the Hosts menu determines which nodes receive this input.

Term Windows

The Term Window is just like a normal terminal window. To type on only one host, move the cursor to the Term Window of the desired host and type directly into it.

CCM Term Windows are like other terminal programs, such as xterm, cmdtool, and shelltool, except that they can also receive input from the Common Window. The Term Windows use VT220 terminal emulation.

The environment variable TERM informs your editor of your terminal type. If you are having display problems from vi or any other tools, set the environment variable using the appropriate commands for your shell.

The Term Window contains additional functionality, which you can access by positioning the pointer over the Term Window and pressing the right mouse button. This displays the menu described in Table B-5

Table B-5 Term Window Menu Entries


Entry	Function
Disable/Enable Scroll bar	Toggles the scroll bar display on and off in the Term Window.
Exit This Window	Closes the current Term Window.

Using CCM

To issue commands to multiple nodes simultaneously:

Position the cursor in the text field of the Common Window and enter your command.

Every keystroke entered in this field is sent to all hosts that are currently selected for input.

To issue commands to a single node:

Position the cursor in the corresponding Term Window and enter your command.

Alternatively, you can turn off all hosts in the Hosts menu, except the one you want to access. Then issue your commands from the Common Window.

Administering Configuration Files

Two configuration files are used by CCM tool: clusters and serialports. These files are created automatically by cluster_tool_setup, which places them in /etc. (These files are not updated automatically; if you later change cluster characteristics, you must update these files manually.)

The `clusters` File

The clusters configuration file maps a cluster name to the list of host names that make up the cluster Each line in this database corresponds to a cluster. The format is:

clustername hostname-1 hostname-2 [...] hostname-n

For example:

cities
chartres izmir tampico inchon essen sydney

The clusters file is used to map cluster names to host names on the command line and in the Select Hosts dialog.

The serialports File

The serialports file maps each host name to the terminal concentrator and the terminal concentrator serial port to which it is connected. Each line in this database specifies a separate serial port using the format:

hostname terminal_concentrator serial_port