salt/doc/topics/jobs/index.rst

.. _jobs:

=======================
:index:`Job Management`
=======================

.. versionadded:: 0.9.7

Since Salt executes jobs running on many systems, Salt needs to be able to
manage jobs running on many systems.

The :index:`Minion proc System`
===============================

Salt Minions maintain a *proc* directory in the Salt ``cachedir``. The *proc*
directory maintains files named after the executed job ID. These files contain
the information about the current running jobs on the minion and allow for
jobs to be looked up. This is located in the *proc* directory under the
cachedir, with a default configuration it is under ``/var/cache/salt/{master|minion}/proc``.

Functions in the saltutil Module
================================

Salt 0.9.7 introduced a few new functions to the
:mod:`saltutil<salt.modules.saltutil>` module for managing
jobs. These functions are:

1. ``running``
   Returns the data of all running jobs that are found in the *proc* directory.

2. ``find_job``
   Returns specific data about a certain job based on job id.

3. ``signal_job``
   Allows for a given jid to be sent a signal.

4. ``term_job``
   Sends a termination signal (SIGTERM, 15) to the process controlling the
   specified job.

5. ``kill_job``
   Sends a kill signal (SIGKILL, 9) to the process controlling the
   specified job.

These functions make up the core of the back end used to manage jobs at the
minion level.

The jobs Runner
===============

A convenience runner front end and reporting system has been added as well.
The jobs runner contains functions to make viewing data easier and cleaner.

The jobs runner contains a number of functions...

active
------

The active function runs saltutil.running on all minions and formats the
return data about all running jobs in a much more usable and compact format.
The active function will also compare jobs that have returned and jobs that
are still running, making it easier to see what systems have completed a job
and what systems are still being waited on.

.. code-block:: bash

    # salt-run jobs.active

lookup_jid
----------

When jobs are executed the return data is sent back to the master and cached.
By default it is cached for 24 hours, but this can be configured via the
``keep_jobs`` option in the master configuration.
Using the lookup_jid runner will display the same return data that the initial
job invocation with the salt command would display.

.. code-block:: bash

    # salt-run jobs.lookup_jid <job id number>

list_jobs
---------

Before finding a historic job, it may be required to find the job id. ``list_jobs``
will parse the cached execution data and display all of the job data for jobs
that have already, or partially returned.

.. code-block:: bash

    # salt-run jobs.list_jobs

.. _scheduling-jobs:

Scheduling Jobs
===============

Salt's scheduling system allows incremental executions on minions or the
master. The schedule system exposes the execution of any execution function on
minions or any runner on the master.

Scheduling can be enabled by multiple methods:

- ``schedule`` option in either the master or minion config files.  These
  require the master or minion application to be restarted in order for the
  schedule to be implemented.

- Minion pillar data.  Schedule is implemented by refreshing the minion's pillar data,
  for example by using ``saltutil.refresh_pillar``.

- The :mod:`schedule state<salt.states.schedule>` or
  :mod:`schedule module<salt.modules.schedule>`

.. note::

    The scheduler executes different functions on the master and minions. When
    running on the master the functions reference runner functions, when
    running on the minion the functions specify execution functions.

A scheduled run has no output on the minion unless the config is set to info level
or higher. Refer to :conf_minion:`minion-logging-settings`.

States are executed on the minion, as all states are. You can pass positional
arguments and provide a YAML dict of named arguments.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` every 3600 seconds
(every hour).

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        splay: 15

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` every 3600 seconds
(every hour) splaying the time between 0 and 15 seconds.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        splay:
          start: 10
          end: 15

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` every 3600 seconds
(every hour) splaying the time between 10 and 15 seconds.

Schedule by Date and Time
-------------------------

.. versionadded:: 2014.7.0

Frequency of jobs can also be specified using date strings supported by
the Python ``dateutil`` library. This requires the Python ``dateutil`` library
to be installed.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        when: 5:00pm

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` at 5:00 PM minion
localtime.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        when:
          - Monday 5:00pm
          - Tuesday 3:00pm
          - Wednesday 5:00pm
          - Thursday 3:00pm
          - Friday 5:00pm

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` at 5:00 PM on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 3:00 PM on Tuesday and Thursday.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        when:
          - 'tea time'

.. code-block:: yaml

    whens:
      tea time: 1:40pm
      deployment time: Friday 5:00pm

The Salt scheduler also allows custom phrases to be used for the `when`
parameter.  These `whens` can be stored as either pillar values or
grain values.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        range:
          start: 8:00am
          end: 5:00pm

This will schedule the command: ``state.sls httpd test=True`` every 3600 seconds
(every hour) between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The range parameter must
be a dictionary with the date strings using the ``dateutil`` format.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True
        range:
          invert: True
          start: 8:00am
          end: 5:00pm

Using the invert option for range, this will schedule the command
``state.sls httpd test=True`` every 3600 seconds (every hour) until the current
time is between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The range parameter must be
a dictionary with the date strings using the ``dateutil`` format.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: pkg.install
        kwargs:
          pkgs: [{'bar': '>1.2.3'}]
          refresh: true
        once: '2016-01-07T14:30:00'

This will schedule the function ``pkg.install`` to be executed once at the
specified time. The schedule entry ``job1`` will not be removed after the job
completes, therefore use ``schedule.delete`` to manually remove it afterwards.

The default date format is ISO 8601 but can be overridden by also specifying the
``once_fmt`` option, like this:

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: test.ping
        once: 2015-04-22T20:21:00
        once_fmt: '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S'

Maximum Parallel Jobs Running
-----------------------------

.. versionadded:: 2014.7.0

The scheduler also supports ensuring that there are no more than N copies of
a particular routine running. Use this for jobs that may be long-running
and could step on each other or pile up in case of infrastructure outage.

The default for ``maxrunning`` is 1.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      long_running_job:
        function: big_file_transfer
        jid_include: True
        maxrunning: 1

Cron-like Schedule
------------------

.. versionadded:: 2014.7.0

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        cron: '*/15 * * * *'
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True

The scheduler also supports scheduling jobs using a cron like format.
This requires the Python ``croniter`` library.

Job Data Return
---------------

.. versionadded:: 2015.5.0

By default, data about jobs runs from the Salt scheduler is returned to the
master. Setting the ``return_job`` parameter to False will prevent the data
from being sent back to the Salt master.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: scheduled_job_function
        return_job: False

Job Metadata
------------

.. versionadded:: 2015.5.0

It can be useful to include specific data to differentiate a job from other
jobs. Using the metadata parameter special values can be associated with
a scheduled job. These values are not used in the execution of the job,
but can be used to search for specific jobs later if combined with the
``return_job`` parameter. The metadata parameter must be specified as a
dictionary, othewise it will be ignored.

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: scheduled_job_function
        metadata:
          foo: bar

Run on Start
------------

.. versionadded:: 2015.5.0

By default, any job scheduled based on the startup time of the minion will run
the scheduled job when the minion starts up. Sometimes this is not the desired
situation. Using the ``run_on_start`` parameter set to ``False`` will cause the
scheduler to skip this first run and wait until the next scheduled run:

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 3600
        run_on_start: False
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True

Until and After
---------------

.. versionadded:: 2015.8.0

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 15
        until: '12/31/2015 11:59pm'
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True

Using the until argument, the Salt scheduler allows you to specify
an end time for a scheduled job. If this argument is specified, jobs
will not run once the specified time has passed. Time should be specified
in a format supported by the ``dateutil`` library.
This requires the Python ``dateutil`` library to be installed.

.. versionadded:: 2015.8.0

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      job1:
        function: state.sls
        seconds: 15
        after: '12/31/2015 11:59pm'
        args:
          - httpd
        kwargs:
          test: True

Using the after argument, the Salt scheduler allows you to specify
an start time for a scheduled job.  If this argument is specified, jobs
will not run until the specified time has passed. Time should be specified
in a format supported by the ``dateutil`` library.
This requires the Python ``dateutil`` library to be installed.

Scheduling States
-----------------

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      log-loadavg:
        function: cmd.run
        seconds: 3660
        args:
          - 'logger -t salt < /proc/loadavg'
        kwargs:
          stateful: False
          shell: /bin/sh

Scheduling Highstates
---------------------

To set up a highstate to run on a minion every 60 minutes set this in the
minion config or pillar:

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      highstate:
        function: state.highstate
        minutes: 60

Time intervals can be specified as seconds, minutes, hours, or days.

Scheduling Runners
------------------

Runner executions can also be specified on the master within the master
configuration file:

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      run_my_orch:
        function: state.orchestrate
        hours: 6
        splay: 600
        args:
          - orchestration.my_orch

The above configuration is analogous to running
``salt-run state.orch orchestration.my_orch`` every 6 hours.

Scheduler With Returner
-----------------------

The scheduler is also useful for tasks like gathering monitoring data about
a minion, this schedule option will gather status data and send it to a MySQL
returner database:

.. code-block:: yaml

    schedule:
      uptime:
        function: status.uptime
        seconds: 60
        returner: mysql
      meminfo:
        function: status.meminfo
        minutes: 5
        returner: mysql

Since specifying the returner repeatedly can be tiresome, the
``schedule_returner`` option is available to specify one or a list of global
returners to be used by the minions when scheduling.