Running Workflow on a MacOS System
This article discusses a basic / barebones method to get a RackN Digital Rebar Platform (DRP) Agent (or "Runner") up and running on a MacOS system to process Tasks (via Pipelines, Workflows, Workorders, or Stages).
There are several technical issues that still need to be resolved around MacOS as a supported platform for running DRP tasks. The primary issues that are unresolved by this article are:
- The joinup discovery script (
join-up.sh) method will not work on MacOS systems - MAC Addresses (Machine
HardwareAddrsfield) SHOULD be populated - Machine IP Address (Machine
Addressfield) SHOULD be populated - The Machine object is created manually with basic information (Name, and optionally the HardwareAddrs" or "Addresses")
- Machine inventory (
gohai-inventory) does not run on MacOS at this time
Note that MacOS platforms are generally NOT network installable as Apple has locked down and removed most of all of the network installation paths that DRP supports.
This article only discusses how to get a MacOS system up and processing Tasks in a rudimentary fashion.
The DRP Agent (runner) will start on boot up of the MacOS system via this mechanism.
Solution¶
The overall process is relatively simple:
- Create a Machine object for management of the target MacOS system
- Add the
drpclibinary to your target MacOS system - Create a Machine Token to authorize the Machine Agent to connect to the DRP Endpoint service
- Collect the Machines UUID for the Agent configuration file
- Install the Agent configuration and startup scripts
- Start the DRP Agent (Runner) on the target MacOS system with the correct configuration
The last two steps (install Agent config/startup, and Start the DRP
Agent are completed via the drpcli binary itself.
Create Machine Object¶
To create the Machine object for management of the target MacOS system, start with the following script. You REALLY should modify the Machine MAC Addresses and IP Address appropriately (see the commented out info in the script). While these are not absolutely necessary, they are needed by a lot of tasks that expect them to exist.
These could potentially be added to the Machine object with a Task (via Workflow mode) or Blueprint (via Workorder mode).
YOU MUST MODIFY THIS SCRIPT FOR YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND EACH MACHINE !!
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create machine object for management by DRP Endpoint
#### UPDATE these to your DRP Endpoint information
export RS_ENDPOINT="https://drp.example.com:8092"
export RS_USERNAME="rocketskates"
export RS_PASSWORD="r0cketsk8ts"
#### NAME and UUID must be unique keys in all Machine Objects
export NAME="fuji"
export RS_UUID=$(uuidgen)
set -e
echo "Create initial Machine object"
# You really SHOULD also set 'HardwareAddrs' (list of MAC
# addresses) and 'Address' (IP address of Machine); example add:
# HardwareAddrs:
# - 11:22:33:44:55:66
# - 22:33:44:55:66:77
# Address: 10.10.10.11
cat << EOCREATE | drpcli machines create - > /dev/null
---
Name: $NAME
Uuid: $RS_UUID
EOCREATE
echo "Update Machine workflow and bootenv"
# !!!!!!
# IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
# !!!!!!
# we must update machine object to remove defaultWorkflow and
# BootEnv setting values that are forced by Info & Preferences
# these can not be set on initial create of the Machine object
drpcli machines update Name:$NAME '{ "Workflow": "", "BootEnv": "local" }' > /dev/null
# get a Machine Token to authorize Agent communication with
# the DRP Endpoint service (you can adjust the TTL, but it
# should be "long lived"
echo "Generating a machine Token for authorization for Agent"
export RS_TOKEN=$(drpcli machines token $RS_UUID -ttl=5y | jq -r '.Token')
echo
echo "Agent download URL for x86_64 (amd64):"
echo " https://$RS_ENDPOINT/files/drpcli.amd64.darwin"
echo "or for ARM:"
echo " https://$RS_ENDPOINT/files/drpcli.arm64.darwin"
echo "done"
Once the Machine object has been created, you should verify on the DRP
Endpoint that the Machine exists, is currently set to the "local"
BootEnv, and there is no Workflow or Stage set on the machine. This
ensures that once the Agent is started, no unexpected changes will occur
on the machine.
You may also choose to set the Agent/Runner to "Pause" mode as an additional safety check.
Get drpcli on Machine¶
You must download the drpcli binary to the target Machine that is
going to be managed. The CLI binary (drpcli) also doubles as the Agent
and Runner, when specific arguments are passed to it.
The above script should also output an appropriate URL for download of
either the amd64 (x86_64) or arm64 drpcli binary. Ensure you use the
correct binary type for the target MacOS system.
Example:
RS_ENDPOINT="https://drp.example.com:8092"
MACH="amd64"
#MACH="arm64"
sudo wget --no-check-certificate https://$RS_ENDPOINT/files/drpcli.$MACH.darwin -O /usr/local/bin/drpcli
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/drpcli
Verify that you can run the drpcli binary successfully:
This assumes that /usr/local/bin is in the current users PATH. This
should produce an output something like:
Install Agent Config and Startup Scripts¶
Once you have the drpcli binary in place, you can install a config
with the correct RS_ENDPOINT, RS_UUID, and RS_TOKEN credentials in it
via the drpcli binary itself.
You MUST RUN the following scriptlet with root level permissions on
the MacOS system as systemwide configuration and startup processes are
modified. NOTE that the RS_* variables are used by the Agent Install
process to setup the configuration file correctly. THESE MUST be
correct!
# must be run as root
sudo su -
# RS_ENDPOINT, RS_TOKEN, and RS_UUID are from the previous script output
# above - these tell the Agent where to connect to, and allows it
# to authenticate to the DRP Endpoint (via Token and UUID).
RS_ENDPOINT=https://drp.example.com:8092
RS_UUID=<GENERATED_IN_ABOVE_SCRTIPT>
RS_TOKEN=<GENERATED_IN_ABOVE_SCRTIPT>
drpcli agent install
The output of this should be the following files added to the system:
/var/lib/drp-agent/drp-agent.cfg: contains the configuration with the RS_ENDPOINT, RS_UUID, and RS_TOKEN information for the DRP Agent to connect to the correct DRP Endpoint with authorizaiont/Library/LaunchDaemons/drp-agent.plist: The MacOS startup plist service file
Start the Agent¶
Now you will start an Agent on the target system via the drpcli binary
itself; which will source the /var/lib/drp-agent/drp-agent.cfg file
and launch a background service based on that configuration.
Warning
It is important that the Machine Object has been updated as previously
specified (no Workflow, Stages, Tasks, and the BootEnv set to local),
otherwise the system may attempt to execute Workflow and Reboot !!!!!
Service logs will be written to the configuration specified in the plist startup file. By default this would be:
# found in /Library/LaunchDaemons/drp-agent.plist
# standard output log:
/usr/local/var/log/drp-agent.out.log
# error output log:
/usr/local/var/log/drp-agent.err.log
Test the Agent¶
Install the dev-library content pack on the DRP Endpoint if it is not
already installed. See the Catalog in the Portal, or run:
- Go to the Machines page on the Portal.
- Select the newly created Machine
- Set the Workflow to "
hello-world" - If you had set the Agent to paused, set it to Runnable now
- The "hello world" workflow should execute and run
- Check the Machine Object "activity" tab for the Job Log output
You should get output similar to the following:
Command running
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Hello World - the date is:
Fri Apr 22 16:10:08 PDT 2022
This machines name is:
fuji
The 'hello world' message has been set to:
Hello World
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Command exited with status 0
Additional Information¶
This is only a fast example to show that it is possible to run DRP Tasks on target MacOS systems.
This process is NOT a supported method for managing MacOS systems with in DRP.
Generally speaking, a Machine object should always contain HardwareAddrs and Address fields with appropriate details. These can be set on the Machine object at creation time. See the above referenced script comments.
Some standard RackN provided content (Tasks/Templates) may not correctly
run in the MacOS environment. For example, the drpcli gohai command
will not work by default because DMI bios information/data is not
available as standard on MacOS systems.
Many tasks that identify the OS and Architecture may not correctly reflect MacOS systems. If you identify any of these areas, please contact RackN Support and let us know.
See Also¶
Versions¶
All
Keywords¶
drpcli, macos, agent, runner, workflow, tasks, workorders, pipelines, apple