6. Developer’s Guide
Note
ISC acknowledges that users and developers have different needs, so the user and developer documents should eventually be separated. However, since the project is still in its early stages, this section is kept in the Stork ARM for convenience.
6.1. Rakefile
Rakefile is a script for performing many development tasks, like building source code, running linters and unit tests, and running Stork services directly or in Docker containers.
There are several other Rake targets. For a complete list of available
tasks, use rake -T. Also see the Stork wiki
for detailed instructions.
6.2. Generating Documentation
To generate documentation, simply type rake build:doc.
Sphinx and rtd-theme must be installed. The
generated documentation will be available in the doc/_build
directory.
6.3. Setting Up the Development Environment
The following steps install Stork and its dependencies natively, i.e., on the host machine, rather than using Docker images.
First, PostgreSQL must be installed. This is OS-specific, so please follow the instructions from the Installation chapter.
Once the database environment is set up, the next step is to build all the tools. The first command below downloads some missing dependencies and installs them in a local directory. This is done only once and is not needed for future rebuilds, although it is safe to rerun the command.
$ rake build:backend
$ rake build:ui
The environment should be ready to run. Open three consoles and run the following three commands, one in each console:
$ rake run:server
$ rake build:ui_live
$ rake run:agent
Once all three processes are running, connect to http://localhost:8080 via a web browser. See Using Stork for information on initial password creation or addition of new machines to the server.
The run:agent runs the agent directly on the current operating
system, natively; the exposed port of the agent is 8888.
There are other Rake tasks for running preconfigured agents in Docker containers. They are exposed to the host on specific ports.
When these agents are added as machines in the Stork server UI, both a localhost address and a port specific to a given container must be specified. The list of containers can be found in the Docker Containers for Development section.
6.3.1. Installing Git Hooks
There is a simple git hook that inserts the issue number in the commit
message automatically; to use it, go to the utils directory and
run the git-hooks-install script. It copies the necessary file
to the .git/hooks directory.
6.4. Agent API
The connection between stork-server and the agents is established using
gRPC over http/2. The agent API definition is kept in the
backend/api/agent.proto file. For debugging purposes, it is
possible to connect to the agent using the grpcurl tool. For example, a list
of currently provided gRPC calls may be retrieved with this command:
$ grpcurl -plaintext -proto backend/api/agent.proto localhost:8888 describe
agentapi.Agent is a service:
service Agent {
rpc detectServices ( .agentapi.DetectServicesReq ) returns ( .agentapi.DetectServicesRsp );
rpc getState ( .agentapi.GetStateReq ) returns ( .agentapi.GetStateRsp );
rpc restartKea ( .agentapi.RestartKeaReq ) returns ( .agentapi.RestartKeaRsp );
}
Specific gRPC calls can also be made. For example, to get the machine state, use the following command:
$ grpcurl -plaintext -proto backend/api/agent.proto localhost:8888 agentapi.Agent.getState
{
"agentVersion": "0.1.0",
"hostname": "copernicus",
"cpus": "8",
"cpusLoad": "1.68 1.46 1.28",
"memory": "16",
"usedMemory": "59",
"uptime": "2",
"os": "darwin",
"platform": "darwin",
"platformFamily": "Standalone Workstation",
"platformVersion": "10.14.6",
"kernelVersion": "18.7.0",
"kernelArch": "x86_64",
"hostID": "c41337a1-0ec3-3896-a954-a1f85e849d53"
}
6.5. RESTful API
The primary user of the RESTful API is the Stork UI in a web browser. The
definition of the RESTful API is located in the api folder and is
described in Swagger 2.0 format.
The description in Swagger is split into multiple files. Two files comprise a tag group:
*-paths.yaml - defines URLs
*-defs.yaml - contains entity definitions
All these files are combined by the yamlinc tool into a single
Swagger file, swagger.yaml, which then generates code
for:
the UI fronted by swagger-codegen
the backend in Go lang by go-swagger
All these steps are accomplished by Rakefile.
6.6. Backend Unit Tests
There are unit tests for the Stork agent and server backends, written in Go. They can be run using Rake:
$ rake unittest:backend
This requires preparing a database in PostgreSQL.
One way to avoid doing this manually is by using a Docker container with PostgreSQL, which is automatically created when running the following Rake task:
$ rake unittest:backend_db
This task spawns a container with PostgreSQL in the background, which then runs unit tests. When the tests are completed, the database is shut down and removed.
6.6.1. Unit Tests Database
When a Docker container with a database is not used for unit tests, the PostgreSQL server must be started and the following role must be created:
postgres=# CREATE USER storktest WITH PASSWORD 'storktest';
CREATE ROLE
postgres=# ALTER ROLE storktest SUPERUSER;
ALTER ROLE
To point unit tests to a specific Stork database, set the DB_HOST
environment variable, e.g.:
$ rake unittest:backend DB_HOST=host:port
By default it points to localhost:5432.
Similarly, if the database setup requires a password other than the default
storktest, the DB_PASSWORD variable can be used by issuing
the following command:
$ rake unittest:backend DB_PASSWORD=secret123
Note that there is no need to create the storktest database itself; it is created
and destroyed by the Rakefile task.
6.6.2. Unit Tests Coverage
A coverage report is presented once the tests have executed. If coverage of any module is below a threshold of 35%, an error is raised.
6.6.3. Benchmarks
Benchmarks are part of backend unit tests. They are implemented using the golang “testing” library and they test performance-sensitive parts of the backend. Unlike unit tests, the benchmarks do not return pass/fail status. They measure average execution time of functions and print the results to the console.
In order to run unit tests with benchmarks, the BENCHMARK environment
variable must be specified as follows:
$ rake unittest:backend BENCHMARK=true
This command runs all unit tests and all benchmarks. Running benchmarks
without unit tests is possible using the combination of the BENCHMARK and
TEST environment variables:
$ rake unittest:backend BENCHMARK=true TEST=Bench
Benchmarks are useful to test the performance of complex functions and find bottlenecks. When working on improving the performance of a function, examining a benchmark result before and after the changes is a good practice to ensure that the goals of the changes are achieved.
Similarly, adding new logic to a function often causes performance degradation, and careful examination of the benchmark result drop for that function may drive improved efficiency of the new code.
6.6.4. Short Testing Mode
It is possible to filter out long-running unit tests, by setting the SHORT
variable to true on the command line:
$ rake unittest:backend SHORT=true
6.7. Web UI Unit Tests
Stork offers web UI tests, to take advantage of the unit tests generated automatically by Angular. The simplest way to run these tests is by using Rake tasks:
rake unittest:ui
The tests require the Chromium (on Linux) or Chrome (on Mac) browser. The rake unittest:ui
task attempts to locate the browser binary and launch it automatically. If the
browser binary is not found in the default location, the Rake task returns an
error. It is possible to set the location manually by setting the CHROME_BIN
environment variable; for example:
export CHROME_BIN=/usr/local/bin/chromium-browser
rake unittest:ui
By default, the tests launch the browser in headless mode, in which test results
and any possible errors are printed in the console. However, in some situations it
is useful to run the browser in non-headless mode because it provides debugging features
in Chrome’s graphical interface. It also allows for selectively running the tests.
Run the tests in non-headless mode using the DEBUG variable appended to the rake
command:
rake unittest:ui DEBUG=true
That command causes a new browser window to open; the tests run there automatically.
The tests are run in random order by default, which can make it difficult to chase individual errors. To make debugging easier by always running the tests in the same order, click “Debug” in the new Chrome window, then click “Options” and unset the “run tests in random order” button. A specific test can be run by clicking on its name.
TEST=src/app/ha-status-panel/ha-status-panel.component.spec.ts rake unittest:ui
By default, all tests are executed. To run only a specific test file,
set the “TEST” environment variable to a relative path to any .spec.ts
file (relative to the project directory).
When adding a new component or service with ng generate component|service ..., the Angular framework
adds a .spec.ts file with boilerplate code. In most cases, the first step in
running those tests is to add the necessary Stork imports. If in doubt, refer to the commits on
https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/stork/-/merge_requests/97. There are many examples of ways to fix
failing tests.
6.8. System Tests
Warning
The system tests are currently under construction and are unavailable in this Stork version. They will be restored in the next releases.
System tests for Stork are designed to test the software in a distributed environment.
They allow several Stork servers and agents running at the same time
to be tested in one test case, inside LXD containers. It is possible to set up
Kea services along with Stork agents. The framework enables experimentation
in containers, so custom Kea configurations can be deployed or specific Kea daemons
can be stopped.
The tests can use the Stork server RESTful API directly or the Stork web UI via Selenium.
6.8.1. Dependencies
System tests require:
Linux operating system (preferably Ubuntu or Fedora)
Python 3
LXDcontainers (https://linuxcontainers.org/lxd/introduction)
6.8.2. LXD Installation
The easiest way to install LXD is to use snap. First, install snap.
On Fedora:
$ sudo dnf install snapd
On Ubuntu:
$ sudo apt install snapd
Then install LXD:
$ sudo snap install lxd
And then add the user to the lxd group:
$ sudo usermod -a -G lxd $USER
Log in again to make the user’s presence in the lxd group visible in the shell session.
After installing LXD, initialize it by running:
$ lxd init
and then for each question press Enter, i.e., use the default values:
Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: **Enter**
Do you want to configure a new storage pool? (yes/no) [default=yes]: **Enter**
Name of the new storage pool [default=default]: **Enter**
Name of the storage backend to use (dir, btrfs) [default=btrfs]: **Enter**
Would you like to create a new btrfs subvolume under /var/snap/lxd/common/lxd? (yes/no) [default=yes]: **Enter**
Would you like to connect to a MAAS server? (yes/no) [default=no]: **Enter**
Would you like to create a new local network bridge? (yes/no) [default=yes]: **Enter**
What should the new bridge be called? [default=lxdbr0]: **Enter**
What IPv4 address should be used? (CIDR subnet notation, "auto" or "none") [default=auto]: **Enter**
What IPv6 address should be used? (CIDR subnet notation, "auto" or "none") [default=auto]: **Enter**
Would you like LXD to be available over the network? (yes/no) [default=no]: **Enter**
Would you like stale cached images to be updated automatically? (yes/no) [default=yes] **Enter**
Would you like a YAML "lxd init" preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]: **Enter**
More details can be found at: https://linuxcontainers.org/lxd/getting-started-cli/
The subvolume is stored in /var/snap/lxd/common/lxd, and
is used to store images and containers. If the space is exhausted,
it is not possible to create new containers. This is not connected with total disk
space but rather with the space in this subvolume. To free space, remove stale images
or stopped containers. Basic usage of LXD is explained at:
https://linuxcontainers.org/lxd/getting-started-cli/#lxd-client
6.8.2.1. LXD Troubleshooting on Arch
Problem: After running lxd init, an error message is returned:
Error: Failed to connect to local LXD: Get "http://unix.socket/1.0": dial unix /var/lib/lxd/unix.socket: connect: no such file or directory
Solution: Restart the lxd daemon:
sudo systemctl restart lxd
Problem: After running rake system_tests, a message is displayed that ends in:
************ START tests.py::test_users_management[ubuntu/18.04-centos/7] **************************************************************
stork-agent-ubuntu-18-04-gw0: {'fg': 'yellow', 'style': ''}
stork-server-centos-7-gw0: {'fg': 'red', 'style': 'bold'}
But nothing else happens, and CPU and RAM usage by lxd are ~0%.
Solution: See this original post
Create an
/etc/subuidfile with content:
root:1000000:65536
Create
/etc/subgidwith the same content.Add these lines to
/etc/default/lxc:
lxc.idmap = u 0 100000 65536
lxc.idmap = g 0 100000 65536
6.8.3. Running System Tests
After preparing all the dependencies, the tests can be started; however, the RPM and deb Stork packages need to be prepared first. This can be done with this Rake task:
$ rake build_pkgs_in_docker
When using packages, the tests can be invoked by the following Rake task:
$ rake system_tests
This command first prepares the Python virtual environment (venv)
where pytest and other Python dependencies are installed. pytest is a Python testing
framework that is used in Stork system tests.
At the end of the logs are listed test cases with their result status.
The tests can be invoked directly using pytest, but first the directory
must be changed to tests/system:
$ cd tests/system
$ ./venv/bin/pytest --tb=long -l -r ap -s tests.py
The switches passed to pytest are:
--tb=long: in case of failures, present the traceback in long format-l: show values of local variables in tracebacks-r ap: at the end of execution, print a report that includes (p)assed and (a)ll except passed (p)
To run a particular test case, add it just after test.py:
$ ./venv/bin/pytest --tb=long -l -r ap -s tests.py::test_users_management[centos/7-ubuntu/18.04]
To get a list of tests without actually running them, the following command can be used:
$ ./venv/bin/pytest --collect-only tests.py
The names of all available tests are printed as <Function name_of_the_test>.
A single test case can be run using a rake task with the test variable set to the test name:
$ rake system_tests test=tests.py::test_users_management[centos/7-ubuntu/18.04]
6.8.4. Developing System Tests
System tests are defined in tests.py and other files that start with test_.
There are two other files that define the framework for Stork system tests:
conftest.py- defines hooks forpytestscontainers.py- handles LXD containers: starting/stopping; communication, such as invoking commands; uploading/downloading files; and installing and preparing the Stork agent/server and Kea and other dependencies that they require.
Most tests are constructed as follows:
@pytest.mark.parametrize("agent, server", SUPPORTED_DISTROS)
def test_machines(agent, server):
# login to stork server
r = server.api_post('/sessions',
json=dict(useremail='admin', userpassword='admin'),
expected_status=200)
assert r.json()['login'] == 'admin'
# add machine
machine = dict(
address=agent.mgmt_ip,
agentPort=8080)
r = server.api_post('/machines', json=machine, expected_status=200)
assert r.json()['address'] == agent.mgmt_ip
# wait for application discovery by Stork Agent
for i in range(20):
r = server.api_get('/machines')
data = r.json()
if len(data['items']) == 1 and \
len(data['items'][0]['apps'][0]['details']['daemons']) > 1:
break
time.sleep(2)
# check discovered application by Stork Agent
m = data['items'][0]
assert m['apps'][0]['version'] == '1.7.3'
It may be useful to explain each part of this code.
@pytest.mark.parametrize("agent, server", SUPPORTED_DISTROS)
This indicates that the test is parameterized: there will be one or more instances of this test in execution for each set of parameters.
The constant SUPPORTED_DISTROS defines two sets of operating systems
for testing:
SUPPORTED_DISTROS = [
('ubuntu/18.04', 'centos/7'),
('centos/7', 'ubuntu/18.04')
]
The first set indicates that for the Stork agent, Ubuntu 18.04 should be used
in the LXD container, and for the Stork server, CentOS 7. The second set is the opposite
of the first one.
The next line:
def test_machines(agent, server):
defines the test function. Normally, the agent and server argument would get the text values
'ubuntu/18.04' and 'centos/7', but a hook exists in the pytest_pyfunc_call() function
of conftest.py that intercepts these arguments and
uses them to spin up LXD containers with the indicated operating systems. This hook
also collects Stork logs from these containers at the end of the test and stores
them in the test-results folder for later analysis if needed.
Instead of text values, the hook replaces the arguments with references
to actual LXC container objects, so that the test can interact directly with them.
Besides substituting the agent and server arguments, the hook intercepts
any argument that starts with agent or server. This allows
multiple agents in the test, e.g. agent1, agent_kea, or agent_bind9.
Next, log into the Stork server using its REST API:
# login to stork server
r = server.api_post('/sessions',
json=dict(useremail='admin', userpassword='admin'),
expected_status=200)
assert r.json()['login'] == 'admin'
Then, add a machine with a Stork agent to the Stork server:
# add machine
machine = dict(
address=agent.mgmt_ip,
agentPort=8080)
r = server.api_post('/machines', json=machine, expected_status=200)
assert r.json()['address'] == agent.mgmt_ip
A check then verifies the returned address of the machine.
After a few seconds, stork-agent detects the Kea application and reports it
to stork-server. The server is periodically polled for updated
information about the Kea application.
# wait for application discovery by Stork Agent
for i in range(20):
r = server.api_get('/machines')
data = r.json()
if len(data['items']) == 1 and \
len(data['items'][0]['apps'][0]['details']['daemons']) > 1:
break
time.sleep(2)
Finally, the returned data about Kea can be verified:
# check discovered application by Stork Agent
m = data['items'][0]
assert m['apps'][0]['version'] == '1.7.3'
6.9. Docker Containers for Development
To ease development, there are several Docker containers available. These containers are used in the Stork demo and are fully described in the Demo chapter.
The following Rake tasks start these containers.
Rake Task |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Build and run an |
|
Build and run an |
|
Build and run two containers, |
|
Build and run an |
|
Build and run an |
|
Build and run a Postgres container. |
|
Build and run all above containers |
|
Stop and remove all containers and all referenced volumes and networks |
Note
It is recommended that these commands be run using a user account without
superuser privileges, which may require some previous steps to set up. On
most systems, adding the account to the docker group should be enough.
On most Linux systems, this is done with:
$ sudo usermod -aG docker ${user}
A restart may be required for the change to take effect.
The Kea and BIND 9 containers connect to the Stork Server container by default. It can be useful for developers to connect them to the locally running server. You can specify the target server using the SERVER_MODE environment variable with one of the values:
host - Do not run the server in Docker. Use the local one instead (it must be run separately on the host).
no-server - Do not run the server.
with-ui - Run the server in Docker with UI.
without-ui - Run the server in Docker without UI.
default - Use the default service configuration from the Docker compose file (default).
For example, to connect the agent from the Docker container to the locally running Stork Server:
Run the Stork Server locally:
$ rake run:server
Run a specific agent service with the SERVER_MODE parameter set to
host:
$ rake demo:up:kea SERVER_MODE=host
Check the unauthorized machines page for a new machine
The Stork Agent containers use the Docker hostnames during communication with
Stork Server. If you use the server running locally, located on the Docker
host, it cannot resolve the Docker hostnames. You need to explicitly provide
the hostname mapping in your /etc/hosts file to fix it.
You can use the rake demo:check_etchosts command to check your actual
/etc/hosts and generate the content that needs to be appended.
This task will automatically run if you use SERVER_MODE=host then you don’t
need to call it manually. It’s mainly for diagnostic purposes.
6.10. Packaging
There are scripts for packaging the binary form of Stork. There are two supported formats: RPM and deb.
The package type is selected based on the OS that executes the command.
Use the utils:print_pkg_type to get the package type supported by your OS.
Use rake build:agent_pkg to build the agent package and
rake build:server_pkg for server package. The package binaries are located
in the dist/pkgs directory.
Internally, these packages are built by FPM
(https://fpm.readthedocs.io/). It is installed automatically but it requires
the ruby-dev and make to build.
6.11. Implementation details
6.11.1. Agent Registration Process
The diagram below shows a flowchart of the agent registration process in Stork. It merely demonstrates the successful registration path. The first Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is generated using an existing or new private key and agent token. The CSR, server token (optional), and agent token are sent to the Stork server. A successful server response contains a signed agent certificate, a server CA certificate, and an assigned Machine ID. If the agent was already registered with the provided agent token, only the assigned machine ID is returned without new certificates. The agent uses the returned machine ID to verify that the registration was successful.
Agent registration