smf(5): Solaris 10

Service Management Facility

Liane Praza
Solaris Kernel Development
25 May 2004
Outline
● What is smf(5)?
– (“The service management facility.”)
– Motivations
– Key capabilities
– Tour
– Examples
● Interesting adjustments
● Next steps

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Motivation
● Typical usage show there is a difference between a
service and a mere program: one must always be
running to meet business objectives
● Little operating system support for service-based
management
– No connection between boot-launched services,
“metaserver”- or “superserver”-launched services
● Lack of knowledge of service boundary and interservice
relationships limits error handling ability of system

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Motivation, 2
● Hard to articulate “thousands of different text files” as
a design principle
– Can we split configuration and “metaconfiguration”?
● Parallel startup is a subproblem
– But take advantage of faster hardware
● Where can we remove opportunities for error from the
system?

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Goal 0: Reassurance
Everything still works*
● Preserve compatibility
– ISVs packages delivering SysV scripts will just work
– Documented /etc/init.d scripts work or return
correct invocation
– No configuration files absorbed (except inetd.conf)
● Conversion may be done piecemeal and is a
lightweight act
– Only need a service manifest; no other changes to
configuration source
– rc.d scripts replaced by (or reinvoked as) service
methods
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.
Goal 1: Improve “pilot model”
● Simplify and secure system administration:
– reduce human error by preventing bad configs
– provide administrator “undo” button
– disaster recovery using safe snapshots
– provide fine-grained RBAC security for admins
– use directory-based configuration  leverage
● Make Solaris services self-healing:
– automatic fault diagnosis using Solaris FMA
– automatic restart in response to various faults
● kill(-1, SIGKILL)

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Goal 2: Unify application deployment
● Create base system abstractions for services and
“bake” into Solaris OE
– applications and descriptive meta-data
– hardware devices and layered software config
● Single deployment model for software developers
– stability (uniform way to express dependencies)
– virtualization (blades, domains, zones)
● Foundation for service-based resource mgmt
● Modern, flexible configuration
– Easier to develop management applications

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Greenline services
● What's a service?
– Abstract description of a long-lived software object
– Each instance of a service has a well-defined state and
a well-defined error boundary [process contract]
– Each service defines “methods” and “dependencies”
● Start, stop, refresh, etc.; interservice relationships
● A consistent specification
– Can state dependencies stably (unavailable today)
– Generic restart facility provided by default; customized
restart capabilities available to vendor
● Admins can get a meaningful system view

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Greenline repository
● All data (services, methods, etc.) stored in persistent,
transaction-based repository
– Transactions/snapshots allow “undo”, rollback to safe
configuration
– Repository can be local, in directory [later], or mixed
[later]
● NOT a giant registry: mainly svc mgmt properties
● Can contain simple configurations through property
bundles
– All configurations in repository can be read/written
using a common API  lowers management s/w
development times
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.
Software delivery
● Each package delivering services does so via a “service
manifest”
● Manifest contains descriptions of each service, which
in turn specify
– Names of services
– Dependencies on other services and methods for
service instance start/stop/refresh
– Default properties and “service template”, which
provides support for administrative apps via
● Localized property descriptions
● Links to documentation
● Soon: meaningful property values (valid ranges,
definitions, etc.)
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.
Endpoints
● All core daemons/start-up converted to services
– Stable milestones for existing run-levels as well as
new, more fine-grained stages
(milestone/network/basic, milestone/name­
services)
– Boot/restart fully parallel
– Goal is to have all Solaris init.d scripts converted
● Public configurations placed on EOF/compatibility
path
– Based on impact; surveying administrator population
now, looking for developer feedback

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Component overview
● General commands:
– svcs(1) service status listings
– svcadm(1M) administrative actions
– svccfg(1M) general property manipulation
– svcprop(1) property reporting (scripting)
● inetd(1M) management commands:
– inetadm(1M) administrative actions/property mods
– inetconv(1M) conversion of legacy inetd.conf entries
● Daemons
– svc.startd(1M) dependency engine, master restarter
– svc.configd(1M) repository, authorization
– inetd(1M) delegated
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietaryrestarter
and confidential.
Component overview, 2
● Contracts subsystem:
– ctrun(1M) execute with process contract
– ctstat(1M) display active contracts
– ctwatch(1M) monitor contract events
– libcontract(3LIB) Contract APIs
– /system/contract contract filesystem
● Other Libraries
– libscf(3LIB) repository APIs
● Directories
– /var/svc manifests, profiles, logs
– /etc/svc binary repository
– binaries,
/lib/svcCopyright 2004 methods,
Sun Microsystems, seeds,
Inc. Proprietary and confidential. support files
Architecture schematic
management observability
agent inet-service service
agent

inetd(1M)
repository API

svc.configd(1M) svc.startd(1M)

process repository init(1M)

contract client

KERNEL

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

svcs(1) in action
● List active instances, sorted by state, time
● Show dependencies (-d) and dependents (-D)
● Show member processes (-p), additional details (-v)
$ svcs
STATE STIME FMRI
....
online 18:18:30 svc:/internet/http:apache
online 18:18:29 svc:/internet/smtp:sendmail
....
$ svcs -p internet/smtp:sendmail
STATE STIME FMRI
online 18:18:29 svc:/internet/smtp:sendmail
100180 18:18:29 sendmail
100181 18:18:29 sendmail
$ svcs -v internet/smtp:sendmail
STATE NSTATE STIME CTID FMRI
online - 18:18:29 21 svc:/internet/smtp:sendmail
$ svcs -d internet/smtp:sendmail
STATE STIME FMRI
online 18:18:27 svc:/milestone/single-user:default

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

svcadm(1M) in action
● Enable, disable, refresh, restart service instances
● Mark in special states (maintenance, degraded)

$ grep sch /etc/user_attr

sch::::auths=solaris.smf.modify,solaris.smf.manage
$ svcs -a internet/http:apache
STATE STIME FMRI
- ? svc:/internet/http:apache
$ svcadm enable internet/http:apache
STATE STIME FMRI
online 19:19:01 svc:/internet/http:apache
$ # edit /etc/apache/httpd.conf
$ svcadm refresh internet/http:apache
$ svcs -a internet/http:apache
STATE STIME FMRI
online 19:19:33 svc:/internet/http:apache
$ svcadm disable internet/http:apache
$ svcs -a internet/http:apache
STATE STIME FMRI
disabled 19:20:07 svc:/internet/http:apache

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

svccfg(1M) in action
● Import, export manifests; apply, extract profiles
● Interactive mode for modifying properties
$ grep sch /etc/user_attr
sch::::auths=solaris.smf.modify,solaris.smf.manage
$ svccfg -v /var/svc/manifest/http-apache.xml
svccfg: Successful import.
$ svccfg
svc:> select internet/http:apache
svc:/internet/http:apache> listprop
...
general framework
general/enabled boolean false
...

start method
start/exec astring "/lib/svc/method/http-apache start"
start/timeout_seconds count 10
start/type astring method
svc:/internet/http:apache> editprop
[$EDITOR launches, allows direct editing of properties]
svc:/internet/http:apache> exit
$ svccfg extract > currently-active.xml

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

svcprop(1) in action
● List properties of services and instances
● Fetch in convenient forms for scripting
● Wait for property changes (­w)
$ svcprop internet/http:apache
network/entities fmri \
svc://localhost/milestone/network/ipv4-local ...
network/grouping astring require_any
network/restart_on astring error
network/type astring service
general/enabled boolean false
refresh/exec astring /lib/svc/method/http-apache\ refresh
refresh/timeout_seconds count 60
refresh/type astring method
stop/exec astring /lib/svc/method/http-apache\ stop
stop/timeout_seconds count 60
stop/type astring method
start/exec astring /lib/svc/method/http-apache\ start
start/timeout_seconds count 10
start/type astring method
$ svcprop -p enabled internet/http:apache
false

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

coreadm(1M) service description
<service name='system/coreadm' type='service' version='1'>
<single_instance />
<instance name='default' enabled='true'>
<dependency name='configuration' grouping='require_all'
restart_on='none' type='service'>
<service_fmri value='svc:/system/filesystem/minimal:default'/>
</dependency>

<exec_method type='method' name='start'

exec='/lib/svc/share/bin/svc-coreadm %f' timeout='0' />
<exec_method type='method' name='stop'
exec=':true' timeout='0' />
</instance>
<stability value='Evolving' />
<template>
<description><local_description locale='C'>
System-wide core file configuration service.
</local_description></description>

<documentation>
<manpage title='coreadm' section='1M'
manpath='/usr/share/man' />
<doc_link uri='[stable docs.sun.com URL]' />
</documentation>
</template>
</service>

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Miscellaneous
● Dependencies can be “any”, “all”, “optional”, and
“exclude”
● ptree(1M) and pgrep(1M)/pkill(1M) have contract-
awareness through ­c option (ancestor resolving)

$ svcs -v internet/ssh:default
STATE NSTATE STIME CTID FMRI
online - 19:34:21 25 svc:/internet/ssh:default
$ pgrep -c 25 -lf
100930 /usr/lib/ssh/sshd
$ ptree 100930
100930 /usr/lib/ssh/sshd
$ ptree -c 100930
100079 /lib/svc/bin/svc.startd
c100930 /usr/lib/ssh/sshd
# pkill -9 sshd
$ pgrep sshd
100938
$ svcs -pv internet/ssh:default
STATE NSTATE STIME CTID FMRI
online - 19:37:38 26 svc:/internet/ssh:default
100938 19:37:38 sshd

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Interesting adjustments
● Now manage a graph of named services and
dependencies
– Simplify some such graphs from applications and
complexinstallers
– Service dependencies can hide single-system/multi-
tier deployment from application
● Now have restarter support
– smf(5) and contracts subsystem allow reduction or
enhancement of restart features
● smf(5) in both global and non-global zones
●
smf(5)/FMA integration ⇒ software diagnoses

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

What we need from you

Feedback

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Next steps
● Try it out! [Arriving in later EA/Express]
– Identify and address obstacles to adoption
– Identify key ISVs for adoption, where appropriate
– Review documentation; test drive features directly
● Send us feedback
– Additional interfaces; additional milestones
– Discuss restarter possibilities
● For more information
– http://greenline.sfbay
– greenline-interest@sun.com

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

Supplementary material
Start-up and configuration today
Today
/dev/*
low-level devices
network interfaces
/etc/inittab
/etc/init.d/* invocation,
/etc/rc?.d/*
/etc/inet/inetd.conf
termination

/etc/system
/etc/default/*
/etc/inet/*
/etc/hostname* properties
/etc/dhcp/*
/etc/ppp/*

file system permissions security

NSS backends repository

local files
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.
Start-up and configuration tomorrow
Today Tomorrow
/dev/*
low-level devices device services
network interfaces
/etc/inittab
service methods
/etc/init.d/* invocation, service dependencies
/etc/rc?.d/*
/etc/inet/inetd.conf
termination milestones

/etc/system
/etc/default/*
/etc/inet/*
/etc/hostname* properties service properties
/etc/dhcp/*
/etc/ppp/*

entity authorizations
file system permissions security delegated roles
security profiles

NSS backends repository DSS datastores

local files local cache

Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.

What’s a Greenline service?
● A persistently-running application
inetd(1M)
● A named instance of the service entity
schema:
– Start, stop, restart, health/status
service methods
milestone/ – Properties (bundles)
network/ – Restart relationship(s)
ipv4-physical
● Example: Internet restarter service
– init.d code → method
– inetd.conf → properties
hme0
– rc.d order → milestone dependency
Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Proprietary and confidential.
liane.praza@sun.com