Configuring Condor for Virtual Machine Universe

From Ben's Writing

Contents 1 Configuration Types 2 Required Configuration File Options 2.1 Execute Node Options 2.1.1 condor_config Specific Options 2.1.2 Configuration File Agnostic Options 2.1.3 Virtual Machine Software Agnostic Options

Configuration Types

• Configuring Condor for Virtual Machine Universe using VMware
• Configuring Condor for Virtual Machine Universe using Xen

Required Configuration File Options

These are the configuration file options that, at a bare minimum, must be set for VM-Universe to even function:

Execute Node Options

condor_config Specific Options

• VM_GAHP_SERVER
  • The complete path and file name of the condor_vm-gahp. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_GAHP_CONFIG
  • The complete path and file name of a separate and required Condor configuration file containing settings specific to the execution of either a VMware or Xen virtual machine. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_GAHP_LOG
  • The complete path and file name of the condor_vm-gahp log. If not specified on a Unix platform, the condor_starter log will be used for condor_vm-gahp log items. There is no default value for this required configuration variable on Windows platforms.
• MAX_VM_GAHP_LOG
  • Controls the maximum length (in bytes) to which the condor_vm-gahp log will be allowed to grow.
• VM_TYPE
  • Specifies the type of supported virtual machine software. It will be the value xen or vmware. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_MEMORY
  • An integer to specify the maximum amount of memory in Mbytes that will be allowed to the virtual machine program. The amount of memory allowed will be the smaller of this variable and the value set by VM_MAX_MEMORY, as defined within the separate configuration file used by the condor_vm-gahp.
• VM_MAX_NUMBER
  • An integer limit on the number of executing virtual machines. When not defined, the default value is the same NUM_CPUS.
• VM_STATUS_INTERVAL
  • An integer number of seconds that defaults to 60, representing the interval between job status checks by the condor_ starter to see if the job has finished. A minimum value of 30 seconds is enforced.
• VM_GAHP_REQ_TIMEOUT
  • An integer number of seconds that defaults to 300 (five minutes), representing the amount of time Condor will wait for a command issued from the condor_starter to the condor_vm-gahp to be completed. When a command times out, an error is reported to the condor_ startd.
• VM_RECHECK_INTERVAL
  • An integer number of seconds that defaults to 600 (ten minutes), representing the amount of time the condor_ startd waits after a virtual machine error as reported by the condor_starter, and before checking a final time on the status of the virtual machine. If the check fails, Condor disables starting any new vm universe jobs by removing the VM_TYPE attribute from the machine ClassAd.
• VM_SOFT_SUSPEND
  • A boolean value that defaults to False, causing Condor to free the memory of a vm universe job when the job is suspended. When True, the memory is not freed.
• VM_UNIV_NOBODY_USER
  • Identifies a login name of a user with a home directory that may be used for job owner of a vm universe job. The nobody user normally utilized when the job arrives from a different UID domain will not be allowed to invoke a VMware virtual machine.
• ALWAYS_VM_UNIV_USE_NOBODY
  • A boolean value that defaults to False. When True, all vm universe jobs (independent of their UID domain) will run as the user defined in VM_UNIV_NOBODY_USER.

Configuration File Agnostic Options

The following configuration variable may be specified in both the Condor configuration file and in the separate virtual machine-specific configuration file used by the condor_vm-gahp.

• VM_NETWORKING
  • A boolean variable describing if networking is supported. When not defined, the default value is False. When defined in both configuration files, the value used is a logical AND of both values, implying that the value will only be True when both files define VM_NETWORKING to be True.

Virtual Machine Software Agnostic Options

The following configuration variables are not specific to either the VMware or the Xen virtual machine software, but will appear in the virtual machine-specific configuration file used by the condor_vm-gahp.

• VM_TYPE
  • Specifies the type of supported virtual machine software. It will be the value xen or vmware. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_VERSION
  • Specifies the version of supported virtual machine software defined by VM_TYPE. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_MAX_MEMORY
  • An integer to specify the maximum amount of memory in Mbytes that may be used by the supported virtual machine program. There is no default value for this required configuration variable.
• VM_NETWORKING_TYPE
  • A string describing the type of networking, required and relevant only when VM_NETWORKING is True. Defined strings are:
    • bridge_dhcp
    • nat_dhcp