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Difference between revisions of "StructuredStateManagementDetails"

(How it will be addressed)
(How it will be addressed)
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  <nowiki>
 
  <nowiki>
class State(base.Base):
+
class Task(base.Base):
 
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
 
     __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
  

Revision as of 04:03, 25 April 2013

Details

In order to implement of this new orchestration layer the following key concepts must be built into the design from the start.

  1. Atomic task units.
  2. Combining atomic task units into a workflow.
  3. Task resumption.
  4. Task rollback.
  5. Task tracking.
  6. Resource locking.
  7. Workflow sharding/ownership.
  8. Simplicity (allowing for extension and verifiability).
  9. Tolerance to upgrades.

Atomic task units

Why it matters

Tasks that are created (either via code or other operation) must be atomic so that the task as a unit can be said to have completed or the task as a unit can be said to have failed. This allows for said task to be rolled back as a single unit.

Extra credit: It is also useful to be able to be able to accurately track exactly what tasks have been applied to a given workflow, which is inherently useful for correct status tracking (and is directly tied to how resumption is done).

How it will be addressed

Tasks which previously were very unorganized in the run_instance path of nova will need to be refactored into clearly defined tasks (likely with an apply() method and a rollback() method). These tasks will be split up so that each task performs a clearly defined and understandable single piece of work in an atomic manner (aka not one big task that does many different things) wherever possible. Note that this will also help make testing of said task easier (since it will have a clear set of inputs and a clear set of expected outputs/side-effects, of which the rollback() method should undo), something which is not possible without this kind of task refactoring work.

For example this is the task/state base class created in the prototype:

class Task(base.Base):
    __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta

    def __init__(self):
        super(State, self).__init__()

    def __str__(self):
        return "State: %s" % (self.__class__.__name__)

    @abc.abstractmethod
    def apply(self, context, *args, **kwargs):
        # Do whatever is needed to fulfill this state...
        #
        # Return a useful object for others to use, this object
        # must be serializable so that it can be given back in-case of reversions.
        raise NotImplementedError()

    # Gets any context information (nova context) and the result
    # that this function returned when its apply succeeded (if it succeeded)
    # so that said state can examine what it produced and undo whatever it 
    # produced. The chain which caused this exception is also provided as well
    # as the exception itself and the state which causes this reversion.
    def revert(self, context, result, chain, excp, cause):
        pass

Combining atomic tasks into a workflow

Why it matters

A workflow in nova can be typically organized into a series of smaller tasks/states which can be applied as a single unit (and rolled back as a single unit). Since we need to be able to run individual states in a trackable manner (and we shouldn't duplicate this code in multiple places) a concept of a chain of states (for the mostly linear nova case) is needed to be able to run and rollback that set of tasks as a group.

How it will be addressed

The following was created to address the issue of running (and rolling back) multiple states as a single unit.

Note: to start a linear unit is fine.

This is the 'chain' class created in the prototype:

class WorkflowChain(object):
    def __init__(self, name, tolerant=False, parents=None):
        # What states I have done that may need to be undone on failure.
        self.reversions = []
        self.name = name
        self.tolerant = tolerant
        # The order in which states will run is controlled by this - note its only linear.
        self.states = OrderedDict()
        self.results = OrderedDict()  # Useful for accessing the result of a given state after running...
        # A parent set of states that will need to be rolled back if this one fails.
        self.parents = parents
        # This functor is needed to be able to fetch results for states which have already occurred.
        #
        # It is required since we need to be able to rollback said state if it has already completed elsewhere
        # and one of the requirements we have put in place is that one rollback a state is given the result 
        # it returned when its apply method was called. 
        self.result_fetcher = None
        # This is a default tracker + other listeners which will always be notified when states start/complete/error. 
        #
        # They are useful for altering some external system that should be notified when a state changes.
        self.change_tracker = None
        self.listeners = []

    def __setitem__(self, name, performer):
        self.states[name] = performer

    def __getitem__(self, name):
        return self.results[name]

    def run(self, context, *args, **kwargs):
        for (name, performer) in self.states.items():
            try:
                self._on_state_start(context, performer, name)
                # See if we have already ran this... (resumption!)
                result = None
                if self.result_fetcher:
                    result = self.result_fetcher(context, name, self)
                if result is None:
                    result = performer.apply(context, *args, **kwargs)
                # Keep a pristine copy of the result in the results table
                # so that if said result is altered by other further states
                # the one here will not be. 
                #
                # Note: python is by reference objects, so someone else could screw with this,
                # which would be bad if we need to rollback and a result we created was modified by someone else...
                self.results[name] = copy.deepcopy(result)
                self._on_state_finish(context, performer, name, result)
            except Exception as ex:
                with excutils.save_and_reraise_exception():
                    try:
                        self._on_state_error(context, name, ex)
                    except:
                        pass
                    cause = (name, performer, (args, kwargs))
                    self.rollback(context, name, self, ex, cause)
        return self

    def _on_state_error(self, context, name, ex):
        if self.change_tracker:
            self.change_tracker(context, ERRORED, name, self)
        for i in self.listeners:
            i.notify(context, ERRORED, name, self, error=ex)

    def _on_state_start(self, context, performer, name):
        if self.change_tracker:
            self.change_tracker(context, STARTING, name, self)
        for i in self.listeners:
            i.notify(context, STARTING, name, self)

    def _on_state_finish(self, context, performer, name, result):
        # If a future state fails we need to ensure that we
        # revert the one we just finished.
        self.reversions.append((name, performer))
        if self.change_tracker:
            self.change_tracker(context, COMPLETED, name, self,
                                result=result.to_dict())
        for i in self.listeners:
            i.notify(context, COMPLETED, name, self, result=result)

    def rollback(self, context, name, chain=None, ex=None, cause=None):
        if chain is None:
            chain = self
        for (i, (name, performer)) in enumerate(reversed(self.reversions)):
            try:
                performer.revert(context, self.results[name], chain, ex, cause)
            except excp.NovaException:
                # Ex: WARN: Failed rolling back stage 1 (validate_request) of
                # chain validation due to nova exception
                # WARN: Failed rolling back stage 2 (create_db_entry) of
                # chain init_db_entry due to nova exception
                msg = _("Failed rolling back stage %s (%s)"
                        " of chain %s due to nova exception.")
                LOG.warn(msg, (i + 1), performer.name, self.name)
                if not self.tolerant:
                    # This will log a msg AND re-raise the Nova exception if
                    # the chain does not tolerate exceptions
                    raise
            except Exception:
                # Ex: WARN: Failed rolling back stage 1 (validate_request) of
                # chain validation due to unknown exception
                # WARN: Failed rolling back stage 2 (create_db_entry) of
                # chain init_db_entry due to unknown exception
                msg = _("Failed rolling back stage %s (%s)"
                        " of chain %s, due to unknown exception.")
                LOG.warn(msg, (i + 1), performer.name, self.name)
                if not self.tolerant:
                    # Log a msg AND re-raise the generic Exception if the
                    # Chain does not tolerate exceptions
                    raise
        if self.parents:
            # Rollback any parents chains
            for p in self.parents:
                p.rollback(context, name, chain, ex, cause)

Task resumption

Why it matters

Key to the abiltiy to horizontal scaling your orchestration units is the abiltiy to be able to resume the work of a failed orchestration unit on another orchestration unit.

How it will be addressed

Task rollback

Why it matters
How it will be addressed

Task tracking

Why it matters
How it will be addressed

Resource locking

Why it matters
How it will be addressed

Workflow sharding/ownership

Why it matters
How it will be addressed

Simplicity

Why it matters
How it will be addressed

Tolerant to upgrades

Why it matters
How it will be addressed