FAQs: Creating an Automatic Server Halt and Run Script for UNIX Systems

The script auto_haltrun allows you to halt, initialize, and run SirsiDynix Symphony and SirsiDynix product agent services from the UNIX command line, or automatically via the UNIX cron facility. The auto_haltrun script may also be used to provide basic system status information.

Command Line Usage

The auto_haltrun script is run from the UNIX command line. The structure of the command is as follows, where only one of these operations is used with any of the flags.

auto_haltrun Operations

The operations specify what will be done in the system. Only one operation can be run at a time and can be run with one or more flags.

cycle

When cycle is specified, auto_haltrun attempts to halt, initialize, run, and provide status, in that sequence. It does this using standard administration tools which have been altered to operate without requiring user intervention.

halt

When halt is specified, or during the halt phase of a cycle, auto_haltrun checks the state of the system for the following conditions.

•

Users logged in

•

Running reports

If either of these conditions is found to be true, the system is not halted.

init

When init is specified, or during the init phase of a cycle, auto_haltrun checks the state of the system for the following conditions.

•

Servers running

•

Users logged in

•

Running reports

If any of these conditions is found to be true, initialization is not performed.

run

When run is specified, or during the run phase of a cycle, auto_haltrun checks the state of the system to see if there are any servers running. If any servers are running, auto_haltrun prints an informational message and continues, running any halted servers.

status

A status phase is always performed by auto_haltrun to report the final state of the system after all other phases have been attempted. The status argument only reports, and never changes the state of the running system.

Note: The auto_haltrun script cannot be run as the root user, and should always be run from the sirsi user account.

auto_haltrun Flags

The administrator can include certain flags to designate how auto_haltrun behaves when users are logged in or reports are running. Other flags can indicate how auto_haltrun should affect SirsiDynix agent processes running on the server if they have been configured to halt and run along with the SirsiDynix Symphony processes.

ignore_users

If the ignore_users flag is specified, auto_haltrun performs the halt, initialize, run, and cycle operations regardless of whether users are logged in, but does not perform the operations if reports are running.

ignore_reports

If the ignore_reports flag is specified, the halt, initialize, run, and cycle operations will be performed regardless of whether reports are being run, but will not be performed if users are logged in.

exclude_agents

If the exclude_agents flag is specified, auto_haltrun performs any specified halt, initialize, run, and cycle operations except for those involving agents for other SirsiDynix products (if you have configured any product agents to halt and run along with the auto_haltrun script).

For example, the following command halts all SirsiDynix Symphony operations but does not halt any SirsiDynix product agents that are running on the server (such as the BLUEcloud Harvester):

Note: If you run the auto_haltrun command with only the exclude_agents flag specified, auto_haltrun does not halt services if reports are running or users are logged in. If you want the auto_haltrun command to ignore reports that are running or users that are logged in, you need to specify the appropriate flag or flags in the auto_haltrun command in addition to the exclude_agents flag.

Note: This flag can only have effect if there is a configured agents.cfg file on your SirsiDynix Symphony server and the file's allowhalt value is set to Y. For information on how to configure this file, see Configuring SirsiDynix agent processes to halt and run using the auto_haltrun script.

force_agents

If the force_agents flag is specified, auto_haltrun performs any specified halt, initialize, run, and cycle operations, including those for SirsiDynix product agents also running on the server, even if the allowhalt value in the agents.cfg file is set to N.

Note: If you run the auto_haltrun command with only the force_agents flag specified, auto_haltrun does not halt services if reports are running or users are logged in. If you want the auto_haltrun command to ignore reports that are running or users that are logged in, you need to specify the appropriate flag or flags in the auto_haltrun command in addition to the force_agents flag.

Note: This flag can only have effect if there is a configured agents.cfg file on your SirsiDynix Symphony server. For information on how to configure this file, see Configuring SirsiDynix agent processes to halt and run using the auto_haltrun script.

warn

If the warn flag is specified, auto_haltrun will prompt you to terminate any running reports and to close any user connections before proceeding with the script before performing the designated halt, initialize, run, or cycle operation.

force

If the force flag is specified, the halt, initialize, run, and cycle operations will be performed regardless of whether users are logged in or whether reports are running.

Execution Restrictions

Like many system utilities, only one instance of auto_haltrun may be running at a time. If a second copy of auto_haltrun is invoked from another station or by another system user, auto_haltrun displays the following message and terminates.

The auto_haltrun script will also check whether there is a backup in progress or if log files are being copied to tape. If so, auto_haltrun terminates with an error message. For sites that do not use SirsiDynix backup utilities, a custom halt/run script may be used to detect the existence of any running non-SirsiDynix backup facilities. You should have SirsiDynix API training before attempting to use a custom halt/run script.

Automatic Operation through the Cron Facility

The auto_haltrun script may be automated to run through the UNIX cron facility.

Since administration of the crontab file entries differs depending on the particular UNIX implementation you are running, implementation-independent examples will be presented here. Please consult the system administration documentation pertinent to the implementation of UNIX at your site for more specific details.

When setting up auto_haltrun to be executed automatically via cron, it is necessary to use a wrapper script to set up the proper environment, and then run the auto_haltrun facility itself. This wrapper script must be placed in the /Unicorn/Bincustom directory.

A very simple example of an auto_haltrun wrapper script that would be placed in Bincustom follows.

This script sets up the necessary environment by dotting in the /Unicorn/Config/environ file and exporting critical environment variables, runs the specified auto_haltrun command, and redirects the output to a file. The output file is then mailed to all users found in the list file /Unicorn/Custom/haltrun_dist.

A sample haltrun_dist file containing e-mail addresses, one per line, might resemble the following.

A crontab entry may be created to cycle the system at 1:00 every morning. Check your UNIX documentation for the exact format of crontab entries as they differ from system to system.

Note that a fixed path must be used to invoke the haltrun_wrap script, as the command `getpathname bincustom` cannot be used here since the SirsiDynix Symphony environment has not been properly set up at this point.

Cron works in such a way that the user account that set up the entry will receive an email containing the stdout output of the job, and another email of the stderr output of the job. In the scheme outlined above, the haltrun_wrap script does a direct mailing to the user accounts contained in the /Unicorn/Custom/haltrun_dist file. There will also be another e-mail produced by cron which will contain any errors encountered while trying to run the /Unicorn/Bincustom/haltrun_wrap script itself. This may be suppressed, if desired, by directing all output to /dev/null. It is recommended that this change be delayed until after a lengthy period of successful automatic halt/init/runs by the auto_haltrun facility to insure that all potential problems have been resolved with timing of jobs at your site.

A sample crontab entry that ignores its output completely follows.

Sample Output

Sample output from the auto_haltrun script follows.

 

For example, the auto_haltrun script has been run with the status option.

The script returns the following output.

In the following example the auto_haltrun script has been run with the cycle option.

The script returns the following output.

Troubleshooting

If the first output line is missing the SIRSI user name, like in the following example, this indicates that the environment for your auto_haltrun script was not set up properly.

To correct this, add the following lines to the environment file, typically /Unicorn/Config/environ.

serveradmin Log File

A log file, serveradmin, tracks automated halt, initialize, and run activities. This log may be viewed via the Logs utility.

For example: