[AG-TECH] Problems with Access Grid 3.0.2

Christoph Willing willing at vislab.uq.edu.au
Tue Oct 30 14:22:13 CDT 2007


On 31/10/2007, at 2:59 AM, Nico wrote:

> Hi Chris!
>
> Sorry, I was quite busy and I couldn't answer, but at the end I  
> tried the other solution you gave me:
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ----------------------
> change the line in /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions:
>    $nice runuser -s /bin/bash - $user -c "$corelimit >/dev/null  
> 2>&1 ; $*"
> to:
>    $nice runuser -s /bin/bash $user -c "$corelimit >/dev/null  
> 2>&1 ; $*"
>
> Then change your init.d script line:
>    daemonAG --user ag VenueServer -c /home/ag/venue_server3/ 
> VenueServer.cfg -p 9000
> to:
>  cd /home/ag/venue_server3 && daemonAG --user ag VenueServer -c / 
> home/ag/venue_server3/VenueServer.cfg -p 9000
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -------------------------------
>
> Doing this I obtain the same problems than before, nothing change  
> after rebooting. VenueServer3 and 24 run at the startup but doesn't  
> work when you connect a client. In fact, I've just realized that  
> when I rebooted VenueServer.dat content for AG24 changed for  
> content of AG3 but is not the same content of /home/ag/ 
> venue_server3/VenueServer.dat.
>
> So that you can see better:
>
> /home/ag/VenueServer.dat before rebooting:
>
> # AGTk 2.4
[snip]
>
> /home/ag/VenueServer.dat after rebooting:
>
> # AGTk 3.0.2
[snip]
> It seems after rebooting, new information is added related to a AG3  
> Venue (pay attention to the header). Uncomprenhensible.


Nico,

 From the above, its clear that the AG3 server is still running in  
the same directory as the AG2 server. In that case it looks like it  
will be best to bypass the "convenience" functions altogether and use  
something like (for AG3 server):
     cd /home/ag/venue_server3 && su ag -c /usr/bin/VenueServer &

and for AG2 server:
     cd /home/ag && su ag /usr/bin/VenueServer24 &

You will need to include a different -p portnumber option for each  
server and also ensure that any port numbers specified in each  
server's VenueServer.cfg is different from the other's.


Another solution altogether could be to run each server as a  
different user - perhaps user 'ag' for the AG2 server (as before) and  
user 'ag3' for the AG3 server. Then all configuration files would be  
in the separate home directories of ag and ag3.

You'd still have to ensure that all the port numbers being used are  
different


chris


> Respect to AG3, the same problem, since a client I can't enter any  
> venue.
>
> I keep trying things, but there is no improvement and running the  
> services manually seems to be the only valid solution.
>
> Any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much!
>
>
>                                       Nico.
>
>
> Christoph Willing escribió:
>>
>> On 23/10/2007, at 1:37 AM, Nico wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Chris again!
>>>
>>> Well, I don't where to start but I'll try to explain all my  
>>> problems as well as I can because I have some difficulties with  
>>> English.
>>>
>>> I didn't try all the solutions you gave me in the last email, but  
>>> I tried the last solution changing the address in  
>>> "persistenceFilename" entry as this:
>>>
>>> persistenceFilename = /home/ag/venue_server3/VenueServer.dat   
>>> (The same for the Data folder)
>>>
>>> Then, I rebooted the machine and it didn't work, in fact I think  
>>> I obtained some errors, but I'm not sure. So I correct  
>>> VenueServer.cfg again.
>>
>>
>> Nico,
>>
>> I've now tried this method myself and found that it does not work  
>> correctly yet. The server will use the different data store and  
>> persistenceFilename if they are specified in the cfg file, however  
>> the data written to the .dat file is incorrect - a bug for fixing  
>> sometime.
>>
>>
>>
>>> After that I started to have problems with Access Grid 2.4 too (I  
>>> have another script on the startup for VenueServer24). At any  
>>> way, is not the first problem I have with AG2.4. The problem I  
>>> have is that VenueServer.dat (for AG2.4) become corrupt file and  
>>> VenueServer24 runs but with problems, when I execute it I have  
>>> this messages:
>> [snip]
>>>  File "/usr/lib/python2.4/ConfigParser.py", line 520, in get
>>>    raise NoOptionError(option, section)
>>> ConfigParser.NoOptionError: No option 'cleanuptime' in section:  
>>> 'c190248c0648459db8c5401e80b4f0a0'
>>
>> This means that the VenueServer.dat file being used now by your  
>> AG2 server was sometime also used by the AG3 server, at which time  
>> a new venue was created. The new venue did not include a  
>> 'cleanuptime' feature (because it is not used by AG3) but it is  
>> expected to to be there by the AG2 server which then complains  
>> when the feature is not found.
>>
>>
>>> Traceback (most recent call last):
>>>  File "/usr/lib/python2.4/logging/handlers.py", line 62, in emit
>>>    if self.shouldRollover(record):
>>>  File "/usr/lib/python2.4/logging/handlers.py", line 132, in  
>>> shouldRollover
>>>    self.stream.seek(0, 2)  #due to non-posix-compliant Windows  
>>> feature
>>> ValueError: I/O operation on closed file
>>>
>>> Therefore the quick solution is deleting Data folder and  
>>> VenueServer.dat, then I run VenueServer24 and I go to  
>>> VenueManagement24 to create a default Venue with multicast  
>>> addresses for video and audio. I press Ok to save the  
>>> configuration and close the program. Then to check the  
>>> configuration I connect a client to the server and I see all I  
>>> configured is ok, however I make a cat to VenueServer.dat and the  
>>> information about the default Venue doesn't appear, the file  
>>> didn't change so it's quite uncomprenhensible. I was trying to  
>>> get some aditional information from Logs and all I could find was  
>>> this clue:
>>
>> The changing configuration is kept in memory and occasionally  
>> written out to the VenueServer.dat file. If the server is shut  
>> down before the new configuration is written out then the  
>> VenueServer.dat file may not contain the correct configuration.
>>
>> You can force writing of the configuration from the  
>> VenueManagement tool from the Server->Checkpoint menu. Wait until  
>> this has completed and then it is safe to close down the server.  
>> Hopefully your VenueServer.dat file will then be correct.
>>
>>
>>
>>> For now I removed the VenueServer script from the startup. First,  
>>> it must work fine manually, then I'll try to find a solution for  
>>> the startup of the services.
>>
>> I think the manual starting will always work because you cd into  
>> the correct directory before you start the server. This cd into  
>> the correct directory must also be part of any startup script you  
>> use.
>>
>>
>> chris
>>
>>
>>
>>> Christoph Willing escribió:
>>>>
>>>> On 18/10/2007, at 5:24 PM, Nico wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Chris!
>>>>>
>>>>> When I start VenueServer manually I use the same command as in  
>>>>> the script file. The syntax is the same. I have a little script  
>>>>> (called venue_server) in /home/ag/venue_server3 with this line:
>>>>>
>>>>> VenueServer -c VenueServer.cfg -p 9000 &
>>>>>
>>>>> So, I just execute at this way: ./venue_server  with  "ag" user.
>>>>>
>>>>> The entry for 'persistenceFilename' in VenueServer.cfg is  
>>>>> 'VenueServer.dat'
>>>>>
>>>>> persistenceFilename = VenueServer.dat
>>>>
>>>> Nico,
>>>>
>>>> From this information, I'm pretty sure your problems are related  
>>>> to the VenueServer being run from the incorrect directory.
>>>>
>>>> When the server is started manually from the venue_server3  
>>>> directory, it runs correctly. That directory contains the  
>>>> correct VenueServer.dat file (and also a Data directory). The  
>>>> persistenceFilename set in the VenueServer.cfg file says  
>>>> 'VenueServer.dat' but note that this is a relative (not  
>>>> absolute) path name. The problem is that it is relative to the  
>>>> location the server is running from, _not_ relative to the  
>>>> location of the VenueServer.cfg file. If the server is run, for  
>>>> instance, from /var/tmp then a VenueServer.dat is expected to be  
>>>> in /var/tmp even when you specify the correct VenueServer.cfg  
>>>> file somewhere else. If no VenueServer.dat file is found, a new  
>>>> one is created containing just a default lobby. If the server is  
>>>> run from /home/ag/venueserver3 directory then the correct  
>>>> VenueServer.dat file is found.
>>>>
>>>> When you run from the init.d script, you're using a 'daemonAG'  
>>>> command which I presume is based on the plain 'daemon' command  
>>>> which is sourced from /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions. If you look at  
>>>> the definition of the 'daemon' function in that file, you'll see  
>>>> that it is just a wrapper for the 'runuser' command (which  
>>>> itself is a cut down version of the more traditional 'su'  
>>>> command). You'll also see that runuser is invoked with the '-'  
>>>> option i.e. it runs in a login shell of the specified user ('ag'  
>>>> in this case). That means that when the VenueServer command is  
>>>> run, it is run from ag's home directory /home/ag, not /home/ag/ 
>>>> venue_server3 as you intend.
>>>>
>>>> My guess is that you see your previous venues because you used  
>>>> to run your AG2 venue server the same way and so /home/ag  
>>>> already contains a useable VenueServer.dat file (even if its not  
>>>> the one you intend, which is in the venue_server3 directory).
>>>>
>>>> Was the AG2 server running at the same time you ran the AG3  
>>>> server from the init.d script? I think this would be a big  
>>>> problem with both the AG2 and AG3 servers attempting to use the  
>>>> same .dat file simultaneously!
>>>>
>>>> The solution is to have your script cd to the correct directory  
>>>> before running VenueServer && preventing it from running from a  
>>>> login shell. If your daemonAG is largely a copy of the 'daemon'  
>>>> function in /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions, then you could edit  
>>>> daemonAG command to remove the '-' option from the invocation of  
>>>> 'runuser' i.e. change the line:
>>>>     $nice runuser -s /bin/bash - $user -c "$corelimit >/dev/null  
>>>> 2>&1 ; $*"
>>>> to:
>>>>     $nice runuser -s /bin/bash $user -c "$corelimit >/dev/null  
>>>> 2>&1 ; $*"
>>>>
>>>> Then change your init.d script line:
>>>>     daemonAG --user ag VenueServer -c /home/ag/venue_server3/ 
>>>> VenueServer.cfg -p 9000
>>>> to:
>>>>   cd /home/ag/venue_server3 && daemonAG --user ag VenueServer - 
>>>> c /home/ag/venue_server3/VenueServer.cfg -p 9000
>>>>
>>>> If you use this line, you don't really need to specify the  
>>>> VenueServer.cfg location since the VenueServer will look for the  
>>>> cfg file in the directory in which it is running i.e. the line  
>>>> could be:
>>>>   cd /home/ag/venue_server3 && daemonAG --user ag VenueServer -p  
>>>> 9000
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Another possible solution (untried) is to specify an absolute  
>>>> path name for the persistenceFilename entry in the  
>>>> VenueServer.cfg file i.e. instead of
>>>>     persistenceFilename = VenueServer.dat
>>>> try:
>>>>     persistenceFilename = /home/ag/venue_server3/VenueServer.dat
>>>>
>>>> BTW this problem will also occur with the server's data store  
>>>> which is under the 'Data' directory. This is also specified in  
>>>> the VenueServer.cfg file as the 'dataStorageLocation = Data' entry.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> chris
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Christoph Willing escribió:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 18/10/2007, at 12:33 AM, Nico wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Chris!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks for answering! When I start from the script in init.d  
>>>>>>> and I connect a client and I can see all Venues, but I can't  
>>>>>>> enter in any of them because I obtain the error messages I  
>>>>>>> mentioned in the first mail.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In the script I have a line different than you to execute  
>>>>>>> VenueServer, but I've specified the "ag" user:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> daemonAG --user ag VenueServer -c /home/ag/venue_server3/ 
>>>>>>> VenueServer.cfg -p 9000
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Nico,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> When you start the server manually and clients can connect to  
>>>>>> all venues, which directory are you starting from? With the  
>>>>>> line above there may be a problem with which VenueServer.dat  
>>>>>> file is used. What is the entry for 'persistenceFilename' in  
>>>>>> your /home/ag/venue_server3/VenueServer.cfg file?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> chris
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Maybe our scripts are different. I used the syntax from this  
>>>>>>> forum:  http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/web-mail-archive/lists/ag- 
>>>>>>> tech/2006/02/msg00023.html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> VenueServer for version 2.4 runs ok with the same syntax.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks again for your help! See you soon!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>                      Nico.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Christoph Willing escribió:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 17/10/2007, at 9:53 PM, Nico wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi!
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In our company we have an AG Server on a Linux Fedora Core  
>>>>>>>>> 4 machine with Access Grid 3.0.2 installed. We have several  
>>>>>>>>> Venues configured. During these days I've been configuring  
>>>>>>>>> start scripts on the /etc/init.d folder to automatically  
>>>>>>>>> run Venue Server at the start of the system. So the  
>>>>>>>>> proccess VenueServer is ok when I reboot the machine, but  
>>>>>>>>> when I connect a client I can connect to https://server: 
>>>>>>>>> 9000/Venues/default but I can't enter in any configured  
>>>>>>>>> Venue on the server, I try it, but I receive the following  
>>>>>>>>> error message: "Error entering venue".
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> So the quick solution is start Venue Server again manually,  
>>>>>>>>> then I can enter in any Venue.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Could somebody tell me what can happen?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Nico,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Are the additional venues you've created actually visible to  
>>>>>>>> the client when the server is started from the init.d script?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If not, then my guess is that whenever the server is started  
>>>>>>>> from the script in init.d directory, it is being run by the  
>>>>>>>> root user instead of the ordinary user who created the  
>>>>>>>> additional venue structure. In that case the server starts  
>>>>>>>> in the wrong directory and doesn't find the VenueServer.dat  
>>>>>>>> file that contains your venue structure (which was created  
>>>>>>>> when you ran the server as an ordinary user).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Your init.d script should explicitly cd to the directory  
>>>>>>>> containing the correct VenueServer.dat file. It should also  
>>>>>>>> su to an ordinary user account to actually run the venue  
>>>>>>>> server.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Here is the crucial line in our startup script which starts  
>>>>>>>> the server. You can see the cd to the directory which  
>>>>>>>> contains the VenueServer.dat file and if that succeeds it  
>>>>>>>> runs VenueServer3.py as the user 'ag' (not root).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>     cd /var/lib/ag/server_HALL && su ag -c /usr/bin/ 
>>>>>>>> VenueServer3.py &
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Since you run Fedora, I think your executable will be just  
>>>>>>>> 'VenueServer' (rather than 'VenueServer3.py')


Christoph Willing                       +61 7 3365 8350
QCIF Access Grid Manager
University of Queensland






More information about the ag-tech mailing list