Scientific Linux 6 System¶

Building RPMs¶

First, ensure your build system has all necessary packages installed:

yum install epel-release
yum install rpm-build gcc glibc-devel munge libcurl-devel json-c \
    json-c-devel pam-devel munge-devel libtool autoconf automake \
    gcc-c++ python-pip xfsprogs squashfs-tools python-devel

Next, if not using a prepared source tarball, generate one from the repo:

git clone https://github.com/NERSC/shifter.git
# checkout a particular branch or commit you require
VERSION=$(grep Version: shifter/shifter.spec | awk '{print $2}')
cp -rp shifter "shifter-$VERSION"
tar cf "shifter-$VERSION.tar.gz" "shifter-$VERSION"

Build the RPMs from your tarball:

rpmbuild -tb "shifter-$VERSION.tar.gz"

Note

To build with Slurm support, execute:

rpmbuild -tb "shifter-$VERSION.tar.gz" --define "with_slurm /usr"

Change /usr to the base path Slurm is installed in.

Installing the Image Manager¶

The image manager system can run on a login node or other service node in your cluster so long as it is running munge using the same munge key as all the compute nodes (and login nodes) and all nodes can access the imagegwapi port (typically 5000) on the image manager system.

Install the needed dependencies and shifter RPMs:

yum install epel-release
yum install python python-pip munge json-c squashfs-tools
rpm -i /path/to/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/shifter-imagegw-$VERSION.rpm

shifter-runtime is optional, but is recommended on the image gateway system

rpm -i /path/to/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/shifter-runtime-$VERSION.rpm

Configuring the Image Manager¶

Copy /etc/shifter/imagemanager.json.example to /etc/shifter/imagemanager.json. At minimum you should check that:

MongoDBURI is correct URL to shifter imagegw mongodb server.
CacheDirectory exists, semi-permanent storage for docker layers.
ExpandDirectory exists, temporary storage for converting images.
Change mycluster under Platforms to match your system name, should match the system configuration in udiRoot.conf.
Ensure the imageDir is set correctly for your system.

The imageDir should be a network volume accessible on all nodes in the system. The CacheDirectory and ExpandDirectory need only be visible on the imagegw system.

Note

See TODO:FutureDocument for more information on imagegw configuration.

Installing the Shifter Runtime¶

The shifter runtime needs to be installed on the login nodes as well as the compute nodes.

Install the needed dependencies and shifter RPMs:

yum install epel-release
yum install json-c munge

rpm -i /path/to/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/shifter-runtime-$VERSION.rpm

Configuring the Shifter Runtime¶

Copy /etc/shifter/udiRoot.conf.example to /etc/shifter/udiRoot.conf At minimum you need to change:

set the value for system to match the platform name from imagemanager.json
set the URL for imageGateway to match your imagegw machine, no trailing slash

Generate a passwd and group file for all your shifter users and place in:

/etc/shifter/etc_files/passwd
/etc/shifter/etc_files/group

Often, these can be generated as easily as getent passwd > /etc/shifter/etc_files/passwd, however you’ll need to setup to match your local user management configuration. The path to these share etc files for all shifter containers can be controlled with the etcPath configuration in udiRoot.conf. It is recommended that it be on a network volume to ease updating the passwd and group files.

Note

See TODO:FutureDocument for more information on udiRoot.conf configuration.

Starting the Image Manager¶

Ensure that mongod is running. If configured to be on the same host as the imagegw, do something like:

yum install mongodb-server
/etc/init.d/mongod start

Note

TODO: Put init scripts into RPM distribution

Without init scripts, do something like:

/usr/libexec/shifter/imagegwapi.py > /var/log/imagegwapi.log &

Ensure that CLUSTERNAME matches the values in udiRoot.conf (system) and imagemanger.json (platform).