libra/doc/worker/code.rst

Code Walkthrough

Here we'll highlight some of the more important code aspects.

Gearman Worker Thread

This function encapsulates the functionality for the Gearman worker thread that will be started by the :py~libra.worker.main.EventServer class. It should never exit.

This function connects to the Gearman job server(s) and runs the Gearman worker task, which itself is another function that is called for each message retrieved from the Gearman job servers.

If all Gearman job servers become unavailable, the worker would normally exit. This function identifies that situation and periodically attempts to restart the worker in an endless loop.

EventServer Class

This class encapsulates the server activity once it starts in either daemon or non-daemon mode and all configuration options are read. It uses the eventlet Python module to start tasks that it will be supplied.

The one and only method in the class and represents the primary function of the program. A list of functions and their parameters is supplied as the only argument. Each function will be started in its own Green Thread.

LBaaSController Class

This class is used by the Gearman task started within the worker thread (the :py~libra.worker.worker.config_thread function) to drive the Gearman message handling.

This is the only method that should be called directly. It parses the JSON message given during object instantiation and determines the action to perform based on the contents. It returns another JSON message that should then be returned to the Gearman client.

LoadBalancerDriver Class

This defines the API for interacting with various load balancing appliances. Drivers for these appliances should inherit from this class and implement the relevant API methods that it can support. This is an abstract class and is not meant to be instantiated directly.

Generally, an appliance driver should queue up any configuration changes made via these API calls until the :pycreate method is called. The :pysuspend, :pyenable, :pydelete, :pyget_stats() and :pyarchive methods should take immediate action.

Known Load Balancer Drivers Dictionary

This is the dictionary that maps values for the --driver <libra_worker.py --driver> option to a class implementing the driver :py~LoadBalancerDriver API for that appliance. After implementing a new driver class, you simply add a new entry to this dictionary to plug in the new driver.

Relationship Diagram

Below is a conceptual diagram that shows the basic relationships between the items described above:

+-------------+     JSON request      +-------------------+
|   Gearman   | --------------------> |                   |
|   worker    |                       |  LBaaSController  |
|   task      | <-------------------- |                   |
+-------------+     JSON response     +-------------------+
                                         |            ^
                                         |            |
                               API call  |            | (Optional Exception)
                                         |            |
                                         V            |
                                      +----------------------+
                                      |                      |
                                      |  LoadBalancerDriver  |
                                      |                      |
                                      +----------------------+

The steps shown above are:

• The Gearman worker task used in the worker thread (see the :py~worker.config_thread function), is run when the worker receives a message from the Gearman job server (not represented above).
• This task then uses the :py~controller.LBaaSController to process the message that it received.
• Based on the contents of the message, the controller then makes the relevant driver API calls using the :py~drivers.LoadBalancerDriver driver that was selected via the --driver <libra_worker.py --driver> option.
• The driver executes the API call. If the driver encounters an error during execution, an exception is thrown that should be handled by the :py~controller.LBaaSController object. Otherwise, nothing is returned, indicating success.
• The :py~controller.LBaaSController object then creates a response message and returns this message back to the Gearman worker task.
• The Gearman worker task sends the response message back through the Gearman job server to the originating client (not represented above).