Batch Execution

Overview

Batch execution consists of Run Task and Templates. It is typically used for ad-hoc jobs such as installing or removing a package on many hosts or collecting information from them.

Run task

Pick one or more hosts from host management as targets, write the command directly (Shell or Python) or load a saved command template with Select Template.

The execution page shows the output of every host in real time. You can:

• click Terminate to stop commands that are still running;
• click Open web terminal to log in to the host and investigate;
• select output with the mouse to copy it.

Retrying failed hosts

When some hosts fail (red icon in the left list, the counters at the top filter the list), there is no need to go back and submit the whole task again:

• select a failed host and click Retry in the top right to run it again on that host only;
• click Retry all failed hosts on the left to retry every host that currently failed.

A retry reuses the command and parameters of the current task and only re-dispatches the selected hosts. Hosts that already succeeded are untouched and the output is refreshed in place. This is handy when a few hosts failed because of a network glitch or a service that was not up yet.

Tip

Retrying relies on the connection between the execution page and the backend. Once the page reports Websocket connection failed or you have left the page, the buttons no longer work and you need to submit the task again.

Execution records are listed below the form. Identical runs are merged, records are cleaned up daily and only the most recent 10 per account are kept.

Tip

The page keeps spinning after starting a background process with nohup or &?

Templates

Templates store complex or frequently used command sets for later reuse.

• Template type: a category; new categories can be typed directly into the drop-down.
• Template name / Interpreter / Content: the interpreter can be Shell or Python.
• Parameters: define parameters for the template; a form is shown when the template is run and the values are passed to the script as environment variables, see below.
• Target hosts: optional default hosts; selecting the template in Run Task pre-selects them.

Parameterized templates

Click Add parameter in the Parameters table:

Setting	Description
Name	short label shown in the form when the template runs
Variable	variable name used in the script, prefixed with _SPUG_; variable name becomes the environment variable _SPUG_name
Type	text box, password box or drop-down
Options	for drop-downs, one option per line; use a colon to separate value and label, e.g. lisi:Li Si
Required	whether the parameter is mandatory
Default / Help	default value and the hint shown under the input

Use the parameter in the script:

echo "restarting service: $_SPUG_service"
systemctl restart $_SPUG_service

Global variables

Reference them as $SPUG_HOST_HOSTNAME in Shell or os.getenv('SPUG_HOST_HOSTNAME') in Python.

Variable	Example	Description
SPUG_HOST_ID	1	host ID
SPUG_HOST_NAME	webserver01	host name
SPUG_HOST_HOSTNAME	172.10.26.5	host IP / domain
SPUG_SSH_PORT	22	SSH port
SPUG_SSH_USERNAME	root	SSH user
SPUG_INTERPRETER	python	interpreter

Permissions

• Run task: allows running batch commands; the selectable hosts follow the host permissions of the role.
• View / New / Edit / Delete template: the corresponding template operations.