CTL Center
From ControlTier
CTL Center (or ctlcenter) is the command console web app for ControlTier 3.6.0. It replaces the old Jobcenter and Reportcenter apps found in ControlTier 3.4.x. The functionality of CTL Center merges and extends the Jobcenter and Reportcenter.
CTL Center is a web application running on the ControlTier server that provides a graphical interface to schedule and run any command or script via the command dispatcher. See also: Creating jobs and Running jobs
CTL Center provides a single interface to schedule, run and track the execution of commands, scripts and workflows. In addition to being a handy alternative to the CTL command line tools (ctl-exec, ctl), it is also useful for delegating tasks to non-technical staff.
Besides its integration with the command dispatcher, CTL Center also integrates with with a database. All job activity is maintained in this database so you have a history of what jobs have run, their status, who ran them, etc. Finally, CTL Center includes a viewer for the Node resources defined in a Project resource model.
See RunDeck for a related project offering more advanced features.
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Features
- Web-based execution of any command (both ad-hoc and defined)
- Executes actions across machines based on tag names and other filtering criteria
- Web-based creation, scheduling, and execution of jobs
- XML-based job creation and scheduling
- Built-in job scheduler
- Built-in fine-grain access control
- Enables teams to follow the execution of important jobs
- Safely delegate commands and jobs to lesser skilled staff or other groups
Using the GUI
The GUI provides a simple interface for managing Jobs as well as executing them and observing them as they run (see Running jobs).
To get started, go to the URL for your ControlTier server.
You can see the link to CTL Center in the default ControlTier server landing page:
For example if your server is running on "localhost" on port 8080 the URL for CTL Center is: http://localhost:8080/ctlcenter
You can also get there from Workbench. Just click the Apps… link in the header of the page and select CTL Center:
Login
Log in with your username and password. (The default installation username/password is: default/default)
CTL Center's page header contains global navigation control to move between browsing Jobs, Events and Resources. It also has links to logout and view the user's profile.
Jobs
From the Jobs page, one can list, create and run Jobs. A configurable filter allows a user to limit the Job listing to those Jobs matching the filtering criteria. These filter settings can be saved to a Users profile.
Create Jobs
Creating a job is easy. The process is really just a matter of choosing a command you want to run. Start by pressing the "Create a new Job..." button.
You can upload a job definition described in an XML file or you can define one right in the CTL Center UI. To define your job in CTL Center, choose the command you want to run, configure any options it might use and then decide how and when you want to run it. Jobs can be run on a scheduled basis. You can save a job so you can run it any time. Finally, you can run it just once.
Run Jobs
To run a job, you first go to the CTL Center home page, and choose the job you want to run. Press the "Run job" button and it will add the job to the execution queue.
Once the job starts executing, you can monitor its progress. The progress meter will calculate its completion based on average times it maintains in its metrics database. You can also view the output in real time.
The job output can be followed by pressing the "output". This brings you to the job execution page where the last lines of output are displayed in real time. Once the job has completed you can download all the output as a text file.
Events
From the Events page, one can view currently executing commands in the "Now Running" area or browse execution history. The execution history can be filtered based on user selected parameters. Once the filter has been set, the matching history is displayed. The current filter settings also configure an RSS link, found in the top right of the page.
Resources
The Resources page displays the Node resources configured in your Project resource models. Like the Jobs and Events pages a filter control can be used to limit the listing to just the Node resources matching the criteria.
Using the CLI
Several CTL Center functions can be managed using shell utilities:
- ctl-jobs: Lists, exports and imports Job definitions in job.xml format.
- ctl-run: Initiates the start of a saved job
- ctl-queue: Lists commands running in the execution queue and can kill them.
Configuration
Configuration is done in the file $CTIER_ROOT/ctlcenter/ctlcenter-config.properties.
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