# Orchestrate Runner

Executing states or highstate on a minion is perfect when you want to ensure that minion configured and running the way you want. Sometimes however you want to configure a set of minions all at once.

For example, if you want to set up a load balancer in front of a cluster of web servers you can ensure the load balancer is set up first, and then the same matching configuration is applied consistently across the whole cluster.

Orchestration is the way to do this.

## The Orchestrate Runner

New in version 0.17.0.

Note

Orchestrate Deprecates OverState

The Orchestrate Runner (originally called the state.sls runner) offers all the functionality of the OverState, but with some advantages:

- All Requisites and Other Global State Arguments available in states can be used.

- The states/functions will also work on salt-ssh minions.

The Orchestrate Runner replaced the OverState system in Salt 2015.8.0.

The orchestrate runner generalizes the Salt state system to a Salt master context. Whereas the `state.sls`, `state.highstate`, et al. functions are concurrently and independently executed on each Salt minion, the `state.orchestrate` runner is executed on the master, giving it a master-level view and control over requisites, such as state ordering and conditionals. This allows for inter minion requisites, like ordering the application of states on different minions that must not happen simultaneously, or for halting the state run on all minions if a minion fails one of its states.

The `state.sls`, `state.highstate`, et al. functions allow you to statefully manage each minion and the `state.orchestrate` runner allows you to statefully manage your entire infrastructure.

### Writing SLS Files

Orchestrate SLS files are stored in the same location as State SLS files. This means that both `file_roots` and `gitfs_remotes` impact what SLS files are available to the reactor and orchestrator.

It is recommended to keep reactor and orchestrator SLS files in their own uniquely named subdirectories such as `_orch/`, `orch/`, `_orchestrate/`, `react/`, `_reactor/`, etc. This will avoid duplicate naming and will help prevent confusion.

### Executing the Orchestrate Runner

The Orchestrate Runner command format is the same as for the `state.sls` function, except that since it is a runner, it is executed with `salt-run` rather than `salt`. Assuming you have a state.sls file called `/srv/salt/orch/webserver.sls` the following command, run on the master, will apply the states defined in that file.

    salt-run state.orchestrate orch.webserver

Note

`state.orch` is a synonym for `state.orchestrate`

Changed in version 2014.1.1: The runner function was renamed to `state.orchestrate` to avoid confusion with the `state.sls` execution function. In versions 0.17.0 through 2014.1.0, `state.sls` must be used.

### Masterless Orchestration

New in version 2016.11.0.

To support salt orchestration on masterless minions, the Orchestrate Runner is available as an execution module. The syntax for masterless orchestration is exactly the same, but it uses the `salt-call` command and the minion configuration must contain the `file_mode: local` option. Alternatively, use `salt-call --local` on the command line.

    salt-call --local state.orchestrate orch.webserver

Note

Masterless orchestration supports only the `salt.state` command in an sls file; it does not (currently) support the `salt.function` command.

### Examples

#### Function

To execute a function, use `salt.function`:

    # /srv/salt/orch/cleanfoo.sls
    cmd.run:
      salt.function:
        - tgt: '*'
        - arg:
          - rm -rf /tmp/foo

    salt-run state.orchestrate orch.cleanfoo

If you omit the "name" argument, the ID of the state will be the default name, or in the case of `salt.function`, the execution module function to run. You can specify the "name" argument to avoid conflicting IDs:

    copy_some_file:
      salt.function:
        - name: file.copy
        - tgt: '*'
        - arg:
          - /path/to/file
          - /tmp/copy_of_file
        - kwarg:
            remove_existing: true

##### Fail Functions

When running a remote execution function in orchestration, certain return values for those functions may indicate failure, while the function itself doesn't set a return code. For those circumstances, using a "fail function" allows for a more flexible means of assessing success or failure.

A fail function can be written as part of a custom execution module. The function should accept one argument, and return a boolean result. For example:

    def check_func_result(retval):
        if some_condition:
            return True
        else:
            return False

The function can then be referenced in orchestration SLS like so:

    do_stuff:
      salt.function:
        - name: modname.funcname
        - tgt: '*'
        - fail_function: mymod.check_func_result

Important

Fail functions run on the master, so they must be synced using `salt-run saltutil.sync_modules`.

#### State

To execute a state, use `salt.state`.

    # /srv/salt/orch/webserver.sls
    install_nginx:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: 'web*'
        - sls:
          - nginx

    salt-run state.orchestrate orch.webserver

#### Highstate

To run a highstate, set `highstate: True` in your state config:

    # /srv/salt/orch/web_setup.sls
    webserver_setup:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: 'web*'
        - highstate: True

    salt-run state.orchestrate orch.web_setup

#### Runner

To execute another runner, use `salt.runner`. For example to use the `cloud.profile` runner in your orchestration state additional options to replace values in the configured profile, use this:

    # /srv/salt/orch/deploy.sls
    create_instance:
      salt.runner:
        - name: cloud.profile
        - prof: cloud-centos
        - provider: cloud
        - instances:
          - server1
        - opts:
            minion:
              master: master1

To get a more dynamic state, use jinja variables together with `inline pillar data`. Using the same example but passing on pillar data, the state would be like this.

    # /srv/salt/orch/deploy.sls
    {% set servers = salt['pillar.get']('servers', 'test') %}
    {% set master = salt['pillar.get']('master', 'salt') %}
    create_instance:
      salt.runner:
        - name: cloud.profile
        - prof: cloud-centos
        - provider: cloud
        - instances:
          - {{ servers }}
        - opts:
            minion:
              master: {{ master }}

To execute with pillar data.

    salt-run state.orch orch.deploy pillar='{"servers": "newsystem1",
    "master": "mymaster"}'

### Return Codes in Runner/Wheel Jobs

New in version 2018.3.0.

State (`salt.state`) jobs are able to report failure via the state return dictionary. Remote execution (`salt.function`) jobs are able to report failure by setting a `retcode` key in the `__context__` dictionary. However, runner (`salt.runner`) and wheel (`salt.wheel`) jobs would only report a `False` result when the runner/wheel function raised an exception. As of the 2018.3.0 release, it is now possible to set a retcode in runner and wheel functions just as you can do in remote execution functions. Here is some example pseudocode:

    def myrunner():
        ...
        # do stuff
        ...
        if some_error_condition:
            __context__["retcode"] = 1
        return result

This allows a custom runner/wheel function to report its failure so that requisites can accurately tell that a job has failed.

### More Complex Orchestration

Many states/functions can be configured in a single file, which when combined with the full suite of Requisites and Other Global State Arguments, can be used to easily configure complex orchestration tasks. Additionally, the states/functions will be executed in the order in which they are defined, unless prevented from doing so by any Requisites and Other Global State Arguments, as is the default in SLS files since 0.17.0.

    bootstrap_servers:
      salt.function:
        - name: cmd.run
        - tgt: 10.0.0.0/24
        - tgt_type: ipcidr
        - arg:
          - bootstrap

    storage_setup:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: 'role:storage'
        - tgt_type: grain
        - sls: ceph
        - require:
          - salt: webserver_setup

    webserver_setup:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: 'web*'
        - highstate: True

Given the above setup, the orchestration will be carried out as follows:

1. The shell command `bootstrap` will be executed on all minions in the 10.0.0.0/24 subnet.

2. A Highstate will be run on all minions whose ID starts with "web", since the `storage_setup` state requires it.

3. Finally, the `ceph` SLS target will be executed on all minions which have a grain called `role` with a value of `storage`.

Note

Remember, salt-run is always executed on the master.

## Parsing Results Programmatically

Orchestration jobs return output in a specific data structure. That data structure is represented differently depending on the outputter used. With the default outputter for orchestration, you get a nice human-readable output. Assume the following orchestration SLS:

    good_state:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: myminion
        - sls:
        - succeed_with_changes

    bad_state:
      salt.state:
        - tgt: myminion
        - sls:
        - fail_with_changes

    mymod.myfunc:
      salt.function:
        - tgt: myminion

    mymod.myfunc_false_result:
      salt.function:
        - tgt: myminion

Running this using the default outputter would produce output which looks like this:

    fa5944a73aa8_master:
    ----------
              ID: good_state
        Function: salt.state
          Result: True
         Comment: States ran successfully. Updating myminion.
         Started: 21:08:02.681604
        Duration: 265.565 ms
         Changes:
                  myminion:
                  ----------
                            ID: test succeed with changes
                      Function: test.succeed_with_changes
                        Result: True
                       Comment: Success!
                       Started: 21:08:02.835893
                      Duration: 0.375 ms
                       Changes:
                                ----------
                                testing:
                                    ----------
                                    new:
                                        Something pretended to change
                                    old:
                                        Unchanged

                  Summary for myminion
                  ------------
                  Succeeded: 1 (changed=1)
                  Failed:    0
                  ------------
                  Total states run:     1
                  Total run time:   0.375 ms
    ----------
              ID: bad_state
        Function: salt.state
          Result: False
         Comment: Run failed on minions: myminion
         Started: 21:08:02.947702
        Duration: 177.01 ms
         Changes:
                  myminion:
                  ----------
                            ID: test fail with changes
                      Function: test.fail_with_changes
                        Result: False
                       Comment: Failure!
                       Started: 21:08:03.116634
                      Duration: 0.502 ms
                       Changes:
                                ----------
                                testing:
                                    ----------
                                    new:
                                        Something pretended to change
                                    old:
                                        Unchanged

                  Summary for myminion
                  ------------
                  Succeeded: 0 (changed=1)
                  Failed:    1
                  ------------
                  Total states run:     1
                  Total run time:   0.502 ms
    ----------
              ID: mymod.myfunc
        Function: salt.function
          Result: True
         Comment: Function ran successfully. Function mymod.myfunc ran on myminion.
         Started: 21:08:03.125011
        Duration: 159.488 ms
         Changes:
                  myminion:
                      True
    ----------
              ID: mymod.myfunc_false_result
        Function: salt.function
          Result: False
         Comment: Running function mymod.myfunc_false_result failed on minions: myminion. Function mymod.myfunc_false_result ran on myminion.
         Started: 21:08:03.285148
        Duration: 176.787 ms
         Changes:
                  myminion:
                      False

    Summary for fa5944a73aa8_master
    ------------
    Succeeded: 2 (changed=4)
    Failed:    2
    ------------
    Total states run:     4
    Total run time: 778.850 ms

However, using the `json` outputter, you can get the output in an easily loadable and parsable format:

    salt-run state.orchestrate test --out=json

    {
        "outputter": "highstate",
        "data": {
            "fa5944a73aa8_master": {
                "salt_|-good_state_|-good_state_|-state": {
                    "comment": "States ran successfully. Updating myminion.",
                    "name": "good_state",
                    "start_time": "21:35:16.868345",
                    "result": true,
                    "duration": 267.299,
                    "__run_num__": 0,
                    "__jid__": "20171130213516897392",
                    "__sls__": "test",
                    "changes": {
                        "ret": {
                            "myminion": {
                                "test_|-test succeed with changes_|-test succeed with changes_|-succeed_with_changes": {
                                    "comment": "Success!",
                                    "name": "test succeed with changes",
                                    "start_time": "21:35:17.022592",
                                    "result": true,
                                    "duration": 0.362,
                                    "__run_num__": 0,
                                    "__sls__": "succeed_with_changes",
                                    "changes": {
                                        "testing": {
                                            "new": "Something pretended to change",
                                            "old": "Unchanged"
                                        }
                                    },
                                    "__id__": "test succeed with changes"
                                }
                            }
                        },
                        "out": "highstate"
                    },
                    "__id__": "good_state"
                },
                "salt_|-bad_state_|-bad_state_|-state": {
                    "comment": "Run failed on minions: test",
                    "name": "bad_state",
                    "start_time": "21:35:17.136511",
                    "result": false,
                    "duration": 197.635,
                    "__run_num__": 1,
                    "__jid__": "20171130213517202203",
                    "__sls__": "test",
                    "changes": {
                        "ret": {
                            "myminion": {
                                "test_|-test fail with changes_|-test fail with changes_|-fail_with_changes": {
                                    "comment": "Failure!",
                                    "name": "test fail with changes",
                                    "start_time": "21:35:17.326268",
                                    "result": false,
                                    "duration": 0.509,
                                    "__run_num__": 0,
                                    "__sls__": "fail_with_changes",
                                    "changes": {
                                        "testing": {
                                            "new": "Something pretended to change",
                                            "old": "Unchanged"
                                        }
                                    },
                                    "__id__": "test fail with changes"
                                }
                            }
                        },
                        "out": "highstate"
                    },
                    "__id__": "bad_state"
                },
                "salt_|-mymod.myfunc_|-mymod.myfunc_|-function": {
                    "comment": "Function ran successfully. Function mymod.myfunc ran on myminion.",
                    "name": "mymod.myfunc",
                    "start_time": "21:35:17.334373",
                    "result": true,
                    "duration": 151.716,
                    "__run_num__": 2,
                    "__jid__": "20171130213517361706",
                    "__sls__": "test",
                    "changes": {
                        "ret": {
                            "myminion": true
                        },
                        "out": "highstate"
                    },
                    "__id__": "mymod.myfunc"
                },
                "salt_|-mymod.myfunc_false_result-mymod.myfunc_false_result-function": {
                    "comment": "Running function mymod.myfunc_false_result failed on minions: myminion. Function mymod.myfunc_false_result ran on myminion.",
                    "name": "mymod.myfunc_false_result",
                    "start_time": "21:35:17.486625",
                    "result": false,
                    "duration": 174.241,
                    "__run_num__": 3,
                    "__jid__": "20171130213517536270",
                    "__sls__": "test",
                    "changes": {
                        "ret": {
                            "myminion": false
                        },
                        "out": "highstate"
                    },
                    "__id__": "mymod.myfunc_false_result"
                }
            }
        },
        "retcode": 1
    }

The 2018.3.0 release includes a couple fixes to make parsing this data easier and more accurate. The first is the ability to set a return code in a custom runner or wheel function, as noted above. The second is a change to how failures are included in the return data. Prior to the 2018.3.0 release, minions that failed a `salt.state` orchestration job would show up in the `comment` field of the return data, in a human-readable string that was not easily parsed. They are now included in the `changes` dictionary alongside the minions that succeeded. In addition, `salt.function` jobs which failed because the fail function returned `False` used to handle their failures in the same way `salt.state` jobs did, and this has likewise been corrected.

### Running States on the Master without a Minion

The orchestrate runner can be used to execute states on the master without using a minion. For example, assume that `salt://foo.sls` contains the following SLS:

    /etc/foo.conf:
      file.managed:
        - source: salt://files/foo.conf
        - mode: 0600

In this case, running `salt-run state.orchestrate foo` would be the equivalent of running a `state.sls foo`, but it would execute on the master only, and would not require a minion daemon to be running on the master.

This is not technically orchestration, but it can be useful in certain use cases.

#### Limitations

Only one SLS target can be run at a time using this method, while using `state.sls` allows for multiple SLS files to be passed in a comma-separated list.