Files
vpp-maglev/README.md
Pim van Pelt 6a48c12449 Add multi-arch Docker build and docker-compose stack
Introduce a multi-stage Alpine Dockerfile that cross-compiles via
buildx ($BUILDPLATFORM -> $TARGETARCH) so a single invocation produces
both linux/amd64 and linux/arm64 images without a qemu-emulated
builder. `make docker` loads the native-arch image locally for smoke
tests; `make docker-push` publishes a multi-arch manifest. Ship a
docker-compose.yaml with opt-in profiles for maglevd/frontend and a
.env.example template so operators can mirror /etc/default/vpp-maglev
muscle memory into containers.
2026-04-15 18:09:35 +02:00

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6.4 KiB
Markdown

# vpp-maglev
Health checker, gRPC control plane, CLI, and web dashboard for the VPP
`lb` (load-balancer) plugin. Runs as a set of three binaries under one
Debian package, plus an out-of-band tester built alongside:
- **`maglevd`** — the long-running health-checker daemon. Probes backends
(HTTP, TCP, ICMP), tracks their aggregate state, programs the VPP
dataplane via the `lb` plugin binary API, and exposes everything
over a gRPC API + Prometheus `/metrics` endpoint.
- **`maglevc`** — the interactive CLI client. Tab-completing shell with
inline help; also runs one-shot commands for scripting.
- **`maglevd-frontend`** — optional web dashboard. One binary with a
SolidJS Single-Page-App; connects to one or more maglevds over gRPC and
serves a live HTTP view (read-only `/view/` and optional basic-auth
`/admin/` with mutating commands).
- **`maglevt`** — optional out-of-band VIP probe TUI. Reads a
`maglev.yaml` and hits each frontend on a live HTTP path, reporting
latency and a configurable response-header tally so operators can see
failover as it happens. Does not talk gRPC; useful for validating a
`maglevd` restart end-to-end from a client perspective. Built by
`make` but not installed by the Debian package.
## Build and install
```sh
make install-deps # installs all build-time dependencies
make # builds build/<arch>/ binaries
make test # runs all tests
make pkg-deb # creates a Debian package for amd64 and arm64
```
Requires Go 1.25+ and (for `make proto`) `protoc` with `protoc-gen-go`
and `protoc-gen-go-grpc`. The SolidJS bundle under
`cmd/frontend/web/` is built automatically via `make` through the
`maglevd-frontend-web` target, which needs `npm`.
Produces `vpp-maglev_<version>_amd64.deb` and
`vpp-maglev_<version>_arm64.deb` in the `build/` directory by
cross-compiling with `GOOS=linux GOARCH=<arch>`. Requires `dpkg-deb`
(available on any Debian/Ubuntu host). The installed binaries report
the exact git commit via `maglevd --version` (and similarly for
`maglevc` / `maglevd-frontend`).
## Running
After installing, `maglevd` is enabled automatically but
`maglevd-frontend` is **not** — it's opt-in, so the web dashboard
doesn't surprise anyone who just wanted the daemon:
```sh
# edit /etc/vpp-maglev/maglev.yaml, then:
systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev
# optional: web dashboard. Edit /etc/default/vpp-maglev to set
# MAGLEV_FRONTEND_ARGS and (optionally) MAGLEV_FRONTEND_USER /
# MAGLEV_FRONTEND_PASSWORD for /admin/ access, then:
systemctl enable --now vpp-maglev-frontend
```
Or run the components by hand:
```sh
maglevd --config /etc/vpp-maglev/maglev.yaml --grpc-addr :9090
maglevd --version # print version and exit
maglevc --server localhost:9090 # interactive shell
maglevc show frontends # one-shot
maglevc -color=false show backends # one-shot, no ANSI color
maglevc set backend nginx0-ams pause
maglevd-frontend -server localhost:9090 -listen :8080
```
Send `SIGHUP` to `maglevd` to reload config without restarting.
`maglevd` requires:
- `CAP_NET_RAW` for ICMP health checks (raw sockets).
- `CAP_SYS_ADMIN` when `healthchecker.netns` is set so probes can
`setns(CLONE_NEWNET)` into the dataplane namespace. Without it,
every probe errors out with `enter netns "<name>": operation not
permitted`.
The Debian systemd unit grants both via `AmbientCapabilities` /
`CapabilityBoundingSet`, so `systemctl start vpp-maglev` works out
of the box. When running by hand under a non-root user, grant them
via `setcap cap_net_raw,cap_sys_admin=eip /usr/sbin/maglevd` or
equivalent.
`maglevd-frontend` also ignores `SIGHUP` so a controlling-terminal
disconnect (e.g. closing the SSH session it was started from)
doesn't kill the daemon; `SIGTERM` / `SIGINT` remain the clean
shutdown signals.
Every flag on every binary also has an environment-variable
equivalent (e.g. `MAGLEV_CONFIG`, `MAGLEV_GRPC_ADDR`, `MAGLEV_SERVER`,
`MAGLEV_SERVERS`, `MAGLEV_LISTEN`, `MAGLEV_LOG_LEVEL`) so all three
programs can be driven entirely via env in containerized
deployments.
## Documentation
- [docs/design.md](docs/design.md) — architecture, components, and
numbered functional / non-functional requirements. Start here if
you want the big picture before diving into the code.
- A minimal configuration file in
[debian/maglev.yaml](debian/maglev.yaml) shows every knob.
- [docs/user-guide.md](docs/user-guide.md) — flags, signals, and
`maglevc` command reference.
- [docs/config-guide.md](docs/config-guide.md) — full YAML reference.
- [docs/healthchecks.md](docs/healthchecks.md) — health state
machine, probe scheduling, rise/fall semantics.
- Manpages: `maglevd(8)`, `maglevc(1)`, `maglevd-frontend(8)`.
## Docker
A single multi-stage Alpine `Dockerfile` produces two images, driven
from `docker-compose.yaml` at the repo root:
- `git.ipng.ch/ipng/vpp-maglevd:latest` — the health-checker daemon.
- `git.ipng.ch/ipng/vpp-maglevd-frontend:latest` — the read-only web
dashboard.
Both services are **opt-in** via Docker Compose profiles, so the same
stack file works for operators who want the daemon only, the frontend
only (IPng's own deployment), or both on one host. Copy the example
env file, choose which services to run, and start the stack:
```sh
cp .env.example .env
$EDITOR .env # set COMPOSE_PROFILES and any overrides
docker compose up -d # starts whichever profiles are active
```
Valid `COMPOSE_PROFILES` values are `maglevd`, `frontend`, or both
comma-separated. Leaving it empty starts nothing. The daemon
container runs with all capabilities granted (`cap_add: ALL`) so ICMP
probes and `netns`-scoped probes both work without re-plumbing the
container; the frontend runs with no extra privileges. The `MAGLEV_*`
variables in `.env.example` mirror `/etc/default/vpp-maglev` on a
Debian install, so muscle memory carries over between the two
deployment modes.
Build or push the images:
```sh
make docker # buildx --load, native arch only (local smoke test)
make docker-push # buildx --push linux/amd64,linux/arm64 multi-arch manifest
```
`make docker` loads a single-arch image into the local daemon so you
can run it immediately; `make docker-push` produces a true multi-arch
manifest and pushes it to `git.ipng.ch/ipng/...`. Both use `docker
buildx`, and the Dockerfile cross-compiles from the host's
`$BUILDPLATFORM` to each `$TARGETARCH` via `make build-<arch>`, so no
qemu-emulated builder is involved.