pbs_server

Appendices > Appendix A: Commands overview > pbs_server

pbs_server

(PBS Server) pbs batch system manager

Synopsis

pbs_server [-a active] [-c] [-d config_path] [-p port] [-A acctfile]
[-L logfile] [-S scheduler_port]
[-h hostname] [-t type] [--ha]

Description

The pbs_server command starts the operation of a batch server on the local host. Typically, this command will be in a local boot file such as /etc/rc.local. If the batch server is already in execution, pbs_server will exit with an error. To ensure that the pbs_server command is not runnable by the general user community, the server will only execute if its real and effective uid is zero.

The server will record a diagnostic message in a log file for any error occurrence. The log files are maintained in the server_logs directory below the home directory of the server. If the log file cannot be opened, the diagnostic message is written to the system console.

As of TORQUE 4.0, the pbs_server is multi-threaded which leads to quicker response to client commands, is more robust, and allows for higher job throughput.

Options

Option	Name	Description
-A	acctfile	Specifies an absolute path name of the file to use as the accounting file. If not specified, the file name will be the current date in the PBS_HOME/server_priv/accounting directory.
-a	active	Specifies if scheduling is active or not. This sets the server attribute scheduling. If the option argument is "true" ("True", "t", "T", or "1"), the server is active and the PBS job scheduler will be called. If the argument is "false" ("False", "f", "F", or "0), the server is idle, and the scheduler will not be called and no jobs will be run. If this option is not specified, the server will retain the prior value of the scheduling attribute.
-c	wait_for_moms	This directs pbs_server to send the MOM hierarchy only to MOMs that request it for the first 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, it attempts to send the MOM hierarchy to MOMs that haven't requested it already. This greatly reduces traffic on start up.
-d	config_directory	Specifies the path of the directory which is home to the server's configuration files, PBS_HOME. A host may have multiple servers. Each server must have a different configuration directory. The default configuration directory is given by the symbol $PBS_SERVER_HOME which is typically var/spool/torque.
-h	hostname	Causes the server to start under a different hostname as obtained from gethostname(2). Useful for servers with multiple network interfaces to support connections from clients over an interface that has a hostname assigned that differs from the one that is returned by gethost name(2).
-ha	high_availability	Starts server in high availability mode (for details, see Server high availability).
-L	logfile	Specifies an absolute path name of the file to use as the log file. If not specified, the file will be the current date in the PBS_HOME/server_logs directory (see the -d option).
-p	port	Specifies the port number on which the server will listen for batch requests. If multiple servers are running on a single host, each must have its own unique port number. This option is for use in testing with multiple batch systems on a single host.
-S	scheduler_port	Specifies the port number to which the server should connect when contacting the scheduler. The argument scheduler_conn is of the same syntax as under the -M option.
-t	type	Specifies the impact on jobs which were in execution, running, when the server shut down. If the running job is not rerunnable or restartable from a checkpoint image, the job is aborted. If the job is rerunnable or restartable, then the actions described below are taken. When the type argument is: hot – All jobs are requeued except non-rerunnable jobs that were executing. Any rerunnable job which was executing when the server went down will be run immediately. This returns the server to the same state as when it went down. After those jobs are restarted, then normal scheduling takes place for all remaining queued jobs. If a job cannot be restarted immediately because of a missing resource, such as a node being down, the server will attempt to restart it periodically for up to 5 minutes. After that period, the server will revert to a normal state, as if warm started, and will no longer attempt to restart any remaining jobs which were running prior to the shutdown. warm – All rerunnable jobs which were running when the server went down are requeued. All other jobs are maintained. New selections are made for which jobs are placed into execution. Warm is the default if -t is not specified. cold – All jobs are deleted. Positive confirmation is required before this direction is accepted. create – The server will discard any existing configuration files, queues and jobs, and initialize configuration files to the default values. The server is idled.

Files

File	Description
TORQUE_HOME/server_priv	Default directory for configuration files, typically /usr/spool/pbs/server_priv
TORQUE_HOME/server_logs	Directory for log files recorded by the server

Signal handling

On receipt of the following signals, the server performs the defined action:

Action	Description
SIGHUP	The current server log and accounting log are closed and reopened. This allows for the prior log to be renamed and a new log started from the time of the signal.
SIGINT	Causes an orderly shutdown of pbs_server.
SIGUSR1, SIGURS2	Causes server to increase and decrease logging levels, respectively.
SIGTERM	Causes an orderly shutdown of pbs_server.
SIGSHUTDN	On systems (Unicos) where SIGSHUTDN is defined, it also causes an orderly shutdown of the server.
SIGPIPE	This signal is ignored.

All other signals have their default behavior installed.

Exit status

If the server command fails to begin batch operation, the server exits with a value greater than zero.