views:

318

answers:

3

Hi,

My python daemon runs fine in the foreground of my Ubuntu system using this command in the terminal:

python /opt/my-daemon.py foreground

However when I try to call the daemon using the "start" command it fails, why?

python /opt/my-daemon.py start

This is how I call the command in the /etc/rc.local file:

python /opt/my-daemon.py start &

Any suggestions or ideas are more than welcome. Thanks!

Herewith the code:

1.daemon.py

#!/usr/bin/env python
import sys, os, time, atexit
from signal import SIGTERM 
class Daemon:
"""
A generic daemon class.

Usage: subclass the Daemon class and override the run() method
"""
def __init__(self, pidfile,
    stdin='/dev/null',stdout='/dev/null',stderr='/dev/null'):
    self.stdin = stdin
    self.stdout = stdout
    self.stderr = stderr
    self.pidfile = pidfile

def daemonize(self):
    """
    do the UNIX double-fork magic, see Stevens' "Advanced 
    Programming in the UNIX Environment" for details (ISBN 0201563177)
    http://www.erlenstar.demon.co.uk/unix/faq_2.html#SEC16
    """
    try: 
        pid = os.fork() 
        if pid > 0:
            # exit first parent
            sys.exit(0) 
    except OSError, e: 
        sys.stderr.write("fork #1 failed: %d (%s)\n" % (e.errno,
                    e.strerror))
        sys.exit(1) 
    # decouple from parent environment
    os.chdir("/") 
    os.setsid() 
    os.umask(0) 

    # do second fork
    try: 
        pid = os.fork() 
        if pid > 0:
            # exit from second parent
            sys.exit(0) 
    except OSError, e: 
        sys.stderr.write("fork #2 failed: %d (%s)\n" % (e.errno, e.strerror))
        sys.exit(1) 

    # redirect standard file descriptors
    sys.stdout.flush()
    sys.stderr.flush()
    si = file(self.stdin, 'r')
    so = file(self.stdout, 'a+')
    se = file(self.stderr, 'a+', 0)
    os.dup2(si.fileno(), sys.stdin.fileno())
    os.dup2(so.fileno(), sys.stdout.fileno())
    os.dup2(se.fileno(), sys.stderr.fileno())

    # write pidfile
    atexit.register(self.delpid)
    pid = str(os.getpid())
    file(self.pidfile,'w+').write("%s\n" % pid)

def delpid(self):
    os.remove(self.pidfile)

def start(self):
    """
    Start the daemon
    """
    # Check for a pidfile to see if the daemon already runs
    try:
        pf = file(self.pidfile,'r')
        pid = int(pf.read().strip())
        pf.close()
    except IOError:
        pid = None

    if pid:
        message = "pidfile %s already exist. Daemon already running?\n"
        sys.stderr.write(message % self.pidfile)
        sys.exit(1)

    # Start the daemon
    self.daemonize()
    self.run()

def stop(self):
    """
    Stop the daemon
    """
    # Get the pid from the pidfile
    try:
        pf = file(self.pidfile,'r')
        pid = int(pf.read().strip())
        pf.close()
    except IOError:
        pid = None

    if not pid:
        message = "pidfile %s does not exist. Daemon not running?\n"
        sys.stderr.write(message % self.pidfile)
        return # not an error in a restart

    # Try killing the daemon process    
    try:
        while 1:
            os.kill(pid, SIGTERM)
            time.sleep(0.1)
    except OSError, err:
        err = str(err)
        if err.find("No such process") > 0:
            if os.path.exists(self.pidfile):
                os.remove(self.pidfile)
        else:
            print str(err)
            sys.exit(1)

def restart(self):
    """
    Restart the daemon
    """
    self.stop()
    self.start()

def run(self):
    """
    You should override this method when you subclass Daemon. It will be called after the process has been
    daemonized by start() or restart().
    """

2.my-daemon.py

import sys, time
from daemon import Daemon
import MySQLdb #mysql libraries
#Database parameters
config = {"host":"localhost",...}
try:
    conn = MySQLdb.connect(config['host'],...
class MyDaemon(Daemon): 
def run(self):
    while True:
        time.sleep(2)
                    #{Do processes, connect to DB etc....} 
                    ...
if __name__ == "__main__":
daemon = MyDaemon('/tmp/daemon-example.pid')
if len(sys.argv) == 2:
    if 'start' == sys.argv[1]:
        daemon.start()          
    elif 'stop' == sys.argv[1]:
        daemon.stop()
    elif 'restart' == sys.argv[1]:
        daemon.restart()
    elif 'foreground' == sys.argv[1]: #this runs the daemon in the foreground
        daemon.run()
    else:
        print "Unknown command"
        sys.exit(2)
    sys.exit(0)
else:
    print "usage: %s start|foreground|stop|restart" % sys.argv[0]
    sys.exit(2)
A: 

Instead of using daemon.py, you may want to consider leveraging Ubuntu's Upstart system which provides an easy way to set up a respawning daemon. From the same link, it features:

* Services may be respawned if they die unexpectedly
* Supervision and respawning of daemons which separate from their parent process

If you are using Ubuntu9.10 or later, take a look at /etc/init/cron.conf as an example. For earlier versions of Ubuntu, I believe the upstart scripts are located in /etc/event.d/.

For an explanation of Upstart keywords, see here.

unutbu
Hi, thanks for your answer but I believe I found the problem but I will check out the upstart system. Thanks!
Bosvark
+1  A: 

SOLVED. So I was under the impression that Foreground and the start parameter are 2 different things. It turns out I just needed to do the following

def run(self):
    while True:
        time.sleep(2)

to

def start(self):
    while True:
        time.sleep(2)

I then removed foreground parameter because I can run the script from the terminal using the start command to see the output in the foreground.

python /opt/my-daemon.py start

Also, in rc.local I start the script as follows:

python /opt/my-daemon.py start &

This hides the daemon process and executes the script on startup regardless of the user who logs in :)

Bosvark
@Bosvark: I'm glad you found a way to get your program running, but just thought you should be aware that by overriding `start` as you describe above, you are cutting out the code in daemon.py which starts the daemon.
unutbu
@Bosvark: That overriding `start` avoids the early exiting of your script suggests that the original problem probably lies in `Daemon.start`. Perhaps the pidfile already exists? or something in `Daemon.daemonize` is causing the early exit? You could use print statements to investigate, or perhaps try Upstart instead.
unutbu
@Unutbu Thank you for all your answers I will investigate further.
Bosvark