App Lifecycle Workflows
App lifecycle workflows include the operations that you use to add, activate, deactivate, start, stop, upgrade, and delete an app.
There is no limit, other than system resource restrictions, on the number of apps that can simultaneously have the status of DEPLOYED, For PAAS apps, there also is no limit on how many can simultaneously have the status of ACTIVATED, or STARTED. For VM apps, only one can have the status of ACTIVATED or STARTED at a time.
The following sections describe these workflows:
Adding/Deploying an App
Adding an app uploads the app tarball (a file in tar format) to the host system. After you add the app, it appears on the Cisco IOx Local Manager Applications page and has status DEPLOYED. System CPU and RAM resources are not yet reserved for the app. An app with this status can be activated, upgraded, or deleted.
To add an app, perform the following steps.
Before You Begin
Make sure that the app tarball is stored in a local or network location that the system from which you logged in to Cisco IOx Local Manager can access.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Click the Add/Deploy button on the Applications page. The Deploy application dialog box displays. |
Step 3 |
In the Deploy application dialog box, take these actions: |
Step 4 |
In the Successfully Deployed dialog box, click OK . |
Activating an App
Activating an app reserves host system CPU and memory (RAM) resources that the app requires to run, designates the network from which the app obtains its IP address, and assigns host system serial ports for use by the app, if requested. After you activate an app, its status on the Cisco IOx Applications page appears as ACTIVATED.
You can activate an app that has a status of DEPLOYED.
As part of the activation process, you designate a resource profile for the app. A resource profile designates the amount of CPU and memory resources that the app needs to run. You can choose from several preset resource profiles or enter custom values for a profile. See the App-ID > Resources Page section for more information.
When an app is activated, the host system reserves the resources that the app needs to run, but the resources are not used until the app starts. You cannot activate an app if the host system does not have sufficient resources available for the app to run.
In addition, for a PAAS app, the appropriate cartridges must be installed before the app can be activated.
To activate an app, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that DEPLOYED appears in the Status field for the app that you want to activate. |
Step 3 |
Click activate in the Actions field for the app that you want to activate. The App-ID page for the app appears. |
Step 4 |
Make sure that the Resources tab is selected on the App-ID page. |
Step 5 |
In the Resource Profile area, take either of these actions to choose a resource profile, which designates the host system CPU and memory resources that the app requires when it runs:
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Step 6 |
In the Advanced Settings area, take the following actions as needed. This area appears only if the app type is Docker and the host system supports native Docker.
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Step 7 |
From the drop-down list in the Network Configuration area, choose an option to designate the logical network from which the app obtains its IP address. The internal interfaces of the app in this area appear as ethX , where X is a number. The number of internal interfaces depend on the number of network interfaces that the app defines in its metadata. For example, if the app metadata defines one network interface, eth0 appears in the this area. If the app metadata defines two network interfaces, eth0 and eith1 appear in this area. In each drop-down list option, # is a number that matches the number at the end of the corresponding interface name of the internal Cisco IOx bridge that provides connectivity for an internal network. For example, the logical network iox-bridge0 corresponds to the interface name svcbr_0. Similarly, the logical network iox-nat1 corresponds to the interface name svcbr_1. Description is a description of the network as defined on the System Setting page. See the System Setting Page section for related information. The options that are available in this list depend on the type of host system. Here are examples of some options that can appear:
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Step 8 |
If you choose a bridge type network from the drop-down list in the Network Configuration area and you want to assign IP addresses to the network interface dynamically, take these actions. |
Step 9 |
If you choose a bridge type network from the drop-down list in the Network Configuration area and you want to assign a static IP address to the network interface, take these actions. |
Step 10 |
If you choose a bridge type network from the drop-down list in the Network Configuration area and you do not want to use an IP address for the network interface, click the Disable radio button in the IPv4 Setting area or the IPv6 setting area. |
Step 11 |
If you choose a nat type network from the drop-down list in the Network Configuration area for an app whose metadata requests TCP or UDP ports to be open on a network interface and if the interface is connected to a NAT network, take these actions to configure how TCP and UDP ports on the host system are mapped to internal ports of the app: |
Step 12 |
In the Serial Access Configuration area, click the radio button or buttons that correspond to the host system serial port or ports that you want to assign for use by the app. This area appears only if the app metadata requests that a serial port on the host system be assigned for use by the app. |
Step 13 |
(Optional) In the USB Configuration area, click the radio button for each port that you want to assign for use by the app. This area appears only if the host system can provide this information and if the app metadata requests that a USB port on the host system be assigned for use by the app. This area identifies one or more USB ports on the host system that the app metadata requests for use by the app. Port_description is a description of the port usage that comes from the app metadata. |
Step 14 |
(Optional) In the VNC Options area, take the following actions. The area appears only if the host system supports accessing an app via a VNC session.
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Step 15 |
If you are activating a Docker or PAAS type app and you want to run the app in debug mode, check the debug mode check box. If an app that is running in debug mode shuts down unexpectedly, the app does not go to STOPPED state. Instead, the app remains in RUNNING state so that you can use an SSH client to access the app and troubleshoot. |
Step 16 |
Click the Activate button at the bottom of the Resources tab. If sufficient CPU and memory resources are available on the host system, the activation process executes. This process can takes some time. To ensure that the activation completes successfully, do not refresh your browser or attempt another Cisco IOx Local Manager operation while the activation is in process. |
Deactivating an App
Deactivating an app releases the host system CPU and memory (RAM) resources that were reserved for the app and makes these resources available of other uses. After you deactivate an app, its status on the Cisco IOx Applications page appears as DEPLOYED.
You can deactivate an app that has a status of ACTIVATED or STOPPED.
To deactivate an app, perform the following steps. This procedure has the same effect as clicking the Deactivate button on the App-ID > Resources page.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that ACTIVATED or STOPPED appears in the Status field for the app that you want to deactivate. |
Step 3 |
Click deactivate in the Actions field for the app that you want to deactivate. The deactivation process executes. This process can take some time. A progress bar indicates the status of the deactivation process. To ensure that process executes successfully, do not refresh your browser or attempt another Cisco IOx Local Manager operation while the app is deactivating. |
Starting an App
Starting an app initiates starts the app container for the app on the host system. CPU and memory (RAM) resources that were reserved for the app become in use. After you start an app, its status on the Cisco IOx Applications page appears as RUNNING.
You can start an app that has a status of ACTIVATED or STOPPED.
To start an app, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that ACTIVATED or STOPPED appears in the Status field for the app that you want to start. |
Step 3 |
Click start in the Actions field for the app that you want to start. The starting process executes. This process can take some time. To ensure that the app starts successfully, do not refresh your browser or attempt another Cisco IOx Local Manager operation while the app is starting. |
Stopping an App
Stopping an app immediately shuts down its app container on the host system. CPU and memory (RAM) resources that were used by the app remain reserved for it but are not in use. After you stop an app, its status on the Cisco IOx Applications page appears as STOPPED.
You can stop an app that has a status of RUNNING.
To stop an app, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that RUNNING appears in the Status field for the app that you want to stop. |
Step 3 |
On the Applications page, click stop in the Actions field for the app that you want to stop. The stopping process executes. This process can takes some time. To ensure that the app stops successfully, do not refresh your browser or attempt another Cisco IOx Local Manager operation while the app is stopping. |
Upgrading an App
Upgrading an app replaces it with another version. The replacement app must be in a tarball (a file in tar format).
You typically use this operation to replace an app with a newer version or with a version that addresses issues in the existing version. After you upgrade an app, its status on the Cisco IOx Applications page appears as DEPLOYED
You can upgrade an app that has a status of DEPLOYED.
To upgrade an app, perform the following steps.
Before You Begin
Make sure that upgrade tarball is stored in a local or network location that the system from which you logged in to Cisco IOx Local Manager can access.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that DEPLOYED appears in the Status field for the app that you want to upgrade. |
Step 3 |
On the Applications page, click upgrade in the Actions field for the app that you want to upgrade. The Upgrade application dialog box appears. |
Step 4 |
In the Upgrade application dialog box, take these actions: |
Deleting an App
Deleting an app removes it from the host system and releases CPU and memory (RAM) resources that were reserved for the app. After you delete an app, it no longer appears on the Cisco IOx Applications page.
You can delete an app that has a status of DEPLOYED.
To delete an app, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Applications from the Cisco IOx Local Manager menu bar. The Applications page displays. |
Step 2 |
Make sure that DEPLOYED appears in the Status field for the app that you want to delete. |
Step 3 |
Click delete in the Actions field for the app that you want to delete. In the dialog box that prompts you to confirm the deletion, click Yes . The delete process executes. To ensure that the app deletes successfully, do not refresh your browser or attempt another Cisco IOx Local Manager operation while the app deletes. |