You write a simple console application. Debug it locally. And flip a switch and run it on all your servers and workstations running MpiVisor Server. This demo is part of the original source on GitHub. It is has a small Main class, a "master" runner class and a "spawned" runner class. More on how it works in the next post. For now, just enjoy how easy the code is. Read on to see the code.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//connect agent and dispose at end of execution
//use forceLocal to run in a single process with internal visor
using (Agent.Connect(forceLocal: false))
{
//default is File only - spawned agents shuttle logs back to master
Log.LogType = LogType.Both;
if (Agent.Current.IsMaster)
{
try
{
//keep Main clean with master message loop class
MasterRunner.Run(args);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Log.Error("Agent master exception: {0}", e);
}
}
else
{
try
{
//keep Main clean with spawned agent message loop class
SpawnRunner.Run(args);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Log.Error("spawn agent exception: {0}", e);
Agent.Current.Send(new Message(Agent.Current.SessionId,
Agent.Current.AgentId,
MpiConsts.MasterAgentId,
SystemMessageTypes.Aborted,
e.ToString()));
}
}
}
} //standard ending - will force service to kill spawned agents
internal static class MasterRunner
{
private static ushort numberOfAgentsToSpawn = 2;
//use to stop message processing loop
private static bool continueProcessing = true;
//additional means of determining when to stop processing loop
private static ushort spawnedAgentsThatHaveStoppedRunning = 0;
public static void Run(string[] args)
{
//spawn worker agents, send messages and orchestrate work
Agent.Current.SpawnAgents(numberOfAgentsToSpawn, args);
Message msg;
do
{
msg = Agent.Current.ReceiveAnyMessage();
if (msg == null) continue; //we timed out
switch (msg.MessageType)
{
//handle content types > -1 which are application specific
//case 0-~:
//handle messages from master or other agents here
//break;
case 2:
//handle messages from master or other agents here
Log.Info("AgentId {0} sent message type 2 with {1}",
msg.FromId, msg.Content);
//this test/demo just sends the message back to the sender
Agent.Current.Send(new Message
{
FromId = Agent.Current.AgentId,
SessionId = Agent.Current.SessionId,
ToId = msg.FromId,
MessageType = SystemMessageTypes.Shutdown,
Content = null
});
break;
//handle internal messages and unknown
case SystemMessageTypes.Started:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} reports being started.", msg.FromId);
//send demo/test content message
Agent.Current.Send(new Message
{
FromId = Agent.Current.AgentId,
SessionId = Agent.Current.SessionId,
ToId = msg.FromId,
MessageType = 1, //custom app type
Content = "hello from 1"
});
break;
case SystemMessageTypes.Stopped:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} reports being stopped.", msg.FromId);
spawnedAgentsThatHaveStoppedRunning++;
break;
case SystemMessageTypes.Aborted:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} reports being aborted.", msg.FromId);
spawnedAgentsThatHaveStoppedRunning++;
break;
case SystemMessageTypes.Error:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} reports an error.", msg.FromId);
break;
default:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} sent {1} with {2}",
msg.FromId, msg.MessageType, msg.Content);
break;
}
}
while (continueProcessing
&& spawnedAgentsThatHaveStoppedRunning < numberOfAgentsToSpawn);
//change while logic as desired to keep master running
//or shut it down and all other agents will as well
Log.Info("done master");
}
internal static class SpawnRunner
{
private static bool continueProcessing = true;
public static void Run(string[] args)
{
Message msg;
do
{
msg = Agent.Current.ReceiveAnyMessage();
if (msg == null) continue; //we timed out
switch (msg.MessageType)
{
//handle content types > -1 which are application specific
case 1:
//handle messages from master or other agents here
Log.Info("AgentId {0} sent message type 1 with {1}",
msg.FromId, msg.Content);
//this test/demo just sends the message back to the sender
Agent.Current.Send(new Message
{
FromId = Agent.Current.AgentId,
SessionId = Agent.Current.SessionId,
ToId = msg.FromId,
MessageType = 2,
Content = msg.Content.ToString() + " received"
});
break;
//handle internal messages and unknown
case SystemMessageTypes.Shutdown:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} sent shut down message", msg.FromId);
continueProcessing = false;
break;
default:
Log.Info("AgentId {0} sent {1} with {2}",
msg.FromId, msg.MessageType, msg.Content);
break;
}
}
while (continueProcessing);
Log.Info("work done");
}
}
I have not posted on my blog for some time. I’ve been busy. Work. Family. And DuoVia.Net. DuoVia Inc. has been my little corp-to-corp contracting vehicle which largely lays dormant while I’m employed in any other arrangement. I have no plans to change my current employment arrangement but I am transforming DuoVia into an open source services and tools for .NET organization.
It has taken a large number of weekends and evenings to pull it off, but I’m am now very excited to present DuoVia’s first three open source projects, new web site, and new vision. The site is nothing really to brag about. It is simple and clean. The vision is evolving. But the three very cool projects are something else.
DuoVia.MpiVisor
Don’t let anybody lie to you. Doing distributed parallel computing (DPC) on HPC or Hadoop or MPI can be very hard. Very complex. And for a advanced DPC systems that will not likely change.
But let’s face it. Many of the chores we need a distributed computing system for are small, down and dirty, one-off projects where something hard needs to be done once or perhaps occasionally. But the problem just doesn’t merit the hard work or the budget required to use an enterprise class system. So often as not the project just doesn’t get done or you solve the problem in a far less efficient and satisfying way.
You can get the “agent” library as a NuGet package. This will give you everything you need to write and debug your DPC application in Visual Studio without having to deploy it to your distributed processing servers or workstations. Once you’re ready to rock and roll, just get the code for the server at GitHub and run it on as many machines and you need.
That’s where DuoVia.MpiVisor comes in. Read more on the new web site www.duovia.net.
DuoVia.Net
Did you ever need to just write a simple interface, a couple of DTOs and a simple implementation of service, stand it up and use it without any configuration fuss? Don’t want to bother configuring WCF or spinning up a RESTful interface just to have to .NET apps exchange some data fast and easy? Look no further. Get the source code at GitHub or download the NuGet package today.
DuoVia.FuzzyStrings
Do you need to know if “Jensn” is probably equal to “Jensen”? Then the DuoVia.FuzzyStrings library is the perfect choice. You can download the source at GitHub or get the NuGet package.
Demo and Test Code on GitHub
If you want to learn how to use these libraries before I have time to fully document them and publish that on the site, please do go to GitHub and download the source. In each project you will find the source for a demo or test which shows just how easy these libraries are to use.
Apologies for the sales pitch, but I really do want you to visit the new web site and check it all out.
Of course I will continue to blog here about various and random .NET development topics. But I invite you to check out the new web site and more especially to give the new projects a try. You may find them useful and when you do, I hope to hear from you about your triumphs.