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Running RT in docker-compose

Introduction

This section and the accompanying docker-compose.yaml and env files provide a guide to deploying and running RT by bringing up:

  • An RT cluster on a single docker host.
  • A sample q publisher.
  • A sample q subscriber.

It also illustrates the required:

  • Volumes
  • Networking
  • Startup arguments
  • Environment variables

For more information on how RT works see here.

A useful tool for inspecting and navigating the docker compose cluster is Lazydocker which provides a curses style GUI similar to k9s.

KX Nexus

The KX Nexus repository will be sunsetted in the future. Nexus links on this page are provided as a temporary alternative to the KX Downloads Portal for existing users. The KX Downloads Portal is the preferred repository for all use cases and KX Nexus links will be removed once the KX Nexus repository is decommissioned.

Images

In order to view the docker requirements and download the relevant images, refer to Reliable Transport (RT) quickstart guide.

Provide a license

A license for kdb+ Cloud Edition is required and is provided through the environment variable KDB_LICENSE_B64. It is generated from a valid kc.lic file with base64 encoding and this environment variable passed into each container by this command in the env file:

export KDB_LICENSE_B64=$(base64 -w 0 ~/.qp.licenses/kc.lic)

The path to the kc.lic can be updated as appropriate.

The kc.lic used must be for kdb+ Cloud Edition. A regular kc.lic for On-Demand kdb+ will signal a licensing error during startup.

Bring up docker-compose

Download docker-compose.yaml and env then bring up the RT docker-compose example:

docker compose --env-file env -f docker-compose.yaml up

Limitations

Because all three containers are running on the same docker host, this is not an HA solution - if that host goes down then RT also goes down.

Making this HA would require an application specific orchestration mechanism to be employed with support for:

  • Running each sequencer on a different host (anti-affinity).
  • Mounting a volume for each sequencer (stateful set).
  • Migrating a sequencer (and its volumes) to a different host in the event of a hardware failure.

This section does not address or advise on orchestration, but rather provides a template of how to deploy and run RT using an orchestration layer of the user's choice.

Steps to bring up docker-compose with support for SSL

The RT SDKs (C, Java and q) when used an external publishers with SSL were designed to connect to the kdb Insights Enterprise via an Information Service which will provide the RT external endpoints and associated SSL ca/cert/key for a client which has already been enrolled with Keycloak. Deploying these services is outside the scope of this document but here their role can be mocked and the process demonstrated.

It is necessary to perform some addition steps when bringing up the docker compose with support for SSL:

  1. Run the make_certs_docker.sh script which will generate client and server ca/cert/key in the certs/ subdirectory. The certs/server directory is mounted into the RT nodes in the docker-compose where the server ca/cert/key is used to start the external replicators:

    sh make_certs_docker.sh

  2. Download docker-compose.yaml and env then bring up the RT docker-compose example:

    docker compose --env-file env -f docker-compose.yaml up

  3. On another terminal run the enrol_json_docker.sh script which uses docker to look up the port mappings on the docker host for the external replicators, and reads the client ca/cert/key from certs/client:

    sh enrol_json_docker.sh

    It uses this information to generate a client.json which conforms to the same structure as would be returned by curl-ing the information service:

    cat client.json | jq .
{
  "name": "client-name",
  "topics": {
    "insert": "data",
    "query": "requests"
  },
  "ca": "<ca>",
  "cert": "<cert>",
  "key": "<key>",
  "insert": {
    "insert": [
      ":127.0.0.1:5000",
      ":127.0.0.2:5000",
      ":127.0.0.3:5000"
    ],
    "query": []
  },
  "query": []
}

The RT SDKs can now be used as external publishers with SSL by pointing the configuration URL to this file rather than the information service endpoint

C

Full details on the C SDK are provided here.

In order to run the C sample application with docker-compose:

  1. Download and build the C samples.

  2. Run the samples using the client.json generated above. For example:

export KXI_CONFIG_URL=file:///$(pwd)/client.json
export SCHEMA="sensorID:int,captureTS:ts,readTS:ts,valFloat:float,qual:byte,alarm:byte"
export TABLE="trace"
./csvupload -u $KXI_CONFIG_URL -s $SCHEMA -t $TABLE < ../sample.csv

Java (from sample code)

Full details on the Java SDK are provided here.

In order to run the Java sample application with docker-compose:

  1. Download and build the Java samples

  2. Run the samples using the client.json generated above. For example:

export KXI_CONFIG_URL=file:///$(pwd)/client.json
export RT_LOG_PATH=<RT_LOG_PATH>
export RT_REP_DIR=<REPLICATOR_LOCATION>
java -jar ./build/libs/insights-java-sdk-samples-1.0-SNAPSHOT-all.jar BulkUploadBatches

Java (using rtdemo docker image)

The rtdemo docker image can also be used to upload a CSV.

  1. Download docker-compose-javapub.yaml and java-sample.csv

  2. Set up the required directories and run the docker-compose-javapub.yaml compose file, like this. 

    mkdir -p ./rt-data/logs
mkdir -p ./rt-data/repdir
chmod 777 -R ./rtdata/
docker compose --env-file env -f docker-compose-javapub.yaml up

q (rt.qpk)

For full details about the rt.qpk, refer to Internal q publisher and subscriber.

In order to publish to the docker-compose:

  1. Download the rt.qpk from either the KX Downloads Portal or the KX Nexus repository

  2. Unzip the rt.qpk

  3. Start kdb+ Cloud Edition, load the rt.qpk and publish data using theclient.json generated above. For example:

$ export KXI_CONFIG_URL="file:///$(pwd)/client.json"
$ qce
KDB+ 4.0 Cloud Edition 2022.07.01 Copyright (C) 1993-2022 Kx Systems
l64/ 12()core 5929MB neal a-lptp-2vccmh4k 127.0.1.1 EXPIRE 2024.01.13 nmcdonnell@kx.com KXMS KXCE #77882

q)\cd rt
q)\l startq.q
q)url:getenv`KXI_CONFIG_URL
q)params:`config_url`path!(url;"/tmp/rt/")
q)p:.rt.pub params
q)show t:([]time:3#.z.p;sym:`a`b`c)
time                          sym
---------------------------------
2023.10.03D16:16:31.911609807 a
2023.10.03D16:16:31.911609807 b
2023.10.03D16:16:31.911609807 c
q)p (`upd;`tab; t)
0

Networking

The docker-compose uses a bridged network for simplicity. If the networking layer used by another orchestration requires ports to be explicitly exposed then the following ports are required:

Intra-RT ports

These are used by the RT sequencers to communicate with each other:

port type notes
4000 TCP Sequencer
5009 TCP Xsync push server replicator
7000 UDP Raft
7100 TCP Raft
8000 UDP Sequencer
9000 UDP Watcher

Internal RT ports

These are used by internal publishers and subscribers which typically run inside the cluster and do not require SSL:

port type notes
5001 TCP Internal pull server replicator
5002 TCP Internal push server replicator

External RT ports

This is used by external publishers which typically run outside the cluster and therefore require client enrollment and SSL:

port type notes
5000 TCP External push server replicator with SSL

Admin ports

These are used by the user to interact with the RT services:

port type notes
6000 HTTP RT REST service (for hard reset, soft reset, diagnostics, etc.)

RT Sequencer

Each RT sequencer must run as a separate service (they are not replicas) with its own persistent volume. If the orchestration supports moving the RT sequencer to a different node in the event of a failure then its volume must move with it.

In order to support RT hard reset and soft reset ,each RT sequencer must also have access to a shared volume (specified with $RT_SEQ_SESSION_PATH) to store the hard reset session number and soft reset checkpoint.

Startup arguments

The RT sequencer arguments are used to configure its directories, the RAFT cluster size and archival policy:

  • -size Populates the RT_REPLICAS environment variable, which is the ordinality of RT sequencers, i.e. RAFT cluster size. Currently 1 and 3 are supported.
  • -in_dir The directory in the persistent volume where publishers' input log are stored (one subdirectory per publisher).
  • -out_dir The directory in the persistent volumes where the merged output log is stored.
  • -state_dir The directory in the persistent volume where the RAFT logs are stored.
  • -limit See maxLogSize.
  • -time See retentionDuration.
  • -disk See maxDiskUsagePercent.

Environment variables

  • RT_TOPIC_PREFIX The prefix used to locate other nodes in the RT cluster via hostnames or DNS, e.g. rt-. Intra-RT connections are made using ${RT_TOPIC_PREFIX}${RT_SINK}-[012]
  • RT_SINK The RT identifier used to locate other nodes in the RT cluster via hostname or DNS, e.g. data. Intra-RT connections are made using ${RT_TOPIC_PREFIX}${RT_SINK}-[012]
  • RT_SEQ_SESSION_PATH Absolute path to a directory in the shared volume for storing the hard reset session number and soft reset checkpoint.
  • RT_LOGLEVEL_CONSOLE Sets the RT logging level. Can be one of ERROR, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE. Default INFO.
  • RAFT_HEARTBEAT, RAFT_LOG_SIZE, RAFT_CHUNK_SIZE. See RAFT configuration.
  • RT_QURAFT_LOG_LEVEL Sets the QuRaft logging level. Can be one of ERROR, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE, OFF. Default OFF.
  • RT_LOG_LEADER Set this env var to a non-empty string to enable QuRaft periodically log which node is the leader. Default "", i.e. off.

Publisher

Each publisher must have its own persistent volume.

q publishers are supported using the .rt.pub API in rt.qpk here.

For an example publisher please see the sample publisher which sends a table of sensor data every second.

$HOSTNAME requirement

If after a docker compose down then docker compose up, you need the publisher to resume its previous publishing session without a potential loss of data, it is necessary to fix the $HOSTNAME of each publisher container. This is done by setting the hostname field in the docker-compose for each publisher service.

Subscriber

Subscribers can either use persistent volumes or ephemeral storage but it's recommended that persistent volumes are used for performance reasons.

For an example q subscriber please see the sample subscriber.

q subscribers are supported using the .rt.substreampositioncallback!(streamid; pos; callbacks)API inrt.qpk`: here.

How to connect a non-SSL q publisher/subscriber to RT from outside docker compose

The rt.qpk supports running as an internal (without SSL) publisher/subscriber on your local host, connecting to the RT running in docker-compose using port forwarding.

Setup

  1. Download the rt.qpk from either the KX Downloads Portal or the KX Nexus repository

  2. Unzip the rt.qpk

  3. Port forward the internal push_server and pull_server from each RT sequencer to the docker host, using a different local IP address for each of the RT nodes:

services:
  rt-data-0:
    ports:
    - 127.0.0.1:5001:5001/tcp
    - 127.0.0.1:5002:5002/tcp
  rt-data-1:
    ports:
    - 127.0.0.2:5001:5001/tcp
    - 127.0.0.2:5002:5002/tcp
  rt-data-2:
    ports:
    - 127.0.0.3:5001:5001/tcp
    - 127.0.0.3:5002:5002/tcp

!!!note "rt.qpk port settings" Although the rt.qpk can publish using any port, subscribing requires connecting to port 5001 on each RT node. That is why each of the RT nodes is exposed using the same ports but different local IP addresses.

Publishing

A q process on your local host can publish to the RT running in docker-compose by specifying the list of port-forwarded endpoints.

In order to publish to the docker-compose:

  1. Find the list of port-forwards corresponding to the internal push_server (5002/tcp) in each RT container

    $ docker container ls | grep rt-data | awk '{print $1'} | xargs -n 1 docker port | grep 5002/tcp | awk '{ print ":"$3 }'
:127.0.0.1:5002
:127.0.0.2:5002
:127.0.0.3:5002

  2. Start kdb+ Cloud Edition, load the rt.qpk and publish data using this list of endpoints. For example:

    $ qce
KDB+ 4.0 Cloud Edition 2022.07.01 Copyright (C) 1993-2022 Kx Systems
l64/ 12()core 5929MB neal a-lptp-2vccmh4k 127.0.1.1 EXPIRE 2024.01.13 nmcdonnell@kx.com KXMS KXCE #77882

q)\cd rt
q)\l startq.q
q)params:(`path`stream`publisher_id`cluster)!("/tmp/rt";"data";"pub1";(":127.0.0.1:5002";":127.0.0.2:5002";":127.0.0.3:5002"))
q)p:.rt.pub params
q)show t:([]time:3#.z.p;sym:`a`b`c)
time                          sym
---------------------------------
2023.10.04D11:05:05.028494659 a
2023.10.04D11:05:05.028494659 b
2023.10.04D11:05:05.028494659 c
q)p (`upd;`tab2; t)

Subscribing

A q process on your local host can subscribe to the RT running in docker-compose by setting up DNS entries to the port-forwarded endpoints.

In order to subscribe to the docker-compose:

  1. Configure your local DNS (/etc/hosts) to map each of RT nodes to the port-forwarded IP addresses
127.0.0.1 rt-data-0
127.0.0.2 rt-data-1
127.0.0.3 rt-data-2
  1. Start kdb+ Cloud Edition, load the rt.qpk and subscribe using $RT_TOPIC_PREFIX="rt-" and <streamid>="data"
$ qce
KDB+ 4.0 Cloud Edition 2022.07.01 Copyright (C) 1993-2022 Kx Systems
l64/ 12()core 5929MB neal a-lptp-2vccmh4k 127.0.1.1 EXPIRE 2024.01.13 nmcdonnell@kx.com KXMS KXCE #77882

q)\cd rt
q)\l startq.q
q)`RT_TOPIC_PREFIX setenv "rt-"
q)latest_pos:0
q)callback:{[data;pos]latest_pos::pos}
q).rt.sub`stream`position`callback!("data"; 0; callback)
q)latest_pos
35359

Running a one node RT

It is also possible to run RT in a one node configuration. The instructions below illustrate the differences between deploying a one node RT compared to a three node RT and should be read in conjunction with the more detailed instructions above for using RT with docker-compose.

  1. Change the RT_REPLICAS environment variable in the env file to 1 as follows:
#/bin/bash

# RT ordinality (only 1 and 3 are supported ATM):
# RT_REPLICAS=1 - use with --profile one-node
# RT_REPLICAS=3 - use with default profile
export RT_REPLICAS=1
  1. Bring up the docker-compose file with the one-node profile:
docker compose --env-file env -f docker-compose.yaml --profile one-node up
  1. If you wish to use external clients you should download and run the enrol_json_one_node.sh script which generates a client.json containing the single RT endpoint:
cat client.json | jq .
{
  "name": "client-name",
  "topics": {
    "insert": "data",
    "query": "requests"
  },
  "ca": "<ca>",
  "cert": "<cert>",
  "key": "<key>",
  "insert": {
    "insert": [
      ":127.0.0.1:5000"
    ],
    "query": []
  },
  "query": []
}

Connecting a non-SSL q publisher/subscriber to a one node RT from outside the docker-compose requires:

  1. Setting up the port forwards as follows:
services:
rt-data-0:
    ports:
    - 127.0.0.1:5001:5001/tcp
    - 127.0.0.1:5002:5002/tcp
  1. Subscribing requires configuring your /etc/hosts with the following:
127.0.0.1 rt-data-0