Preflight check tool

The preflight check tool is a collection of tests that can be run on a DataStax Enterprise node to detect and fix node configurations. The tool can detect and optionally fix many invalid or suboptimal configuration settings, such as user resource limits, swap, and disk settings.

The default location of the preflight check tool depends on the type of installation:

Package installations: /usr/share/dse/tools/pfc
Tarball installations: <install_location>/tools/pfc

Synopsis

sudo ./preflight_check
[-h] [-f]
[--yaml=<yaml_location>]
[--devices=<HDD_devices>]
[--disk-duration=<disk_duration_in_seconds>]
[--disk-threads=<disk_threads>]
[--ssd=SSD_devices] [--nossd]

Run the preflight check without options to run all tests.

Definition

The short form and long form parameters are comma-separated.

Command arguments

--devices=<HDD_devices>: Comma separated lists of HDDs: /dev/sda,/dev/sdb,…
--disk-duration=<disk_duration_in_seconds>: Time (in seconds) for each test disk benchmark. Set to simulate a normal load.
--disk-threads=<disk_threads>: Number of threads for each disk benchmark. Set to simulate a normal load.
-f, -fix: Attempt to fix issues.
-h, -help: Show help and exit.
--nossd: The node does not have SSDs.
--ssd=<SSD_devices>: Comma separated lists of SSDs: /dev/sda,/dev/sdb,…
--yaml=<yaml_location>: Location of cassandra.yaml file

Example

Run the preflight check with all tests

sudo ./preflight_check

INFO    Blockdev readahead values are within reason.

INFO    vm.max_map_count set correctly.

INFO    Limits were correctly setup.

INFO    '/etc/security/limits.d/90-nproc.conf' does not exist. Shouldn't need this fix.

WARNING Use --ssd or --nossd to signal ssd usage.
ERROR   SSD check did not complete successfully.

INFO    Swap disabled.

WARNING Please ensure '/var/lib/cassandra/data' and '/var/lib/cassandra/commitlog' are linked to seperate devices.
ERROR   Yaml check did not complete successfully.

WARNING Use --device to signal devices to benchmark.
ERROR   Disk benchmarks check did not complete successfully.

Creating custom preflight check

Create a custom preflight check to detect and fix specified configuration settings on DataStax Enterprise nodes.

Procedure

Create a new Python file in /checks:
```
cd /checks
```
```
touch my_test.py
```
Add the new test to the all section of /checks/init.py:
```
__all__ = ['my_test', 'disk', 'blockdev', ...]
```
Add your test to the preflight_check script.
Run the preflight check script with the new test:
```
sudo ./preflight_check [ options ]
```