Configuration Initialization and Propagation

propagating, resetting, and cleaning configuration parameters.

15.2.1 Initializing the Configuration Files

Command Syntax:

micctrl --initdefaults \

[--users=<none | overlay | merge | nochange] \ [--pass=<none | shadow>] [--nocreate] \

[--modhost=<yes | no>] [--modcard=<yes | no>] \ [mic card list]

The Intel MPSS installation does not provide configuration filesdescribed earlier in Configuration. Instead, these files are created by the micctrl --initdefaults command.

micctrl --initdefaults can be run anytime but will not change files if they already exist and

have valid information.

The --initdefaults option first checks to see if the /etc/mpss/default.conf file is present. If not, it creates the default version of it. Then, for each supplied card, it checks for the existence of the card-specific configuration file /etc/mpss/<micname>.conf. If it is not present, it creates a default version with an Include parameter including the default.conf file.

(Intel® MPSS)

The --initdefaults option then proceeds to parse the per card configuration files. For each parameter that is not set, it will add a default value to the per card configuration file. At the same time it will check for deprecated parameters and transform them to the updated parameters. For example: the deprecated FileSystem parameter is updated to

RootDevice RamFS.

The --initdefaults option also added the following options in the 3.2 release: With the elimination of the UserAuthentication parameter initdefaults needs some guidance on users to add to the /etc/passwd file. If no --users argument is specified then it defaults to the nochange.

If --users is set to nochange and if no /etc/passwd exists then it defaults to the

functionality of setting overlay. Otherwise no changes to the /etc/passwd file will occur. If --users is set to none then only the minimal set of users including root, sshd, micuser, nobody and nfsnobody.

If --users is set to overlay then the information in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow will be replace with the minimal users plus all users in the host’s /etc/passwd file.

If --users is set to merge then the host’s /etc/passwd file will be checked for any users not in the cards file and added in.

The --pass argument allows the system administrator to decide whether the pass word for the user from the host will be copied to the card or not. If it is set to none then the pass word field in the /etc/shadow file will be filed with a ‘*’. If it is set to shadow then the hosts pass word information for the user on the host will be used. It should be noted this does not apply to SUSE* hosts using the default Blowfish encryption since the card will not understand it.

The --nocreate argument specified to not create the associated home directory for the user. This is intended to be used by systems where the users home directory will be remote mounted.

Setting the --modhost parameter indicates to micctrl whether to add an entry for the Intel® Xeon Phi™ coprocessor IP address to the host’s /etc/hosts file. If modhost=yes, then micctrl will modify the /etc/hosts file; if modhost=no, then the system administrator should add the entry to the /etc/hosts file.

The --modcard parameter determines whether the system administrator wants the configuration process to create the /etc/hosts file on the card. if modcard=no, then the system administrator should create the /etc/hosts file on the card.

Consult the documentation for setting network functons for the results of using the

--modhost and --modcard options.

15.2.2 Propagating Changed Configuration Parameters

Command Syntax:

The micctrl Utility

[--users=<none | overlay | merge | nochange] \ [--pass=<none | shadow>] [--nocreate] \

[--modhost=<yes | no>] [--modcard=<yes | no>] \ [mic card list]

Changes to the configuration files are propagated with the micctrl --resetconfig command. The --resetconfig option first removes the files in MicDir created by the configuration process, with the exception of the highly persistent ssh host key files. It then regenerates those files according to the parameters in the

/etc/mpss/<micname>.conf and /etc/mpss/default.conf files. This process will not add default parameters, but only causes the changed parameters to be propagated. The --resetconfig option added several new options with the 3.2 release. Consult the previous documentation for the --initdefaults option.

NOTE: This command is deprecated, and may be removed in future releases.

15.2.3 Resetting Configuration Parameters

Command Syntax:

micctrl --resetdefaults \

[--users=<none | overlay | merge | nochange] \ [--pass=<none | shadow>] [--nocreate] \

[--modhost=<yes | no>] [--modcard=<yes | no>] \ [mic card list]

In the event of a failed or problematic configuration process, the best remedy may be to start again. The micctrl --resetdefaults command deletes the configuration files and executes the same process as the --initdefaults option.

Since --resetdefaults only affects the files known to the configuration, it does not delete any files the system administrator has added to a card’s file system.

The --resetdefaults option has a number of new options with the 3.2 release. Consult the previous documentation for the --initdefaults option.

15.2.4 Cleaning Configuration Parameters

Command Syntax:

micctrl --cleanconfig [mic card list]

Since Intel MPSS configuration commands will replace configuration parameters that have been deprecated, the micctrl --resetdefaults and micctrl --resetconfig commands may not restore the deprecated commands of some previous version of Intel MPSS. Recalling

(Intel® MPSS)

the earlier example in Section 15.2.1, the micctrl --resetdefaults and micctrl --resetconfig commands will not automatically revert "RootDevice RamFS” back to the “FileSystem” parameter. If this is the desired goal, then removing the whole card configuration may be required.

The --cleanconfig option not only removes a card’s configuration files, but also removes all files in the MicDir parameter directory along with the other values specified by

RootDevice.