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Agama projects deployment#

The Agama framework defines a file format to package and distribute Agama projects. Here we describe the process of deployment in the Jans Agama engine.

Workflow#

Deployment occurs through a REST API. Here is a typical workflow once a .gama file is ready:

  1. Send (POST) the archive contents to the deployment endpoint. Normally a 202 response should be obtained meaning a task has been queued for processing
  2. Poll (via GET) the status of the deployment. When the archive has been effectively deployed a status of 200 should be obtained. It may take up to 30 seconds for the process to complete once the archive is sent. This time may extend if there is another deployment in course
  3. Optionally supply configuration properties for flows if needed. This is done via PUT to the /configs endpoint. The response of the previous step may contain descriptive/sample configurations that can be used as a guide
  4. Test the deployed flows and adjust the archive for any changes required
  5. Go to point 1 if needed. If configuration properties were previously set and no changes are required in this regard, step 3 can be skipped
  6. If desired, a request can be sent to undeploy the flows (via DELETE)

The following tables summarize the available endpoints. All URLs are relative to /jans-config-api/api/v1. An OpenAPI document is also available here.

Endpoint -> /agama-deployment
Purpose Retrieve a list of deployments in the server. This is not a search, just a paged listing
Method GET
Query params start and count helps paginating results. start is 0-index based. Both params optional
Output Existing deployments (regardless they are thoroughly processed or still being deployed). They are listed and sorted by deployment date
Sample output {"start":...,"totalEntriesCount":...,"entriesCount":...,"entries":[ ... ]}
Status 200 (OK)
Endpoint -> /agama-deployment/{name}
Purpose Retrieve details of a single deployment by name
Method GET
Path params name
Sample output The structure of a deployment is explained below
Status 200 (deployment task is finished), 204 (task still in course), 404 (project unknown)
Deployment structure Notes Example
dn Distinguished name jansId=123,ou=deployments,ou=agama,o=jans
id Identifier of deployment (generated automatically) 115276
createdAt Datetime (in UTC) of the instant the deployment task was created (POSTed) 2022-12-07T21:47:42
taskActive Boolean value indicating if the deployment task is being currently processed, ie. the gama file is being scanned, flows analysed, etc. false
finishedAt Datetime (in UTC) representing the instant when the deployment task was finished, or null if it hasn't ended 2022-12-07T21:48:42
details Extra details, see below
Deployment details structure Notes Example
projectMetadata Includes author, type, description, project's name, and example configuration - as supplied when the deployment task was created
error A general description of the error (if presented) when processing the task, otherwise null Archive missing web and/or code subdirectories
flowsError A mapping of the errors obtained per flow found in the archive. The keys correspond to qualified names. A null value indicates the flow was successfully added { "co.acme.example": "Syntax error on line 4", "io.jans.test": null }
libs A listing of paths to java, groovy, or jar files included in the project archive
Endpoint -> /agama-deployment/{name}
Purpose Add or replace an Agama project to the server
Method POST
Path params name (the project's name)
Body The binary contents of a .gama file; example here. Ensure to use header Content-Type: application/zip
Query params autoconfigure - passing true will make this project be configured with the sample configurations found in the provided binary archive (configs section of project.json). This param should rarely be passed: use only in controlled environments where the archive is not shared with third parties
Output Textual explanation, e.g. A deployment task for project XXX has been queued. Use the GET endpoint to poll status
Status 202 (the task was created and scheduled for deployment), 409 (there is a task already for this project and it hasn't finished yet), 400 (a param is missing)
Endpoint -> /agama-deployment/configs/{name}
Purpose Retrieve the configurations associated to flows that belong to the project of interest. The project must have been already processed fully
Method GET
Path params name (the project's name)
Output A JSON object whose properties are flow names and values correspond to configuration properties defined (JSON objects too)
Status 200 (successful response), 204 (this project is still in course of deployment), 404 (unknown project)
Endpoint -> /agama-deployment/configs/{name}
Purpose Set or replace the configurations associated to flows that belong to the project of interest. The project must have been already processed fully
Method PUT
Path params name (the project's name)
Body JSON payload
Output A JSON object whose properties are flow names and values correspond to a boolean indicating the success of the update for the given flow
Status 200 (successful response), 204 (this project is still in course of deployment), 404 (unknown project), 400 (a param is missing)
Endpoint -> /agama-deployment/{name}
Purpose Undeploy an Agama project from the server. Entails removing flows and assets initally supplied
Method DELETE
Path params name (the project's name)
Status 204 (scheduled for removal), 409 (the project is being deployed currently), 404 (unknown project)

Endpoints access#

API operations are protected by Oauth2 scopes this way:

  • GET: https://jans.io/oauth/config/agama.readonly
  • POST: https://jans.io/oauth/config/agama.write
  • DELETE: https://jans.io/oauth/config/agama.delete

Internals of deployment#

This section offers details on how the server deploys a .gama file. In summary five steps take place once the deployment task is picked up:

  1. Input payload validation
  2. Flows transpilation
  3. Transfer of libraries
  4. Transfer of assets and source files
  5. Task finalization

After the initial validation of structure takes place, the code directory is scanned for flow files and every flow is transpiled and added to the database if its transpilation was successful.

Next, jar files found are transferred to the server's custom libs directory - this only applies for VM-based installations.

Then a transfer of templates and assets from web directory followed by copying Groovy/Java sources (from lib) takes place. Finally the deployment task is marked as finalized and a status summary saved to database for later retrieval.

Notes:

  • Developers are required to restart the authentication server for the classes in jar files to be effectively picked up
  • Steps 3 and 4 are carried out only if all flows passed transpilation successfully
  • In Cloud Native environments only one node takes charge of processing a given deployment thoroughly. Other nodes will automatically sync with regards to the files of step 4.

The API also offers undeployment capabilities. Here is how it works:

  1. Directories holding templates and assets are removed
  2. Source files and jar files are removed, if any
  3. Flows are removed from database

The above applies only for the artifacts originally part of the deployment, of course. Again, nodes in Cloud Native installations will sync accordingly.


Last update: 2024-05-01
Created: 2023-01-20