In this section: 

Overview

Third-party software tools are sometimes used to perform monitoring or troubleshooting tasks in SWe environments. To minimize the impact on SBC SWe call processing capacity when running third-party software, the SBC provides a script that limits the VM resources a specified application can use. The runThirdPartyApps.sh script lets you specify one or more non-Ribbon applications that you want to run in the same environment with SBC SWe, but keeps them within a limited and safe range in terms of the resources they consume. When you run the script you can specify whether you want the specified application to start a single time or you want it to start each time the SBC starts. You can provide any run-time arguments that should be specified for the application when it is invoked.  You must be logged in as the root user or have root privileges to run the script. The script resides in the location:  /opt/sonus/sbx/scripts/

Caution

Users are responsible for the maintenance of any third-party software installed and for any issues that arise as a result of running such software in an SBC SWe environment. This script does not limit the memory and disk space a third-party applications uses. Any leaks in such applications could lead to an SBC crash for which Ribbon is not responsible. Make sure to thoroughly test any application in a test environment before you decide to deploy the application in a production environment with the SBC.


The following is the basic syntax for the script:

runThirdPartyApps.sh <parameter> '<application> <run-time arguments>'

where:
<parameter> is one of the following script parameters:

-a : Starts the specified application and adds it to the list of applications that is automatically started when the SBC starts.
-b : Called at SBX application startup to start all saved applications.
-h : Shows the command help.
-p : Shows the list of saved applications.
-r : Removes the specified application from the list that automatically starts when the SBC starts. Note: This does not stop the process if it is running.
-s : Starts the specified application, but does not add it to the list of applications that automatically start when the SBC starts.

<application> is the path and name of the application to run.

<run-time arguments> is an optional list of run-time arguments to invoke with the application.

The application path/name and any run-time arguments must be enclosed in single or double quote marks.


Example:
[root@vsbcSystem-vsbc1 172.31.11.218 linuxadmin]# runThirdPartyApps.sh -h
runThirdPartyApps.sh: thirdParty group not set up. Applications will run in sig group.
WARNING: RIBBON DOES NOT SUPPORT THE USE OF USER INSTALLED THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS. ANYTHING INSTALLED IS AT THE USER'S OWN RISK!!!
WARNING: ANY APPLICATIONS INSTALLED WILL BE EXPLICITLY MANAGED BY CUSTOMERS AND WILL NEED TO BE RE-INSTALLED FOLLOWING A SBC UPGRADE!!!
 
runThirdPartyApps.sh usage:
 Assign non Ribbon applications to run with limited resources
  -a : Add application to list to be automatically started and then starts the application
  -r : Removes application from list to automatically start. Note: does not stop the running process
  -s : Start application without adding to the automatic startup list
  -b : Called at SBX application startup to start all saved applications
  -w : Add application to list to be automatically started and without starting the application
  -p : Prints out the list of saved applications
  -h : Prints this messages
 
e.g.:
   runThirdPartyApps.sh -a '/usr/bin/prog -i arg1 -j arg2'
   runThirdPartyApps.sh -r '/usr/bin/prog'
 
NOTE: supply applications with full path and parameters between speech marks as parameter
Note:

If you choose to install and run third-party applications, the SBC does not maintain the applications through an upgrade. You must re-install any additional software packages after an SBC upgrade.

Configuration Example

Use the following procedure to start a third-party application called "myApp" with limits on the VM resources it is able to use. In this example, the application is going to be invoked every time the SBC starts. The application resides in the usr/bin directory and requires a run-time argument arg100.  

  1. Log in to the SBC SWe as root.

  2. Switch to the directory where the script resides:
    cd /opt/sonus/sbx/scripts/

  3. Run the following command to add myApp to the list of applications invoked when the SBC starts:
    runThirdPartyApps.sh -a '/usr/bin/myApp arg100'


The application myApp is started once the sbxstart command is executed.