Runner configuration

• Runners are used to speed up builds and tests by evenly distributing pipeline load
• The server where Buddy On-Premises is first installed is the default runner (Primary).
• You can install more runners on other nodes for extra performance.

Requirements

Installing runners

Launch the terminal on the server where you want to install the runner and run the commands below:

curl -sSL https://get.buddy.works | sh 
buddy install-runner --token="$TOKEN" --standalone-host="$ADDRESS"$$

Supported flags

Updating runners

To update the runner to the newest version of Buddy, sign in to the server that hosts the runner and run:

buddy update$

Updating runner configuration

To update runner configuration (memory limits, tag, network settings, etc.), run this command on the runner server:

buddy update-runner-config$

Supported flags

Scaling runners

Runner-specific variables provide information on average load, the number of free pipeline slots, IP address, and the number of runners, either with or without a specific tag. You can use them in custom scripts to calculate workload and launch or shut down extra nodes in your infrastructure.

Runner variables

Removing runners

To delete a runner, run buddy delete-runner or buddy uninstall on the machine where the runner is installed.

Supported flags

Backup

Backing up runners follows the same process as backing up the main Buddy On-Premises instance.

Generating installation command

GUI

1. Sign in to your Buddy On-Premises instance as admin.
2. Go to the On-Premises Admin panel and switch to the Runners tab.
3. Click Add new runner and copy the installation command.
4. Proceed to the installation step to continue.

CLI

On the server with the main instance, run the following to generate the installation command and token and save it to an executable file:

buddy install-runner$

Supported flags

Runner authorization token

The authorization token is used to authenticate the runner in the main instance of Buddy On-Premises. To display the token run buddy configure and select 15. (Runner token) on the server with the main instance of Buddy On-Premises.

Configuration file

Storing configuration in a file is a convenient way to set up new and update existing runners in non-interactive mode. To fetch the data from the config file, add the --config flag to the command. For example:

buddy --yes update —-config="/home/buddy/config.yml"$

What you need to know

• providing the --config flag requires an existing and parsable YAML file in the provided path
• all fields are optional and can be skipped or empty
• all flags overwrite the values from the config file

Supported flags

Example

standalone-host: "https://192.168.5.114"
name: "Runner-1"
tag: "tag-1"
cpus: 4
memory: 2048
shm: 256
concurrent: 4
token: 1a2b3c4d5e
internal-host: "0.0.0.0"
external-host: "3.3.3.3"
runner-internal-port: 1090
runner-external-port: 1090
registry-internal-port: 1091
registry-external-port: 1091

Management

CLI configuration options

Running buddy configure on the runner, shows the options listed below. To configure an option, type the corresponding number and press Enter.

1. Runner data path – allows to move the application data on the runner to a different partition or disk

2. IP & ports – allows to set IP & port addresses:

   • internal IP – the internal IP address to which the runner is bound
   • external host – the external IP address to which the primary instance is connecting to
   • registry listening port (default 1090)
   • runner listening port (default 1091)
   • registry external port (default 1091)
3. Primary instance address – displays the IP address of the primary instance of Buddy.
4. Runner token – displays the token used to authenticate in the primary instance of Buddy.
5. Application memory management – changes the amount of RAM allocated to the Buddy application on the runner.

Checking runner status

You can view the list of connected runners and their status in the Runners tab of the on-premises admin panel. Possible statuses:

• 🟢 Running
• 🟠 Draining
• 🔘 Drained
• 🔴 Not running or wrong version

Runners tab

Locking

You can lock a runner and change its name in the runner settings.

Resources

The settings are also the place to adjust the resources consumed by the actions in the pipeline (vCPUs, RAM, and shared memory) and tag runners. If any pipeline is currently assigned to the runner, you will find it at the bottom of the page:

Runner settings

Offline runners

If a runner is offline or in a different version than the main instance, all pipeline executions end with an error. It is also impossible to browse the filesystems and view execution logs of the pipelines assigned to that runner.

You can remove an inactive runner from the runner list. When you remove a runner, pipelines assigned to that runner will be automatically assigned to a different runner on the next execution.