How to mirror a remote Task?

The following instructions describe the necessary steps to use the ability to synchronise (i.e. mirror) the status and attributes, such as variables, meters, labels and events, of a task between a remote ecFlow server and a local ecFlow server. The remote server is responsible for actually executing the task, while the local server synchronizes the status of a particular task, in order to trigger the execution of dependent tasks.

The deployment of this feature has the following requirements:

  • local ecFlow 5.13+, to host the dependent task(s)

  • remote ecFlow 5+, to host the remote task

  • (optional) Authentication credentials, stored as JSON file

Setup the ecFlow Server

Deploy the remote ecFlow server, as per the regular instructions and specifying username/password access configuration.

Deploy the Authentication credentials so that the JSON file is accessible to the local ecFlow server. Launch the server.

Consider using SSL encription for the communication between ecFlow server and client.

Define the Suite with a mirrored Task

On the suite definition file, create a task (which will mirror the remote task status) and assign it a mirror attribute. The mirror attribute must specify the path of the remote node, and the remote server connection details. Using the mirrored task, other tasks can use triggers to execute when the remote task becomes complete.

Follow the recommended practice of defining ecFlow variables at suite level:

  • ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_HOST

  • ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_PORT

  • ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_POLLING

  • ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_AUTH

Example 1: Example suite definition with mirror attributes

suite s
  edit ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_HOST 'remotehost'
  edit ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_PORT '3456'
  edit ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_POLLING '120'
  edit ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_AUTH '/path/to/mirror.auth'
  family f
    task Task
      edit YMD placeholder
      mirror --name A --remote_path /s1/f1/t1 --remote_host %ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_HOST% --remote_port %ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_PORT% --polling %ECF_MIRROR_REMOTE_POLLING% --ssl
    task Dependent
      trigger Task == complete and /s/f/Task:VARIABLE >= 20000101
  endfamily
endsuite

Warning

Variables that are referred in trigger expressions must be defined, as a placeholder for variables that eventually get synchronised.

Deploy the Suite with a mirrored Task

Load the suite definition containing the mirror attribute.

Whenever the ecFlow server is in RUNNING state, the synchronisation between remote and local servers is enabled automatically.