Debug Sidecar

Overview

The Service Proxy Pod’s debug sidecar provides a set of command line tools for obtaining low-level, diagnostic data and statistics about the Service Proxy Traffic Management Microkernel (TMM). The debug sidecar deploys by default with the SPK Controller.

Command line tools

The table below lists and describes the available command line tools:

Tool Description
tmctl Displays various TMM traffic processing statistics, such as pool and virtual server connections.
core-tmm Creates a diagnostic core file of the TMM process.
bdt_cli Displays TMM networking information such as ARP and route entries. See the bdt_cli section below.
tmm_cli Sets the TMM logging level. See the tmm_cli section below.
mrfdb Enables reading and writing dSSM database records. See the mrfdb section below.
qkview Creates a diagnostic data TAR file for F5 support. See the Qkview section below.
configviewer Displays a log of the configuration objects created and deleted using SPK Custom Resources (CRs). See the configviewer section below.
tcpdump Displays packets sent and received on the specified network interface.
ping Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to remote hosts.
traceroute Displays the packet route in hops to a remote host.

Note: Type man f5-tools in the debug container to get a full list of TMM specific commands.

Connecting to the sidecar

To connect to the debug sidecar and begin gathering diagnostic information, use the commands below.

  1. Connect to the debug sidecar:

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  2. Execute one of the available diagnostic commands:

    In this example, ping is used to test connectivity to a remote host with IP address 192.168.10.100:

    ping 192.168.10.100
    
    PING 192.168.10.100 (192.168.10.100): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 192.168.10.100: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.067 ms
    64 bytes from 192.168.10.100: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.067 ms
    64 bytes from 192.168.10.100: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.067 ms
    64 bytes from 192.168.10.100: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.067 ms
    
  3. Type Exit to leave the debug sidecar.

Command examples

tmctl

Use the tmctl tool to query Service Proxy TMM for application traffic processing statistics.

  1. Connect to the debug sidecar:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n <project> -- bash
    

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  2. To view virtual server connection statistics run the following command:

    tmctl -d blade virtual_server_stat -s name,clientside.tot_conns
    
  3. To view pool member connection statistics run the following command:

    tmctl -d blade pool_member_stat -s pool_name,serverside.tot_conns
    

bdt_cli

Use the bdt_cli tool to query the Service Proxy TMM for networking data.

  1. Connect to the debug sidecar:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n <project> -- bash
    

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  2. Connect to TMM referencing the gRPC channel SSL/TL certificates and key:

    bdt_cli -tls=true -use_fqdn=true -server_addr=tmm0:8850 \
            -ca_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca_root.crt \
            -client_crt=/etc/ssl/certs/f5-ing-demo-f5ingress.crt \
            -client_key=/etc/ssl/private/f5-ing-demo-f5ingress.key
    
  3. Once connected, enter a number representing the network data of interest:

    Enter the request type(number or string):
    1. check
    2. arp
    3. connection
    4. route
    5. exit
    

    The output will resemble the following:

    "2" looks like a number.
    Enter ArpRequest(override fields as necessary, defaults are listed here):
    e.g. {}
    
  4. Select the Enter key again to view the networking data:

     name:169.254.0.254 ipAddr:169.254.0.254 macAddr:00:01:23:45:67:fe vlan:tmm expire:0 status:permanent
     name:169.254.0.253 ipAddr:169.254.0.253 macAddr:00:98:76:54:32:10 vlan:tmm expire:0 status:permanent
     name:169.254.0.1 ipAddr:169.254.0.1 macAddr:00:01:23:45:67:00 vlan:tmm expire:0 status:permanent
     name:10.244.1.98 ipAddr:10.244.1.98 macAddr:22:22:fe:6d:59:e1 vlan:eth0 expire:0 status:permanent
     name:10.20.200.210 ipAddr:10.20.200.210 macAddr:96:b3:23:d4:7c:69 vlan:net1 expire:0 status:permanent
    

tmm_cli

By default, the f5-tmm container logs events at the Notice level. You can use the tmm_cli command to modify the logging level. The logging levels are listed below in the order of message severity. More severe levels generally log messages from the lower severity levels as well.

1-Debug, 2-Informational, 3-Notice, 4-Warning, 5-Error, 6-Critical, 7-Alert, 8-Emergency

  1. Connect to the debug sidecar:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n <project> -- bash
    

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  2. To set the f5-tmm container’s logging level to Debug, run the following command:

    tmm_cli -logLevel 1
    
    ok
    

    The f5-tmm container will log an event message simlilar to the following:

    Set bigdb var 'log.tmm.level'='Debug'
    

configviewer

Use the configviewer utility to show events related to installing SPK CRs.

  1. You must set the CONFIG_VIEWER_ENABLE parameter to true when deploying the SK Controller. For example:

    tmm:
    
      customEnvVars:
        - name: CONFIG_VIEWER_ENABLE
          value: "true"
    
  2. Connect to the debug sidecar:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n <project> -- bash
    

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  3. After deploying a Custom Resource (CR), you can view the current configuration event with the following command:

    Note: The example respresents a portion of the TMM configuration.

    configviewer --ipport=tmm0:11211 --displayall
    
    GetAll Connect!
    GetAll Connect Complete!
    pattern: 006f40782e*
    binlookup config_viewer_bin
     Query: get/th /6552fc31.0/*
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Config for pool_member_list updated at <some date / time>
    {
            "name": "apps-nginx-crd-pool-member-list",
            "id": "apps-nginx-crd-pool-member-list",
            "members": [
                    "apps-nginx-crd-pool-member-10.244.1.22",
                    "apps-nginx-crd-pool-member-10.244.1.23",
                    "apps-nginx-crd-pool-member-10.244.2.21"
            ]
    }
    

mrfdb

The mrfdb utility enables reading and writing dSSM database records. Use the steps below to add an F5SPKEgress Custom Resource (CR) DNS46 record.

  1. Obtain the name of the first dSSM Sentinel:

    In this example, the dSSM Sentinel is in the spk-utilities Project:

    oc get pods -n spk-utilities | grep sentinel-0
    

    In this example, the dSSM Sentinel is named f5-dssm-sentinel-0.

    f5-dssm-sentinel-0    1/1   Running
    
  2. Obtain the IP address of the master dSSM database:

    oc logs f5-dssm-sentinel-0 -n spk-utilities | grep master | tail -1
    

    In this example, the master dSSM DB IP address is 10.128.0.221.

    Apr 2022 21:02:43.543 * +slave slave 10.131.1.152:6379 10.131.1.152 6379 @ dssmmaster 10.128.0.221 6379
    
  3. Connect to the TMM debug sidecar:

    In this example, the debug sidecar is in the spk-ingress Project:

    oc exec -it deploy/f5-tmm -c debug -n spk-ingress -- bash
    
  4. Add the DNS46 record to the dSSM DB:

    In this example, the DB entry maps IPv4 address 10.1.1.1 to IPv6 address 2002::10:1:1:1.

    mrfdb -ipport=10.128.0.221:6379 -serverName=server -type=dns46 -set -key=10.1.1.1 -val=2002::10:1:1:1
    
  5. View the new DNS46 record entry:

    mrfdb -ipport=10.128.0.221:6379 -serverName=server -type=dns46 -display=all
    
    t_dns462002::10:1:1:1                                         10.1.1.1
    t_dns4610.1.1.1                                               2002::10:1:1:1
    
  6. Delete the DNS46 entry from the dSSM DB:

    mrfdb -ipport=10.128.0.221:6379 -serverName=server -type=dns46 -delete -key=10.1.1.1 -val=2002::10:1:1:1
    

Persisting files

Some diagnostic tools such as qkview and tcpdump produce files that require further analysis by F5. When you install the SPK Controller, you can configure the debug.persistence Helm parameter to ensure diagnostic files created in the debug sidecar container are saved to a filesystem. Use the steps below to verify a PersistentVolume is available, and to configure persistence.

  1. Verify a StoraceClass is available for the debug container:

    oc get storageclass
    
    NAME                  PROVISIONER      RECLAIMPOLICY   VOLUMEBINDINGMODE   
    managed-nfs-storage   storage.io/nfs   Delete          Immediate          
    
  2. Set the persistence.enabled parameter to true, and configure the storageClass name:

    Note: In this example, managed-nfs-storage value is obtained from the NAME field in step 1:

    debug:
    
      persistence:
        enabled: true
        storageClass: "managed-nfs-storage"
        accessMode: ReadWriteOnce
        size: 1Gi
    
  3. After you deploy the Controller and Service Proxy Pods, find the bound PersistentVolume:

    oc get pv | grep f5-debug-sidecar
    

    In this example, the pv is Bound in the spk-ingress Project as expected:

    pvc-42a5ef7-5c5f-4518-930f-851abf32c67   1Gi   Bound  spk-ingress/f5-debug-sidecar  managed-nfs-storage
    
  4. Use the PersistentVolume ID to find the Server name and the Path, or location on the cluster node where diagnostic files are storeed.

    _images/spk_warn.png Important: Files must be placed in the the debug sidecar’s /shared directory to be persisted.

    oc describe pv <pv_id> | grep -iE 'path|server'
    

    In this example, the PersistentVolume ID is pvc-42a5ef7-5c5f-4518-930f-851abf32c67:

    oc describe pv pvc-42a5ef7-5c5f-4518-930f-851abf32c67 | grep -iE 'path|server'
    

    The Server and Path information will resemble the following:

    Server:  provisioner.ocp.f5.com
    Path:    /opt/local-path-provisioner/pvc-42a5ef7-5c5f-4518-930f-851abf32c67_ingress_f5-debug-sidecar
    

Qkview

The qkview utility collects diagnostic and logging information from the f5-tmm container, and stores the data in a Linux TAR file. If you enabled the Fluentd Logging collector, run the qkview utility on f5-fluentd container to gather log files from all of the SPK Pods. Qkview files are typically generated and sent to F5 for further analysis. Use the steps below to run the qkview utility, and copy the file to your local workstation.

  1. Switch to the Service Proxy TMM Pod Project:

    In this example, the spk-ingress Project is selected.

    oc project spk-ingress
    
  2. Obtain the name of the Service Proxy TMM Pod:

    oc get pods --selector app=f5-tmm
    

    In this example, the Service Proxy TMM Pod name is f5-tmm-79df567d45-ssjv9.

    NAME                      READY   STATUS  
    f5-tmm-79df567d45-ssjv9   5/5     Running
    
  3. Set the Service Proxy TMM Pod name as an environment variable:

    In this example, the environment variable is named TMM_POD.

    TMM_POD=f5-tmm-79df567d45-ssjv9
    
  4. Open a remote shell to the TMM Pod’s debug container:

    oc rsh -c debug $TMM_POD bash   
    

    The shell will display the name of the Service Proxy TMM Pod.

    [root@f5-tmm-79df567d45-ssjv9 /]#
    
  5. Change into the /shared directory mapped to the persistent volume:

    cd /shared
    
  6. Run the qkview utility:

    qkview
    
  7. The qkview file appears similar to the following:

    qkview.20210219-223559.tar.gz
    
  8. Type Exit to exit the debug container.

  9. Copy the Qkview file to your local workstation:

    oc rsync -c debug $TMM_POD:/shared/<file> .
    

    In this example, the /shared/qkview.20210219-223559.tar.gz Qkview file is copied to the local workstation.

    oc rsync -c debug $TMM_POD:/shared/qkview.20210219-223559.tar.gz .
    
  10. Switch to the Fluentd logging Pod project:

    In this example, the spk-utilities Project is selected.

    oc project spk-utilities
    
  11. Obtain the name of the Fluentd logging Pod:

    oc get pods --selector run=f5-fluentd
    

    In this example, the Fluentd logging Pod is named f5-toda-fluentd-768b475dc-pk6bp.

    NAME                              READY   STATUS 
    f5-toda-fluentd-768b475dc-pk6bp   1/1     Running
    
  12. Set the Fluentd logging Pod name as an environment variable:

    FLUENTD_POD=f5-toda-fluentd-768b475dc-pk6bp
    
  13. Connect to the f5-fluentd container:

    oc rsh deploy/f5-toda-fluentd bash
    
  14. Change into the /var/log/f5 directory mapped to the persistent volume:

    cd /var/log/f5
    
  15. Run the qkview utility:

    qkview
    
  16. The Qkview file appears similar to the following, on the worker node’s mapped filesystem:

    qkview.20210219-273529.tar.gz
    
  17. Type Exit to exit the f5-fluent container.

  18. Copy the Qkview file to the local filesystem:

    In this example, the file /shared/qkview.20210730-231942.tar.gz is copied to the local workstation.

    oc rsync $FLUENTD_POD:/shared/qkview.20210730-231942.tar.gz .
    

Disabling the sidecar

The TMM debug sidecar installs by default with the Controller. You can disable the debug sidecar by setting the debug.enabled parameter to false in the Controller Helm values file:

debug:
  enabled: false

Feedback

Provide feedback to improve this document by emailing spkdocs@f5.com.

Supplemental