unixjenkinsautomationsmoke-testing

How to poll an unix server reboot in an automated way?


I am performing an install on a server, which requires the server to reboot to complete the installation. My query is how to find out when the reboot completes so that I can run a basic smoke test on the server and confirm the deployment status.


Solution

  • This is a non-trivial task in general, and the solution will be depending on the operating system of the server that's restarted.

    In general, it will be best to let the server decide itself on when the startup process has completed, and have it send some notification to interested entities.

    If you can't do that, you can check for services that are typically available after reboot (like, HTTP port reachable, exported file shares mountable,...). Adding some additional time on top of that may be useful.

    On the other, more unreliable end of possible solutions, you can simply wait for a certain amount of time that's typically required for completing a reboot.