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CTC Server SetupNewThis content is new.

5.4.0This functionality requires CAESES version 5.4.0 or later.

The CTC Server (CAESES Task Controller) is a modular system designed to extend CAESES with advanced job scheduling capabilities.

CTC Server

Currently, the CTC server comes with the Slurm Bridge module, which replaced the SSH resource manager. Its main purpose is to act as a SLURM (Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management) bridge, enabling CAESES to:

  • Submit jobs to Slurm queues
  • Monitor job states
  • Cancel jobs
  • Allow monitoring of jobs via a lightweight web interface

Prerequisites​

  • CAESES version: 5.4.0 or higher
  • Operating systems: Linux
  • SLURM version: 20.x or newer (for Slurm Bridge module)
  • Network: HTTP connectivity between CAESES and CTC Server
  • Permissions: User account with SLURM command execution rights (squeue, sbatch, scancel, scontrol)

Installation (Linux)​

  1. Download the CTC server from our website.

  2. Extract the provided .tar.gz package.

    tar -xvzf ctc-server-x.y.z.tar.gz
    cd ctc-server-x.y.z/bin

  3. The executable is located in the bin/ directory.

  4. All required dependencies are bundled with the package.

Systemd Service Setup (Linux)​

You can run the CTC Server as a background service using systemd.

  1. Create a new systemd service file:

    sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ctc-server.service

  2. Add the following content (adjust <ctc-installation-path> and <user> accordingly):

    ctc-server.service
    [Unit]
    Description=CTC Server
    After=network.target

    [Service]
    Type=simple
    ExecStart=/<ctc-installation-path>/bin/ctcserver
    WorkingDirectory=/<ctc-installation-path>/
    Restart=on-failure
    User=<user>
    # Make the Slurm binaries (sbatch/squeue) and configuration available to the service.
    # Adjust the paths to match your Slurm installation.
    Environment=PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
    Environment=SLURM_CONF=/etc/slurm/slurm.conf

    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
    Slurm environment is required

    The Environment=PATH=... and Environment=SLURM_CONF=... lines are essential when the CTC Server submits jobs to Slurm. systemd starts services with a minimal environment that does not include the Slurm binaries (sbatch/squeue) on PATH or the SLURM_CONF variable, so the server cannot reach Slurm without them.

    Environment=PATH=... replaces the entire PATH rather than extending it, so the value must contain both the Slurm bin directory and the standard system directories. Run the following in a shell that can submit jobs to generate a ready-to-paste line with the Slurm location prepended to the system's standard PATH:

    echo "Environment=PATH=$(dirname "$(which sbatch)"):$(getconf PATH)"

    Look up the configuration path the same way with scontrol show config | grep SLURM_CONF, then copy both values into the unit.

  3. Reload systemd and enable the service:

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
    sudo systemctl enable ctc-server
    sudo systemctl start ctc-server

  4. Verify the status:

    systemctl status ctc-server

Configuration​

The CTC Server uses an INI configuration file, typically called ctcconfig.ini.

  • File format: .ini
  • Default location: bin/ folder in the installation directory (same folder as the executable)
ctcconfig.ini
[Core]
datadir=/mnt/data/shared/
port=5170
bind_address=0.0.0.0
logpath=/mnt/data/shared/log/
logkeep=30
numLogs=1000

[DB]
name=ctcserver.db

Parameters​

[Core]​

  • datadir / core-data-dir
    • Base directory used by the CTC Server to manage runtime data.
    • Default: <installation_dir>/data/
  • port
    • Port on which the web interface is served.
    • Default: 5170
  • bind_address
    • Address/interface the web server binds to.
    • Example: 127.0.0.1 (local only), or 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces)

[DB]​

  • name
    • Name of the SQLite database file used by the server.
    • Default: ctcserver.db
    • Stores:
      • Job counter
      • Mapping of CAESES job IDs ↔ Slurm job IDs (for crash recovery)
      • Other runtime configuration data

Security Considerations​

Change Default Credentials

The CTC Server ships with default credentials (username: admin, password: admin). You should change the default password immediately after installation to prevent unauthorized access.

Authentication​

The CTC Server uses JWT (JSON Web Token) based authentication for both the web interface and API access:

  • All API endpoints require authentication
  • Sessions expire after 1 hour of inactivity
  • Default credentials: admin / admin
  • Password can be changed via the web interface

Logs​

Logging behavior is controlled by the following parameters:

  • logpath
    • Log files are stored under the directory specified in Core/logpath. If no path is specified, logs will be stored in a folder called logs located in the bin/ directory alongside the executable.
  • logkeep
    • Number of days logs are retained before deletion, is configured via Core/logkeep
  • numLogs
    • Maximum number of log files to keep before rotation/deletion.

Local database (DB/name) complements logs by storing job counters and mappings.

Architecture​

The CTC Server is designed with a modular architecture:

  • Core functionality includes authentication, web interface, database management, and logging
  • Task controller modules provide specific capabilities (e.g., Slurm Bridge for SLURM integration)

Additional task controller modules will be added in future releases to extend functionality beyond Slurm.