.. contents::
NAME
----
**tsshbatch** - Run Commands On Batches Of Machines
SYNOPSIS
--------
::
tsshbatch.py [-NSehktvxy -G 'file dest' -P 'file dest' -f cmdfile -n name -p pw ] -H 'host ..' | hostlistfile [command arg ... ]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
``tsshbatch`` is a tool to enable you to issue a command to many
hosts without having to log into each one separately. When writing
scripts, this overcomes the ``ssh`` limitation of not being able to
specify the password on the command line.
You can also use ``tsshbatch`` to ``GET`` and ``PUT`` files
from- and to many hosts at once.
``tsshbatch`` also understands basic ``sudo`` syntax and can be used
to access a host, ``sudo`` a command, and then exit.
``tsshbatch`` thus allows you to write complex, hands-off scripts that
issue commands to many hosts without the tedium of manual login and
``sudo`` promotion. System administrators, especially, will find this
helpful when working in large server farms.
OPTIONS
-------
``tsshbatch`` supports a variety of options which can be specified
on either the command line or in the ``$TSSHBATCH`` environment
variable:
-G spec GET file on host and write local dest directory.
``spec`` is a quoted pair of strings. The first
specifies the path of the source file (on the
remote machine) to copy. The second, specifies
the destination *directory* (on the local
machine)::
tsshbatch.py -G "/foo/bar/baz /tmp" hostlist
This copies ``/foo/bar/baz`` from every machine in
``hostlistfile`` to the local ``/tmp/`` directory.
Since all the files have the same name, they would
overwrite each other if copied into the same
directory. So, ``tsshbatch`` prepends the string
``hostname:`` to the name of each file it saves
locally.
-H hostlistfile List of hosts on which to run the command. This should
be enclosed in *quotes* so that the list of hosts
is handed to the -H option as a single argument::
-H 'host1 host2 host3'
-N Force interactive username dialog
-P spec PUT file from local machine to remote machine destination
directory. ``spec`` is a quoted pair of strings.
The first specifies the path of the source file (on
the local machine) to copy. The second, specifies
the destination *directory* (on the remote machine)::
tsshbatch.py -P "/foo/bar/baz /tmp" hostlist
This copies ``/foo/bar/baz`` on the local
machine to ``/tmp/`` on every host in ``hostlist``.
-S Force prompting for sudo password
-e Don't report remote host stderr output
-f cmdfile Read commands from a file. This file can be commented
freely with the ``#`` character. Leading- and
trailing whitespace on a line are ignored.
-h Print help information
-k Use ssh keys instead of name/password credentials
-n name Login name to use
-p pw Password to use when logging in and/or doing sudo
-t Test mode: Only show what *would* be done but don't
actually do it. This also prints diagnostic
information about any variable definitions, the list
of hosts, any ``GET`` and ``PUT`` requests, and final
command strings after all variable substitutions have
been applied.
-v Print detailed program version information and exit
-x Override any previous ``-t`` specifications and
actually execute the commands. This is useful
if you want to put ``-t`` in the ``$TSSHBATCH``
environment variable so that the default is
always run the program in test mode. Then, when
you're ready to actually run commands, you can
override it with ``-x`` on the command line.
-y Turn on 'noisy' reporting for additional detail on
every line, instead of just at the top of the
``stdout`` and ``stderr`` reporting. This is
helpful when you are filtering the output through
something like ``grep`` that only returns matching
lines and thus no context information.
If the ``-H`` option is not selected, the item immediately following
the options is understood to be the name of the ``hostlistfile``.
This is a file that contains the name of each host - one per line - on
which to run the commands. This file can be commented freely with the
``#`` character. Leading- and trailing whitespace on a line are
ignored.
The last entry on the command line is optional and defines a command
to run. ``tsshbatch`` will attempt to execute it on every host you've
specified either via ``-H`` or a ``hostfile``::
tsshbatch.py -Hmyhost ls -al /etc
This will do a ``ls -al /etc`` on ``myhost``.
Be careful when using metacharacters like ``&&, <<, >>, <, >`` and so
on in your commands. You have to escape and quote them properly or
your local shell will interfere with them being properly conveyed to
the remote machine.
If you've specified a ``cmdfile`` containing the commands you want run via
the ``-f`` option, these commands will run *before* the command
you've defined on the command line. It is always the last command
run on each host.
You can put as many ``-f`` arguments as you wish on the command
line and the contents of these files will be run in the order
they appeared from left-to-right on the command line.
``tsshbatch`` does all the ``GETs``, then all the ``PUTs`` before
attempting to do any command processing. If no ``GETs``, ``PUTs``, or
commands have been specified, ``tsshbatch`` will exit silently, since
"nothing to do" really isn't an error.
ENVIRONMENT
-----------
``tsshbatch`` respects the ``TSSHBATCH`` environment variable. You
may set this variable with any options above you commonly use to avoid
having to key them in each time you run the program. For example::
export TSSHBATCH="-n jluser -p l00n3y"
This would cause all subsequent invocations of ``tsshbatch`` to
attempt to use the login name/password credentials of ``jluser`` and
``l00n3y`` respectively.
USE CASES
---------
1) Different Ways To Specify Targeted Hostnames
There are two ways to specify the list of hosts on which you want
to run the specified command:
- On the command line via the ``-H`` option::
tsshbatch.py -H 'hostA hostB' uname -a
This would run the command ``uname -a`` on the
hosts ``hostA`` and ``hostB`` respectively.
Notice that the list of hosts must be separated by spaces but
passed as a *single argument*. Hence we enclose them in single
quotes.
- Via a host list file::
tsshbatch.py myhosts df -Ph
Here, ``tsshbatch`` expects the file ``myhosts`` to contain a
list of hosts, one per line, on which to run the command ``df
-Ph``. As an example, if you want to target the hosts ``larry``,
``curly`` and ``moe`` in ``foo.com``, ``myhosts`` would look
like this::
larry.foo.com
curly.foo.com
moe.foo.com
This method is handy when there are standard "sets" of hosts on
which you regularly work. For instance, you may wish to keep a
host file list for each of your production hosts, each of your
test hosts, each of your AIX hosts, and so on.
You may use the ``#`` comment character freely throughout a
host list file to add comments or temporarily comment out a
particular host line.
You can even use the comment character to temporarily comment
out one or most hosts in the list given to the ``-H`` command
line argument. For example::
tsshbatch.py -H "foo #bar baz" ls
This would run the ``ls`` command on hosts ``foo`` and ``baz``
but not ``bar``. This is handy if you want to use your
shell's command line recall to save typing but only want to
repeat the command for some of the hosts your originally
Specified.
2) Authentication Using Name And Password
The simplest way to use ``tsshbatch`` is to just name the hosts
can command you want to run::
tsshbatch.py linux-prod-hosts uptime
By default, ``tsshbatch`` uses your login name found in the
``$USER`` environment variable when logging into other systems.
In this example, you'll be prompted only for your password which
``tsshbatch`` will then use to log into each of the machines named
in ``linux-prod-hosts``. (*Notice that his assumes your name and
password are the same on each host!*)
Typing in your login credentials all the time can get tedious after
awhile so ``tsshbatch`` provides a means of providing them on the
command line::
tsshbatch.py -n joe.luser -p my_weak_pw linux-prod-hosts uptime
This allows you to use ``tsshbatch`` inside scripts for hands-free
operation.
If your login name is the same on all hosts, you can simplify
this further by defining it in the environment variable::
export TSSHBATCH="-n joe.luser"
Any subsequent invocation of ``tsshbatch`` will only require a
password to run.
HOWEVER, there is a huge downside to this - your plain text
password is exposed in your scripts, on the command line, and
possibly your command history. This is a pretty big security hole,
especially if you're an administrator with extensive privileges.
(This is why the ``ssh`` program does not support such an option.)
For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you use the ``-p``
option sparingly, or not at all. A better way is to push ssh keys
to every machine and use key exchange authentication as described
below.
However, there are times when you do have use an explicit password,
such as when doing ``sudo`` invocations. It would be really nice
to use ``-p`` and avoid having to constantly type in the password.
There are two strategies for doing this more securely than just
entering it in plain text on the command line:
- Temporarily store it in the environment variable::
export TSSHBATCH="-n joe.luser -p my_weak_pw"
Do this *interactively* after you log in, not from
a script (otherwise you'd just be storing the plain text
password in a different script). The environment variable
will persist as long as you're logged in and disappear
when you log out.
If you use this just make sure to observe three security
precautions:
1) Clear your screen immediately after doing this so no one
walking by can see the password you just entered.
2) Configure your shell history system to ignore
commands beginning with ``export TSSHBATCH``. That
way your plain text password will never appear in
the shell command history.
3) Make sure you don't leave a logged in session unlocked so
that other users could walk up and see your password by
displaying the environment.
This approach is best when you want your login credentials
available for the duration of an *entire login session*.
- Store your password in an encrypted file and decrypt it
inline.
First, you have to store your password in an encrypted format.
There are several ways to do this, but ``gpg`` is commonly
used::
echo "my_weak_pw" | gpg -c >mysecretpw
Provide a decrypt passphrase, and you're done.
Now, you can use this by decrypting it inline as needed::
#!/bin/sh
# A demo scripted use of tsshbatch with CLI password passing
MYPW=`cat mysecretpw | gpg` # User will be prompted for unlock passphrase
sshbatch.py -n joe.luser -p $MYPW hostlist1 command1 arg
sshbatch.py -n joe.luser -p $MYPW hostlist2 command2 arg
sshbatch.py -n joe.luser -p $MYPW hostlist3 command3 arg
This approach is best when you want your login credentials
available for the duration of *the execution of a script*. It
does require the user to type in a passphrase to unlock the
encrypted password file, but your plain text password never
appears in the wild.
3) Authentication Using Key Exchange
For most applications of ``tsshbatch``, it is much simpler to use
key-based authentication. For this to work, you must first have
pushed ssh keys to all your hosts. You then instruct ``tsshbatch``
to use key-based authentication rather than name and password. Not
only does this eliminate the need to constantly provide name and
password, it also eliminates passing a plain text password on the
command line and is thus far more secure. This also overcomes the
problem of having different name/password credentials on different
hosts.
By default, ``tsshbatch`` will prompt for name and password
if they are not provided on the command line. To force key-based
authentication, use the ``-k`` option::
tsshbatch.py -k AIX-prod-hosts ls -al
4) Executing A ``sudo`` Command
``tsshbatch`` is smart enough to handle commands that begin with
the ``sudo`` command. It knows that such commands *require* a
password no matter how you initially authenticate to get into the
system. If you provide a password - either via interactive entry
or the ``-p`` option - by default, ``tsshbatch`` will use that same
password for ``sudo`` promotion.
If you provide no password - you're using ``-k`` and have not
provided a password via ``-p`` - ``tsshbatch`` will prompt you for
the password ``sudo`` should use.
You can force ``tsshbatch`` to ask you for a ``sudo`` password with
the ``-S`` option. This allows you to have one password for
initial login, and a different one for ``sudo`` promotion.
Any time you a prompted for a ``sudo`` password and a login
password has been provided (interactive or ``-p``), you can accept
this as the ``sudo`` password by just hitting ``Enter``.
5) Precedence Of Authentication Options
``tsshbatch`` supports these various authentication options
in a particular heirarchy using a "first match wins"
scheme. From highest to lowest, the precedence is:
1. Key exchange
2. Forced prompting for name via -N
3. Command Line/$TSSHBATCH environment variable sets name
4. Name picked up from $USER (Default behavior)
If you try to use Key Exchange and ``tsshbatch`` detects a command
beginning with ``sudo``, it will prompt you for a password anyway.
This is because ``sudo`` requires a password to promote privilege.
6) File Transfers
The ``-G`` and ``-P`` options specify file ``GET`` and
``PUT`` respectively. Both are followed by a quoted
file transfer specification in the form::
"path-to-source-file path-to-destination-directory"
Note that this means the file will always be stored under
its original name in the destination directory. Renaming
isn't possible during file transfer.
However, ``tsshbatch`` always does ``GETs`` then ``PUTs`` *then* any
outstanding command (if any) at the end of the command line. This
permits things like renaming on the remote machine after a ``PUT``::
tsshbatch.py -P "foo ./" hostlist mv -v foo foo.has.a.new.name
``GETs`` are a bit of a different story because you are retrieving
a file of the same name on every host. To avoid having all
but the last one clobber the previous one, ``tsshbatch`` makes
forces the files you ``GET`` to be uniquely named by prepending
the hostname and a ":" to the actual file name::
tsshbatch.py -H myhost -G "foo ./"
This saves the file ``myhost:foo`` in the ``./`` on your
local machine.
These commands do not recognize any special directory shortcut
symbols like ``~/`` like the shell interpreter might. You must name
file and directory locations using ordinary pathing conventions.
You can put as many of these requests on the command line as you
like to enable ``GETs`` and ``PUTs`` of multiple files. You cannot,
however, use filename wildcards to specify multi-file operations.
You can put multiple ``GETs`` or ``PUTs`` on the command line
for the same file. They do not override each other but are
*cummulative*. So this::
tsshbatch.py -P"foo ./" -P"foo /tmp" ...
Would put local file ``foo`` in both ``./`` and ``/tmp`` on each
host specified. Similarly, you can specify multiple files to ``GET``
from remote hosts and place them in the same local directory::
tsshbatch.py -G"/etc/fstab ./tmp" -G"/etc/rc.conf ./tmp" ...
If any file transfer fails, for any reason, the program is aborted
and no further work is done.
7) Commenting
Both the ``cmdfile`` and ``hostlistfile`` can be freely commented
using the ``#`` character. Everything from that character to the
end of that line is ignored. Similarly, you can use whitespace
freely, except in cases where it would change the syntax of a
command or host name.
8) Includes
You may also include other files as you wish with the ``.include
filename`` directive anywhere in the ``cmdfile`` or
``hostlistfile``. This is useful for breaking up long lists of
things into smaller parts. For example, suppose you have three
host lists, one for each major production areas of your network::
hosts-development
hosts-stage
host-production
You might typically run different ``tsshbatch`` jobs on each
of these sets of hosts. But suppose you now want to run a
job on all of them. Instead of copying them all into a
master file (which would be instantly obsolete if you
changed anything in one of the above files), you could
create ``hosts-all`` with this content::
.include hosts-development
.include hosts-stage
.include hosts-production
That way if you edited any of the underlying files, the
``hosts-all`` would reflect the change.
Similarly you can do the same thing with the ``cmdfile`` to
group similar commands into separate files and include them.
``tsshbatch`` does not enforce a limit on how deeply nested
``.includes`` can be. An included file can include another file and
so on. However, if a circular include is detected, the program will
notify you and abort. This happens if, say, file1 includes file2,
file2 includes file3, and file3 includes file1. This would create
an infinite loop of includes if permitted. You can, of course,
include the same file multiple times, either in a single file or
throughout other included files, so long as no circular include is
created.
9) Search Paths
``tsshbatch`` supports the ablity to search paths to find files
you've referenced. The search path for ``cmdfiles`` is specified
in the ``$TSSHBATCHCMDS`` environment variable. The
``hostlistfiles`` search path is specified in the
``$TSSHBATCHHOSTS`` environment variable. These are both in
standard path delimited format for your operating system. For
example, on Unix-like systems these look like this::
export TSSHBATCHCMDS="/usr/local/etc/.tsshbatch/commands:/home/me/.tsshbatch/commands"
And so forth.
These paths are honored both for any files you specify on the
command line as well as for any files you reference in a
``.include`` directive. This allows you to maintain libraries of
standard commands and host lists in well known locations and
``.include`` the ones you need.
``tsshbatch`` will always first check to see if a file you've
specified is in your local (invoking) directory and/or whether it
is a fully qualified file name before attempting to look down a
search path. If a file exist in several locations, the first
instance found "wins". So, for instance, if you have a file called
``myhosts`` somewhere in the path defined in ``$TSSHBATCHHOSTS``,
you can override it by creating a file of same name in your current
working directory.
``tsshbatch`` also checks for so-called "circular includes" which
would cause an infinite inclusion loop. It will abort upon
discovering this, prior to any file tranfers or commands being
executed.
10) Defining Variables
``tsshbatch`` allows you to define variables which will then be
used to replace matching strings in both ``cmdfiles`` and
``hostlistfiles``. For example, suppose you have this in a
``hostlistfile``::
.define DOMAIN=.my.own.domain.com
host1DOMAIN
host2DOMAIN
host3DOMAIN
At runtime, the program will actually connect to
``host1.my.own.domain.com``, ``host2.my.domain.com``, and so on.
This allows for ease of modularization and maintenance of your
files.
Similarly, you might want define ``MYCMD=some_long_string`` so you
don't have to type ``some_long_string`` over and over again in a
``cmdfile``.
There are some "gotchas" to this:
- The general form of a variable definition is::
.define name = value
You have to have a name but the value is optional. ``.define
FOO=`` simply replaces any subsequent ``FOO`` strings
with .. nothing, effectively removing them.
Any ``=`` symbols to the right of the one right after ``name``
are just considered part of the variables value.
Whitespace around the ``=`` symbol is optional but allowed.
- Variables are substituted in the order they appear::
.define LS = ls -alr
LS /etc # ls -alr /etc
.define LS = ls -1
LS /foo # ls -1 /foo
- Variables may be defined in either ``cmdfiles`` or
``hostlistfiles`` but they are *global*. ``cmdfiles`` are read
before any ``hostlistfiles`` so any variables you've defined
that happen to match a string in your list of hosts will be
substituted - so be careful.
- Variable names and values are *case sensitive*.
OTHER
-----
Comments can go anywhere.
Directives like ``.define`` and ``.include`` must be the first
non-whitespace text on the left end of a line. If you do this in a
``cmdfile``::
foo .include bar
``tsshbatch`` thinks you want to run the command ``foo`` with an
argument of ``.include bar``. If you do it in a ``hostlistfile``, the
program thinks you're tryingto contact a host called ``foo .include
bar``. In neither case is this likely to be quite what you had in
mind. Similarly, everything to the right of the directive is
considered its argument (up to any comment character).
Whitespace is not significant at the beginning or end of a line but it
is preserved within ``.define`` and ``.include`` directive arguments
as well as within commmand definitions.
Strictly speaking, you do not have to have whitespace after a
directive. This is recognized::
.includesomefileofmine
.definemyvar=foo
But this is *strongly* discouraged because it's really
hard to read.
``tsshbatch`` writes the ``stdout`` of the remote host(s) to
``stdout`` on the local machine. It similarly writes remote
``stderr`` output to the local machine's ``stderr``. If you wish to
suppress ``stderr`` output, either redirect it on your local command
line or use the ``-e`` option to turn it off entirely.
You will not be able to run remote ``sudo`` commands if the host
in question enables the ``Defaults requiretty`` in its ``sudoers``
configuration.
You must have a reasonably current version of Python installed. If
your Python installation does not install ``paramiko`` you'll have to
install it manually, since ``tsshbatch`` requires these libraries as
well.
BUGS AND MISFEATURES
--------------------
When ``sudo`` is presented a bad password, it ordinarily prints a
string indicating something is wrong. ``tsshbatch`` looks for this to
let you know that you've got a problem and then terminates further
operation. This is so that you do not attempt to log in
with a bad password across all the hosts you have targeted. (Many
enterprises have policies to lock out a user ID after some small
number of failed login/access attempts.)
However, some older versions of ``sudo`` (noted on a RHEL 4 server
running ``sudo`` 1.6.7p5) do not return any feedback when presented
with a bad password. This means that ``tsshbatch`` cannot tell the
difference between a successful ``sudo`` and a system waiting for you
to reenter a proper password. In this situation, if you enter a bad
password, the *the program will hang*. Why? ``tsshbatch`` thinks
nothing is wrong and waits for the ``sudo`` command to complete. At
the same time, ``sudo`` itself is waiting for an updated password. In
this case, you have to kill ``tsshbatch`` and start over. This
typically requires you to put the program in background (```Ctrl-Z``
in most shells) and then killing that job from the command line.
There is no known workaround for this problem.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING
-----------------------
**tsshbatch** is Copyright (c) 2011-2013 TundraWare Inc.
For terms of use, see the ``tsshbatch-license.txt`` file in the
program distribution. If you install **tsshbatch** on a FreeBSD
system using the 'ports' mechanism, you will also find this file in
``/usr/local/share/doc/tsshbatch``.
AUTHOR
------
::
Tim Daneliuk
tsshbatch@tundraware.com
DOCUMENT REVISION INFORMATION
-----------------------------
::
$Id: tsshbatch.rst,v 1.126 2013/10/29 02:52:51 tundra Exp $
You can find the latest version of this program at:
http://www.tundraware.com/Software/tsshbatch
tundra