.. _acrnctl:

acrnctl and acrnd
#################


Description
***********

The ``acrnctl`` tool helps users create, delete, launch, and stop a User
OS (UOS).  The tool runs under the Service OS, and UOSs should be based
on ``acrn-dm``. The daemon for acrn-manager is `acrnd`_.



Usage
=====

You can see the available ``acrnctl`` commands by running:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl help
   support:
     list
     start
     stop
     del
     add
     pause
     continue
     suspend
     resume
     reset
     blkrescan
   Use acrnctl [cmd] help for details

.. note::
   You must run ``acrnctl`` with root privileges.

Here are some usage examples:

Add a VM
========

The ``add`` command lets you add a VM by specifying a
script that will launch a UOS, for example ``launch_uos.sh``:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl add launch_uos.sh -U 1
   vm1-14:59:30 added

If a ``-C`` option is also specified, the VM is launched in a runC
container::

   # acrnctl add launch_uos.sh -C

.. note:: You can download an `example launch_uos.sh script
   <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectacrn/acrnhypervisor/master/devicemodel/samples/nuc/launch_uos.sh>`_
   that supports the ``-C``  (``run_container`` function) option. You may refer to :ref:`acrn-dm_qos`
   for more details about this option.

Note that the launch script must only launch one UOS instance.
The VM name is important. ``acrnctl`` searches VMs by their
names so duplicate VM names are not allowed. If the
launch script changes the VM name at launch time, ``acrnctl``
will not recognize it.

Delete VMs
==========

Use the ``delete`` command with a VM name to delete that VM:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl del vm1-14:59:30

List VMs
========

Use the ``list`` command to display VMs and their state:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl list
   vm1-14:59:30            untracked
   vm-yocto                stopped
   vm-android              stopped

Start VM
========

If a VM is in a ``stopped`` state, you can start it with the ``start``
command:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl start vm-yocto

Stop VM
=======

Use the ``stop`` command to stop one or more running VM:

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl stop vm-yocto vm1-14:59:30 vm-android

RESCAN BLOCK DEVICE
===================

Use the ``blkrescan`` command to trigger a rescan of
virtio-blk device by guest VM, in order to revalidate and
update the backend file.

.. code-block:: none

   # acrnctl blkrescan vmname slot,newfilepath
   vmname:     Name of VM with dummy backend file attached to virtio-blk device.
   slot:       Slot number of the virtio-blk device.
   newfilepath: File path for the backend of virtio-blk device.

   acrnctl blkrescan vm1 6,actual_file.img

.. note:: blkrescan is only supported when VM is launched with
   empty backend file (using **nodisk**) for virtio-blk device.
   Replacing a valid backend file is not supported and will
   result in error.

.. _acrnd:

acrnd
*****

The ``acrnd`` daemon process provides a way for launching or resuming a UOS
should the UOS shut down, either planned or unexpected. A UOS can ask ``acrnd``
to set up a timer to make sure the UOS is running, even if the SOS is
suspended or stopped.

Usage
=====

You can see the available ``acrnd`` commands by running:

.. code-block:: none

   $ acrnd -h
   acrnd - Daemon for ACRN VM Management
   [Usage] acrnd [-t] [-d delay] [-h]
   -t: print messages to stdout
   -d: delay the autostarting of VMs, <0-60> in second (not available in the
       ``RELEASE=1`` build)
   -h: print this message

Normally, ``acrnd`` runs silently (messages are directed to
``/dev/null``).  Use the ``-t`` option to direct messages to ``stdout``,
useful for debugging.

The ``acrnd`` daemon stores pending UOS work to ``/usr/share/acrn/conf/timer_list``
and sets an RTC timer to wake up the SOS or bring the SOS back up again.
When ``acrnd`` daemon is restarted, it restores the previously saved timer
list and launches the UOSs at the right time.

A ``systemd`` service file (``acrnd.service``) is installed by default that will
start the ``acrnd`` daemon when the Service OS comes up.
You can restart/stop acrnd service using ``systemctl``

.. note::
   You must run ``acrnd`` with root privileges.

Build and Install
*****************

Source code for both ``acrnctl`` and ``acrnd`` is in the ``tools/acrn-manager`` folder.
Change to that folder and run:

.. code-block:: none

   # make
   # make install
