Hello LAVA community,
I'm working with LAVA for automated testing of embedded systems with BMC
(Baseboard Management Controller) and I've encountered a limitation that
I'd like to ask about.
My Use Case
I'm testing devices that support Redfish API for power management. I need
to execute various Redfish commands (forceoff, poweron, forcerestart, etc.)
from the dispatcher during test jobs. Currently, I define these as
user_commands in my device dictionary:
jinja2
{% set user_commands = { 'redfish_forceoff': { 'do':
'/opt/lava-lab/shared/lab-scripts/dispatcher_command.sh 192.168.17.111
forceoff' }, 'redfish_poweron': { 'do':
'/opt/lava-lab/shared/lab-scripts/dispatcher_command.sh 192.168.17.111
poweron' }, # ... more commands} %}
Then in my job file:
yaml
- command:
name: redfish_forceoff
The Problem
Every time I need to add a new Redfish action, I must modify the device
dictionary (Jinja file) to add a new user_command entry. I'd like users to
be able to specify the action dynamically from the job file without
requiring device configuration changes.
*What I want to achieve:*
yaml
# In job file - specify action dynamicallycontext:
redfish_action: forceoff
actions:
- command:
name: redfish_command # Generic command that uses context variable
What I've Investigated
1. *Deploy actions* support variable substitution (e.g., {IMAGE}), but
this is hardcoded for deploy actions only
2. *Job context variables* can override device dictionary values, but
only at device configuration rendering time (job parsing), not at action
execution time
3. *user_commands* are static strings with no runtime parameter
substitution mechanism
4. *Test definitions* support parameters, but they run on the DUT, not
the dispatcher
I understand from the documentation that dispatcher commands are
intentionally restricted for security reasons, which makes sense.
My Current Workaround
I'm using Jinja2 loops to auto-generate commands from a list:
jinja2
{% set redfish_actions = ['auth_test', 'forceoff', 'poweron',
'forcerestart'] %}{% set user_commands = {} %}{% for action in
redfish_actions %}
{% set _ = user_commands.update({'rf_' + action: {'do': rf_script
+ ' ' + action}}) %}{% endfor %}
This reduces the pain (just add one word to a list), but still requires
device configuration edits.
My Questions
1. *Is there any mechanism I've missed* that allows passing runtime
parameters from job files to user_commands?
2. *Is this a known limitation* that others have encountered?
3. *Would it be feasible* to add support for parameter substitution in
user_commands (similar to how deploy actions work with {IMAGE}), while
maintaining security constraints?
4. *Are there alternative approaches* within LAVA's architecture that I
should consider?
Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If this is a
feature that doesn't exist but would be useful, I'd be happy to discuss
potential implementation approaches or contribute to a feature request.
Thank you for your time and for maintaining LAVA!
Best regards, Mor
