NAME
    IS::Init - Clusterwide "init", spawn cluster applications

SYNOPSIS
      use IS::Init;

      my $init = new IS::Init;

      # spawn all apps for resource group "foo", runlevel "run"
      $init->tell("foo","run");

      # spawn all apps for resource group "foo", runlevel "runmore"
      # (this stops everything started by runlevel "run")
      $init->tell("foo","runmore");

DESCRIPTION
    This module provides basic "init" functionality, giving you a single
    inittab-like file to manage initialization and daemon startup across a
    cluster or collection of machines.

USAGE
    This module's package includes a script 'isinit', which is intended to
    be a bolt-in cluster init tool, calling IS::Init. The script is called
    like 'init', with the addition of a new "resource group" argument.

    This module is intended to be used like 'init' and 'telinit' -- the
    first execution runs as a daemon, spawning and managing processes. Later
    executions talk to the first, requesting it to switch to different
    runlevels.

    The module references a configuration file, /etc/isinittab by default,
    which is identical in format to /etc/inittab, with a new "resource
    group" column added. This file must be replicated across all hosts in
    the cluster by some means.

    A "resource group" is a collection of applications and physical
    resources which together make up a coherent function. For example,
    sendmail, /etc/sendmail.cf, and the /var/spool/mqueue directory might
    make up a resource group. From /etc/isinittab you could spawn the
    scripts which update sendmail.cf, mount mqueue, and then start sendmail
    itself.

PUBLIC METHODS
  new

    The constructor accepts an optional hash containing the paths to the
    configuration file and to the socket, like this:

      my $init = new IS::Init (
          'config' => '/etc/isinittab',
          'socket' => '/var/run/is/init.s'
                              );

    The first time this method is executed on a machine, it opens a UNIX
    domain socket, /var/run/is/init.s by default. Subsequent executions
    communicate with the first via this socket.

  tell($resource_group,$runlevel)

    This method talks to a running IS::Init daemon, telling it to switch the
    given resource group to the given runlevel.

    All processes listed in the configuration file (normally /etc/isinittab)
    which belong to the new runlevel will be started if they aren't already
    running.

    All processes in the resource group which do not belong to the new
    runlevel will be killed.

    Other resource groups will not be affected.

PRIVATE METHODS
    These methods and functions are considered private and are intended for
    internal use by this module. They are not considered part of the public
    interface and are described here for documentation purposes only.

  _open_socket

BUGS
AUTHOR
            Steve Traugott
            CPAN ID: STEVEGT
            stevegt@TerraLuna.Org
            http://www.stevegt.com

COPYRIGHT
    Copyright (c) 2001 Steve Traugott. All rights reserved. This program is
    free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
    terms as Perl itself.

    The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
    with this module.

SEE ALSO
    perl(1).