Overview

This is a list of tags that are used by RightScale for various processes and purposes, mostly for tracking by RightScale or daemon operation. If you have questions about these tags, please contact support@rightscale.com with your questions. If you are unsure of a tag's proper usage, please do not add it to the instance without consulting support first.

Additionally, you can also manage cloud tags through RightScale. For more information, see Use EC2 Tags in RightScale.

Tag Syntax

With these tags, the format for these tags is

Namespace:Predicate=value

List of Tags

Tags for Servers or Server Arrays

These tags are used by servers or server arrays:

Namespace Predicate Value Description / Example
rs_agent http_proxy <ip>:<port> Description:
Equivalent to setting RS_http_proxy userdata.
Signals to RightLink init scripts that they, and the RightLink agent, should proxy all HTTP traffic.
Setting is made available to child processes via http_proxy and HTTP_PROXY environment variables. With rightlink 6.3.2 and later, a user and password may also be included in the proxy url.
Example:
rs_agent:http_proxy=10.0.0.0:80
With RL 6.3.2...
rs_agent:http_proxy=http://myuser:mypass@10.0.0.1:8080
rs_agent http_proxy_user <user> or cred:<credential> Description:
Allows setting the user to use along with the rs_agent:http_proxy and rs_agent:http_proxy_password tags.
Its value can be either a plain text user or a reference to a Credential.
It must be specified along with rs_agent:http_proxy_password and may only be specified when rs_agent:http_proxy is specified as well.
Example:
rs_agent:http_proxy_user=myuser
rs_agent:http_proxy_user=cred:MY_USER
rs_agent http_proxy_password cred:<credential> Description:
Allows setting the password to use along with the rs_agent:http_proxy and rs_agent:http_proxy_user tags.
Its value can be a reference to a Credential which allows hiding the sensitive password value when viewing server or server array tags.
It must be specified along with rs_agent:http_proxy_user and may only specified when rs_agent:http_proxy is specified as well.
Example:
rs_agent:http_proxy_password=cred:MY_PASS
rs_agent http_no_proxy <ip or host> Description:
Equivalent to setting RS_http_no_proxy userdata.
Signals the RightLink agent that the listed hosts are exceptions to the proxy setting and should be contacted directly.
Setting is made available to child processes via no_proxy environment variable.
Example:
Single IP Address:
rs_agent:http_no_proxy=10.114.114.33
Multiple IP Addresses:
rs_agent:http_no_proxy=10.114.114.33,10.11.11.3,10.1.1.3
rs_launch type auto Description:
Automatically set on newly created server arrays.
Indicates to RightLink that the instance should be shutdown if it hasn't gone operational in less than 45 minutes.
Write a recipe that removes the tag to disable this behavior (or remove from dash if one off)
Example:
rs_launch:type=auto
report * * Description:
Use on servers and/or deployments to display custom information when generating a report.
Example:
report:type=staging

These tags are used for troubleshooting. They should only be used when advised by support.

Namespace Predicate Value Description / Example
rs_agent_dev log_level <level> Description:
RightLink 5.7 and older: Only DEBUG log level is supported, which is turned on when ANY rs_agent_dev tag happens to be set. This tag sets the debug level of both Chef recipes and the RightLink agent. Please note that a restart of the RightLink agent (service restart rightlink) is required for the tag to take effect if the tag was not set prior to boot.
RightLink 5.8 and newer: This tag will affect the log level of Chef recipes and RightScripts only and not the RightLink agent itself. The tag is also now reread in every time Chef recipes or RightScripts are run. All log levels (FATAL, ERROR, WARN, INFO, and DEBUG) are supported. To set the log level of the RightLink agent itself you must now use the rs_log_level command line utility.
Example:
rs_agent_dev:log_level=DEBUG
rs_agent_dev break_point <cookbook>::<recipe> Description:
Stop the boot run list before running the specified recipe.
Example:
rs_agent_dev:break_point=db_mysql::set_up
rs_agent_dev download_cookbooks_once true, false Description:
Download the cookbook repo only on launch -- don't reload every converge.
Example:
rs_agent_dev:download_cookbooks_once=true
rs_agent_dev patch_url * Description:
Equivalent to setting RS_patch_url userdata.
Example:
rs_agent_dev:patch_url=http://example.com

Tags for Instances

Note : All rs_* tags are related to RightScale-oriented processes, and should only be used with RightScale published templates or images.

Namespace Predicate Value Description / Example
server uuid <RS_UUID> Description:
Used for Load Balancer registration with APP
(lb_*::default sets it)
Example:
server:uuid=01-0KV5O1OPVDAF
server private_ip_N <ip> Description:
N is the interface order (starting with zero) as discovered by RightLink. Used for identifying a server's private IP addresses. Also used by iptables for opening ports to specific IPs to servers within the same subnet.
(rightscale::default sets it)
Example:
server:private_ip_1=10.0.0.0
server public_ip_N <ip> Description:
N is the interface order (starting with zero) as discovered by RightLink. Used for identifying a server's public IP addresses.
Example:
server:public_ip_1=<Your_Public_IP>
appserver active true Description:
Used by database for opening port 3306 to all appservers
Example:
appserver:active=true
appserver listen_ip #{node[:<app>][:<ip>]} Description:
Use to supply the listening IP
Example:
appserver:listen_ip=#{node[:app_test][:10.0.0.0]}
appserver listen_port #{node[:<app>][:<port>]} Description:
Use to supply the listening port
Example:
appserver:listen_port=#{node[:app_test][:5984]}
memcached_server active true Description:
Indicates this server is an active Memcached server and available to service requests.
Example:
memcached_server:active=tru
memcached_server cluster #{node[:memcached][:<cluster_id>]} Description:
Indicates the Memcached cluster the server is part of.
Example:
memcached_server:cluster=#{node[:memcached] [:3]}
memcached_server port #{node[:memcached][:tcp_port]} Description:
Indicates the port Memcached is listening on.
Example:
memcached_server:port=#{node[:memcached] [:16059]}
rs_monitoring state active Description:
Indicates that the state of the monitoring in the instance is active and configured with a server id corresponding to the instance's UUID.
Example:
rs_monitoring:state=active
rs_monitoring security_updates_available true Description:
Indicates that security updates are available for the server and the rightscale::do_security_updates Chef recipe can be used to install the security updates. Once the updates are installed, this tag will be removed by the collectd plugin when it checks for updates the next time.
Example:
rs_monitoring:security_updates_available=true
rs_monitoring reboot_required true Description:
Indicates that a reboot is required for the installed security updates to take effect. This tag is removed once the server is rebooted and all security updates are applied.
Example:
rs_monitoring:reboot_required=true
rs_login state user or active Description:
Indicates that the instance has fetched and activated a login policy and is ready to receive push updates. The value determines how login works: with user, the instance is using Managed SSH Login with RightLink 10.5.0 or higher so either the default login or custom login name should be used; and with active, the login name will just be rightscale.
Example:
rs_login:state=user
loadbalancer lb <pool_name> Description:
Used for Load Balancer registration with APP. Also used by appserver for opening port 8000 to all LBs
(lb_*::default sets it)
Example:
loadbalancer:lb=default
loadbalancer app <pool_name> Description:
Used for App Server registration with LB. Also used for LB to request opening port 8000
(app_*::default sets it)
Example:
loadbalancer:app=default
loadbalancer backend_ip <ip>:<port> Description:
Used for Load Balancer registration with APP
Example:
loadbalancer:backend_ip=10.0.0.0:5984
database active true Description:
Used by appserver to request opening port 3306
(db_*::default sets it)
Example:
database:active=true
rs_dbrepl slave_instance_uuid #{node[:rightscale][:<instance_uuid>]} Description:
This tags the server as a slave database. This tag identifies this server as a DB slave.
Example:
rs_dbrepl:slave_instance_uuid=#{node[:rightscale][:03-57EM7IF1DH892]}
rs_decommissioning delay medium or long Description:
This tag is used to extend the default time of 50 minutes for auto-terminating or auto-stopping instances stuck in decommissioning. 'medium' extends the time to 1 hour and 50 minutes. 'long' extends the time to 3 hours and 50 minutes
Example:
rs_decommissioning:delay=long
rs_docker host JSON-encoded list of docker host information The host tag has a value that is a JSON encoded list with the Docker engine ID, total memory, and number of CPUs. A RightScale instance will have this tag if it has the RightLink 10 Docker integration running. Here is an example of the host tag: rs_docker:host=["XFFA:LPC3:7PJX:AEA5:DATR:ADDZ:AQGT:5N6S:WKK7:WNSI:6GI3:LZDE",3700,1].
rs_docker c- JSON-encoded list of container information The container tag has a predicate starting with c- and followed by the Docker container ID and the value is a JSON encoded list with the Docker container name, Docker image ID, committed memory, and CPU allocation. When the RightLink 10 Docker integration is running, a RightScale instance will have a container tag for each Docker container that is currently running on it. Here is an example of a container tag: rs_docker:c-860f61b2621568556442b1c13eafba0f0f01f4654c4e86407982cd8dfbf4e65b=["/naughty_morse","eb4a127a1188a3e274eb38f079c5e11680b942927956a38b9b6b6c6736e14fd2",0,0].
rs_docker i- JSON-encoded list of image information The image tag has a predicate starting with i- and followed by the Docker image ID and the value is a JSON encoded list with the Docker image name. When the RightLink 10 Docker integration is running, a RightScale instance will have an image tag for each Docker image that has been downloaded to it. Here is an example of an image tag: rs_docker:i-eb4a127a1188a3e274eb38f079c5e11680b942927956a38b9b6b6c6736e14fd2=["nginx:latest"].

For more information on RightScale's docker integration, see RightLink 10 Docker Support

Tags for EBS Backup

Namespace Predicate Value Description / Example
rs_backup lineage * Description:
Lineage name of the backups
Example:
rs_backup:lineage
rs_backup stripe_id <#> Description:
Unique identifier for a striped backup (all snapshots of the same backup will share this stripe_id)
Example:
rs_backup:stripe_id=20090930214316
rs_backup timestamp <#> Description:
UTC since epoch in seconds
Example:
rs_backup:timestamp=1377706990
rs_backup committed true Description:
Some contents if there was an API call to commit that snapshot
Example:
rs_backup:committed=true
rs_backup count <#> Description:
Number of snapshots in the backup
Example:
rs_backup:count=9
rs_backup device /dev/sdc Description:
Indicates the device the snapshot was taken from.
Example:
rs_backup:device=/dev/sdc
rs_backup position <#> Description:
Indicates the position in the stripe set the snapshot was taken from.
Example:
rs_backup:position=5

If you have any questions about these tags, please contact support at support@rightscale.com. We ask that you do not implement tags unless you are sure of their actions and results from adding those tags. Any tags needed for monitoring or logging will be added automatically by their respective scripts.