agent: add option to discard health output (#3562)

* agent: add option to discard health output

In high volatile environments consul will have checks with "noisy"
output which changes every time even though the status does not change.
Since the output is stored in the raft log every health check update
unblocks a blocking call on health checks since the raft index has
changed even though the status of the health checks may not have changed
at all. By discarding the output of the health checks the users can
choose a different tradeoff. Less visibility on why a check failed in
exchange for a reduced change rate on the raft log.

* agent: discard output also when adding a check

* agent: add test for discard check output

* agent: update docs

* go vet

* Adds discard_check_output to reloadable config table.

* Updates the change log.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -134,7 +134,6 @@ FEATURES:
 * **Support for Running Subproccesses Directly Without a Shell:** Consul agent checks and watches now support an `args` configuration which is a list of arguments to run for the subprocess, which runs the subprocess directly without a shell. The old `script` and `handler` configurations are now deprecated (specify a shell explicitly if you require one). A `-shell=false` option is also available on `consul lock`, `consul watch`, and `consul exec` to run the subprocesses associated with those without a shell. [[GH-3509](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3509)]
 * **Sentinel Integration:** (Consul Enterprise) Consul's ACL system integrates with [Sentinel](https://www.consul.io/docs/guides/sentinel.html) to enable code policies that apply to KV writes.
 
-
 IMPROVEMENTS:
 
 * agent: Added support to detect public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses on AWS. [[GH-3471](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3471)]
@@ -142,6 +141,7 @@ IMPROVEMENTS:
 * agent: Improved ACL system for the KV store to support list permissions. This behavior can be opted in. For more information, see the [ACL Guide](https://www.consul.io/docs/guides/acl.html#list-policy-for-keys). [[GH-3511](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3511)]
 * agent: Updates miekg/dns library to later version to pick up bug fixes and improvements. [[GH-3547](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3547)]
 * agent: Added automatic retries to the RPC path, and a brief RPC drain time when servers leave. These changes make Consul more robust during graceful leaves of Consul servers, such as during upgrades, and help shield applications from "no leader" errors. These are configured with new [`performance`](https://www.consul.io/docs/agent/options.html#performance) options. [[GH-5414](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/5414)]
+* agent: Added a new `discard_check_output` agent-level configuration option that can be used to trade off write load to the Consul servers vs. visibility of health check output. This is reloadable so it can be toggled without fully restarting the agent. [[GH-3562](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3562)]
 * build: Updated Go toolchain to version 1.9.1. [[GH-3537](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3537)]
 * cli: `consul lock` and `consul watch` commands will forward `TERM` and `KILL` signals to their child subprocess. [[GH-3509](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3509)]
 * cli: Added support for [autocompletion](https://www.consul.io/docs/commands/index.html#autocompletion). [[GH-3412](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues/3412)]

agent/agent.go

@@ -2386,5 +2386,7 @@ func (a *Agent) ReloadConfig(newCfg *config.RuntimeConfig) error {
 	// Update filtered metrics
 	metrics.UpdateFilter(newCfg.TelemetryAllowedPrefixes, newCfg.TelemetryBlockedPrefixes)
 
+	a.state.SetDiscardCheckOutput(newCfg.DiscardCheckOutput)
+
 	return nil
 }

agent/config/builder.go

@@ -579,6 +579,7 @@ func (b *Builder) Build() (rt RuntimeConfig, err error) {
 		DisableKeyringFile:          b.boolVal(c.DisableKeyringFile),
 		DisableRemoteExec:           b.boolVal(c.DisableRemoteExec),
 		DisableUpdateCheck:          b.boolVal(c.DisableUpdateCheck),
+		DiscardCheckOutput:          b.boolVal(c.DiscardCheckOutput),
 		EnableDebug:                 b.boolVal(c.EnableDebug),
 		EnableScriptChecks:          b.boolVal(c.EnableScriptChecks),
 		EnableSyslog:                b.boolVal(c.EnableSyslog),

agent/config/config.go

@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	DisableKeyringFile          *bool                    `json:"disable_keyring_file,omitempty" hcl:"disable_keyring_file" mapstructure:"disable_keyring_file"`
 	DisableRemoteExec           *bool                    `json:"disable_remote_exec,omitempty" hcl:"disable_remote_exec" mapstructure:"disable_remote_exec"`
 	DisableUpdateCheck          *bool                    `json:"disable_update_check,omitempty" hcl:"disable_update_check" mapstructure:"disable_update_check"`
+	DiscardCheckOutput          *bool                    `json:"discard_check_output" hcl:"discard_check_output" mapstructure:"discard_check_output"`
 	EnableACLReplication        *bool                    `json:"enable_acl_replication,omitempty" hcl:"enable_acl_replication" mapstructure:"enable_acl_replication"`
 	EnableDebug                 *bool                    `json:"enable_debug,omitempty" hcl:"enable_debug" mapstructure:"enable_debug"`
 	EnableScriptChecks          *bool                    `json:"enable_script_checks,omitempty" hcl:"enable_script_checks" mapstructure:"enable_script_checks"`

agent/config/runtime.go

@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ type RuntimeConfig struct {
 	DisableKeyringFile          bool
 	DisableRemoteExec           bool
 	DisableUpdateCheck          bool
+	DiscardCheckOutput          bool
 	EnableACLReplication        bool
 	EnableDebug                 bool
 	EnableScriptChecks          bool

agent/config/runtime_test.go

@@ -2116,6 +2116,7 @@ func TestFullConfig(t *testing.T) {
 			"disable_keyring_file": true,
 			"disable_remote_exec": true,
 			"disable_update_check": true,
+			"discard_check_output": true,
 			"domain": "7W1xXSqd",
 			"dns_config": {
 				"allow_stale": true,
@@ -2549,6 +2550,7 @@ func TestFullConfig(t *testing.T) {
 			disable_keyring_file = true
 			disable_remote_exec = true
 			disable_update_check = true
+			discard_check_output = true
 			domain = "7W1xXSqd"
 			dns_config {
 				allow_stale = true
@@ -3132,6 +3134,7 @@ func TestFullConfig(t *testing.T) {
 		DisableKeyringFile:        true,
 		DisableRemoteExec:         true,
 		DisableUpdateCheck:        true,
+		DiscardCheckOutput:        true,
 		EnableACLReplication:      true,
 		EnableDebug:               true,
 		EnableScriptChecks:        true,
@@ -3808,6 +3811,7 @@ func TestSanitize(t *testing.T) {
     "DisableKeyringFile": false,
     "DisableRemoteExec": false,
     "DisableUpdateCheck": false,
+    "DiscardCheckOutput": false,
     "EnableACLReplication": false,
     "EnableDebug": false,
     "EnableScriptChecks": false,

agent/local.go

@@ -88,6 +88,10 @@ type localState struct {
 	// triggerCh is used to inform of a change to local state
 	// that requires anti-entropy with the server
 	triggerCh chan struct{}
+
+	// discardCheckOutput stores whether the output of health checks
+	// is stored in the raft log.
+	discardCheckOutput atomic.Value // bool
 }
 
 // NewLocalState creates a  is used to initialize the local state
@@ -106,7 +110,7 @@ func NewLocalState(c *config.RuntimeConfig, lg *log.Logger, tokens *token.Store)
 		lc.TaggedAddresses[k] = v
 	}
 
-	return &localState{
+	l := &localState{
 		config:            lc,
 		logger:            lg,
 		services:          make(map[string]*structs.NodeService),
@@ -121,6 +125,8 @@ func NewLocalState(c *config.RuntimeConfig, lg *log.Logger, tokens *token.Store)
 		consulCh:          make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		triggerCh:         make(chan struct{}, 1),
 	}
+	l.discardCheckOutput.Store(c.DiscardCheckOutput)
+	return l
 }
 
 // changeMade is used to trigger an anti-entropy run
@@ -161,6 +167,10 @@ func (l *localState) isPaused() bool {
 	return atomic.LoadInt32(&l.paused) > 0
 }
 
+func (l *localState) SetDiscardCheckOutput(b bool) {
+	l.discardCheckOutput.Store(b)
+}
+
 // ServiceToken returns the configured ACL token for the given
 // service ID. If none is present, the agent's token is returned.
 func (l *localState) ServiceToken(id string) string {
@@ -249,11 +259,15 @@ func (l *localState) checkToken(checkID types.CheckID) string {
 // This entry is persistent and the agent will make a best effort to
 // ensure it is registered
 func (l *localState) AddCheck(check *structs.HealthCheck, token string) error {
+	l.Lock()
+	defer l.Unlock()
+
 	// Set the node name
 	check.Node = l.config.NodeName
 
-	l.Lock()
-	defer l.Unlock()
+	if l.discardCheckOutput.Load().(bool) {
+		check.Output = ""
+	}
 
 	// if there is a serviceID associated with the check, make sure it exists before adding it
 	// NOTE - This logic may be moved to be handled within the Agent's Addcheck method after a refactor
@@ -293,6 +307,10 @@ func (l *localState) UpdateCheck(checkID types.CheckID, status, output string) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	if l.discardCheckOutput.Load().(bool) {
+		output = ""
+	}
+
 	// Update the critical time tracking (this doesn't cause a server updates
 	// so we can always keep this up to date).
 	if status == api.HealthCritical {

agent/local_test.go

@@ -1151,6 +1151,56 @@ func TestAgentAntiEntropy_Checks_ACLDeny(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestAgent_UpdateCheck_DiscardOutput(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	a := NewTestAgent(t.Name(), `
+		discard_check_output = true
+		check_update_interval = "0s" # set to "0s" since otherwise output checks are deferred
+	`)
+	defer a.Shutdown()
+
+	inSync := func(id string) bool {
+		a.state.Lock()
+		defer a.state.Unlock()
+		return a.state.checkStatus[types.CheckID(id)].inSync
+	}
+
+	// register a check
+	check := &structs.HealthCheck{
+		Node:    a.Config.NodeName,
+		CheckID: "web",
+		Name:    "web",
+		Status:  api.HealthPassing,
+		Output:  "first output",
+	}
+	if err := a.state.AddCheck(check, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// wait until the check is in sync
+	retry.Run(t, func(r *retry.R) {
+		if inSync("web") {
+			return
+		}
+		r.FailNow()
+	})
+
+	// update the check with the same status but different output
+	// and the check should still be in sync.
+	a.state.UpdateCheck(check.CheckID, api.HealthPassing, "second output")
+	if !inSync("web") {
+		t.Fatal("check should be in sync")
+	}
+
+	// disable discarding of check output and update the check again with different
+	// output. Then the check should be out of sync.
+	a.state.SetDiscardCheckOutput(false)
+	a.state.UpdateCheck(check.CheckID, api.HealthPassing, "third output")
+	if inSync("web") {
+		t.Fatal("check should be out of sync")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestAgentAntiEntropy_Check_DeferSync(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	a := &TestAgent{Name: t.Name(), HCL: `

website/source/docs/agent/options.html.md

@@ -771,6 +771,11 @@ Consul will not enable TLS for the HTTP API unless the `https` port has been ass
 * <a name="disable_update_check"></a><a href="#disable_update_check">`disable_update_check`</a>
   Disables automatic checking for security bulletins and new version releases.
 
+* <a name="discard_check_output"></a><a href="#discard_check_output">`discard_check_output`</a>
+  Discards the output of health checks before storing them. This reduces the number of writes
+  to the Consul raft log in environments where health checks have volatile output like
+  timestamps, process ids, ...
+
 *   <a name="dns_config"></a><a href="#dns_config">`dns_config`</a> This object allows a number
     of sub-keys to be set which can tune how DNS queries are serviced. See this guide on
     [DNS caching](/docs/guides/dns-cache.html) for more detail.
@@ -1331,4 +1336,5 @@ items which are reloaded include:
 * Watches
 * HTTP Client Address
 * <a href="#node_meta">Node Metadata</a>
-* <a href="#telemetry-prefix_filter">Metric Prefix Filter</a>
+* <a href="#telemetry_prefix_filter">Metric Prefix Filter</a>
+* <a href="#discard_check_output">Discard Check Output</a>