KeyError: 'metadata' error when creating server with OS API

[Dan Prince]

Using the nova revision 727.

I'm not longer able to create a server using the Openstack API. The following API error occurs:

---
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: result = method(**arg_dict)
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/nova/api/openstack/servers.py", line 159, in create
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: if env['server']['metadata']:
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: KeyError: 'metadata'
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE:
---

To reproduce you can use the 'openstack-compute' Ruby gem with the following example:

require 'rubygems'
require 'openstack/compute'

USERNAME=ENV['NOVA_USERNAME']
API_KEY=ENV['NOVA_API_KEY']
API_URL=ENV['NOVA_URL']
cs = OpenStack::Compute::Connection.new(:username => USERNAME, :api_key => API_KEY, :api_url => API_URL)

cs.create_server(:name => "Yo", :imageId => 3, :flavorId => 1)

---

I should be able to create a server without metadata.

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

This is probably my bug. What's the link to the Ruby gem source code?

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

Created hotfix: lp:~justin-fathomdb/nova/bug724143

If you could merge and check whether it fixes your issue, that would be much appreciated.

I'm going to write some unit tests that check this bit of the OpenStack API. One step at a time...

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

Also created unit tests that would have caught this problem, by testing the OpenStack API for servers over HTTP.

Linked branch & proposed for merge: lp:~justin-fathomdb/nova/test-openstack-api-servers

[Dan Prince (dan-prince)]

You should be able to gem install the openstack-compute binding with the following command:

  'gem install openstack-compute'

** You'll need Ruby and Rubygems installed before running this command (those are available as packages).

I tried your hot fix and it allowed me to create a server with no metadata:

  cs.create_server(:name => "Yo", :imageId => 3, :flavorId => 1)

I also tried to create a server with metadata:

  cs.create_server(:name => "Yo", :imageId => 3, :flavorId => 1, :metadata=>{"foo" => "bar"} )

When trying with metadata I get a totally different exception:

(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/sqlalchemy/orm/collections.py", line 660, in bulk_replace
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: constants = idset(existing_adapter or ()).intersection(values or ())
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/sqlalchemy/util.py", line 1104, in intersection
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: self._working_set(self._member_id_tuples()).intersection(_iter_id(iterable)))
(nova.api.openstack): TRACE: TypeError: unhashable type: 'dict'

---

I'm not sure the metadata code works 'as-is' with cloud servers bindings. Using the Ruby binding above should allow you to reproduce the issue on your end. To be fair *any* of the Rackspace Cloud Servers bindings (Ruby or Python) should allow you to reproduce these issue from an end users prospective.

Adding more unit tests to catch these things would be great too. Let me know if you want me to take a look at anything else.

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

Thanks Dan - sounds like the hotfix solves your blocking issue. Let's hope we can get that merged into trunk asap.

I'm going to treat the metadata bug as a non-hotfix issue, and go through a slower process of writing tests, reproducing the issue and fixing it, because I presume it's not a blocker for you (given I only added metadata support recently!). Let me know if that's incorrect.

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

I opened a new bug for the 'can't create metadata issue': bug 724143

[justinsb (justin-fathomdb)]

OK ... fairly obviously, that bug number wasn't right. It's actually bug 724623