I want to execute a Python script on several (15+) remote machine using SSH. After invoking the script/command I need to disconnect ssh session and keep the processes running in background for as long as they are required to.
I have used Paramiko and PySSH in past so have no problems using them again. Only thing I need to know is how to disconnect a ssh session in python (since normally local script would wait for each remote machine to complete processing before moving on).
This might work, or something similar:
ssh [email protected] nohup python scriptname.py &
Basically, have a look at the nohup command.
On Linux machines, you can run the script with 'at'.
echo "python scriptname.py" ¦ at now
If you are going to perform repetitive tasks on many hosts, like for example deploying software and running setup scripts, you should consider using something like Fabric
Fabric is a Python (2.5 or higher) library and command-line tool for streamlining the use of SSH for application deployment or systems administration tasks.
It provides a basic suite of operations for executing local or remote shell commands (normally or via sudo) and uploading/downloading files, as well as auxiliary functionality such as prompting the running user for input, or aborting execution.
Typical use involves creating a Python module containing one or more functions, then executing them via the fab command-line tool.
You can even use tmux in this scenario.
As per the tmux documentation:
tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It lets you switch easily between several programs in one terminal, detach them (they keep running in the background) and reattach them to a different terminal. And do a lot more
From a tmux session, you can run a script, quit the terminal, log in again and check back as it keeps the session until the server restart.
