# Rebooting and waiting **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Tags:** ubuntu\ **Created:** [May 27, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583 "2016-05-27T15:10:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Francisco\_Lopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Francisco\_Lopes](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Francisco_Lopes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/1 "2016-05-27T15:10:15Z")
Hello, How do I execute a reboot (if needed on Ubuntu) and wait for it to return instead of getting the unreachable error? I’m currently trying to do this based on past posts and links I found: ---
**Author:** ![Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Kai_Stian_Olstad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/2 "2016-05-27T16:48:56Z")
now 'Rebooting to complete system upgrade' From the command module documentation: "It will not be processed through the shell, so variables like $HOME and operations like "\<", "\>", "|", and "&" will not work (use the shell module if you need these features)." ---
**Author:** ![Johannes\_Kastl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Johannes\_Kastl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Johannes_Kastl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/3 "2016-05-27T17:30:29Z")
> Hello, > > How do I execute a reboot (if needed on Ubuntu) and wait for it to return > instead of getting the unreachable error? This... > [https://support.ansible.com/hc/en-us/articles/201958037-Reboot-a-server-and-wait-for-it-to-come-back](https://support.ansible.com/hc/en-us/articles/201958037-Reboot-a-server-and-wait-for-it-to-come-back) ...works for me. Johannes ---
**Author:** ![Francisco\_Lopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Francisco\_Lopes](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Francisco_Lopes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/4 "2016-05-27T18:24:18Z")
> This... > > \> > [https://support.ansible.com/hc/en-us/articles/201958037-Reboot-a-server-and-wait-for-it-to-come-back](https://support.ansible.com/hc/en-us/articles/201958037-Reboot-a-server-and-wait-for-it-to-come-back) > > ...works for me. How exactly are you using it? - name: reboot system if required   shell: sleep 2 && shutdown -r now 'Rebooting to complete system upgrade'   async: 1   poll: 0   ignore\_errors: true - name: wait for server to come back   local\_action: wait\_for host={{ inventory\_hostname }} state=started delay=30 timeout=300 This hangs on the waiting task, even though the servers are back online. Regards, Francisco ---
**Author:** ![Francisco\_Lopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Francisco\_Lopes](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Francisco_Lopes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/5 "2016-05-27T18:40:31Z")
> From the command module documentation: > “It will not be processed through the shell, so variables like $HOME and operations like “\<”, “\>”, “|”, and “&” will not work (use the shell module if you need these features).” Thanks, I missed that one. I have this now: - name: reboot system if required shell: removes=/var/run/reboot-required sleep 2 && shutdown -r now ‘Rebooting to complete system upgrade’ async: 1 poll: 0 ignore\_errors: true register: reboot - name: wait for server to come back local\_action: wait\_for host={{ inventory\_hostname }} state=started delay=2 timeout=300 when: reboot.unreachable is defined and reboot.unreachable Still not working though. It successfully execute the reboot, but the wait task is skipped and then I get an unreachable error on the following tasks. Any idea on how to know when a reboot was executed? ☹ Regards, Francisco ---
**Author:** ![Johannes\_Kastl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Johannes\_Kastl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Johannes_Kastl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/6 "2016-05-27T18:45:59Z")
It waits for seconds before starting to test, and then it tests for 5 minutes, before it fails. Settings this to 'delay=15 timeout=30‘ should speed things up, because it fails after 45s if the host is not reachable. Also, setting a smaller delay works, if your host is rebooting that quickly. If it needs some minutes to reboot, you obviously need other values... Johannes ---
**Author:** ![Francisco\_Lopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Francisco\_Lopes](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Francisco_Lopes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/7 "2016-05-27T19:28:44Z")
> It waits for seconds before starting to test, and then it tests for 5 > minutes, before it fails. > > Settings this to 'delay=15 timeout=30‘ should speed things up, because > it fails after 45s if the host is not reachable. Also, setting a > smaller delay works, if your host is rebooting that quickly. If it > needs some minutes to reboot, you obviously need other values… I see. I guess a found a good default for my case, which would be: - name: reboot system if required shell: removes=/var/run/reboot-required sleep 2 && shutdown -r now async: 1 poll: 0 ignore\_errors: true - name: wait for server to come back local\_action: wait\_for host={{ inventory\_hostname }} state=started delay=5 timeout=30 So right now it correctly waits for the server to come back. Is it possible to add a condition on the wait task in order to skip it if a reboot was not required? Regards, Francisco ---
**Author:** ![Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Kai_Stian_Olstad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/8 "2016-05-27T19:39:52Z")
Not tested but this should work - stat: /var/run/reboot-required    register: result\_reboot - name: reboot system if required    shell: sleep 2 && shutdown -r now    async: 1    poll: 0    ignore\_errors: true    when: result\_reboot.stat.exists == True - name: wait for server to come back    local\_action: wait\_for host={{ inventory\_hostname }} state=started delay=5 timeout=30    when: result\_reboot.stat.exists == True ---
**Author:** ![Francisco\_Lopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Francisco\_Lopes](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Francisco_Lopes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/9 "2016-05-27T20:07:05Z")
That was almost right, it worked now using this: - name: verify if a reboot is required after upgrade stat: path=/var/run/reboot-required register: reboot\_required - name: reboot system shell: sleep 2 && shutdown -r now async: 1 poll: 0 ignore\_errors: true when: reboot\_required.stat.exists - name: wait for server to come back local\_action: wait\_for host={{ inventory\_hostname }} state=started delay=5 timeout=30 when: reboot\_required.stat.exists Thank you! I was trying to do it using removes, register and async\_status, that was surely simpler. 🙂 Regards, Francisco ---
**Author:** ![Johannes\_Kastl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Johannes\_Kastl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Johannes_Kastl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/rebooting-and-waiting/21583/10 "2016-05-27T20:08:06Z")
Put it into a handler instead of as a task. Notify the handler when changes occur. [https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/playbooks\_intro.html#handlers-running-operations-on-change](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/playbooks_intro.html#handlers-running-operations-on-change) Johannes