[erlang-questions] diameter callback module

[Anders Svensson]

On Sun, Apr 14, 2013 at 7:01 PM, S X <erlangprogram@REDACTED> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Based on the erlang diameter library and the sample code, I want to start
> multiple diameter client processes in one erlang node(one client IP), and
> the client needs to define a diameter_app callback module for certain
> application, for example:
>
> -define(SERVICE(Name), [{'Origin-Host', ?L(Name) ++ ".example.com"},
>                         {'Origin-Realm', "example.com"},
>                         {'Vendor-Id', 193},
>                         {'Product-Name', "Client"},
>                         {'Auth-Application-Id', [?DIAMETER_APP_ID_COMMON,
> ?DIAMETER_APP_ID_CCRA]},
>                         {application, [{alias, ?APP_CCR_ALIAS},
>                                        {dictionary, ?DIAMETER_DICT_CCRA},
>                                        {module, client_cb_ccra}]}]).
>
>
> First question:
> how the diameter library handles this situation? Will all diameter client
> processes share one single diameter_app callback module "client_cb_ccra" or
> it will automatically attach different instance of the callback module
> (process) to the different client process by using spawn_monitor? So from
> the callback handle_answer in "client_cb_ccra" I can notify the proper
> client proce by just calling client:notify() something.

diameter doesn't know anything about your client process. If you want
a callback to be able to contact the client process associated with
the service in question (ie. the service whose name the callback gets
as an argument) then you need to give the callback the means to do so.
One way would be to map the service name to your process (eg. it's the
registered name of your client process), another would be to pass some
identification as extra arguments to the callbacks. (Eg. {module,
[client_cb_ccra, X]} in the config above.)

> Second question:
> Notice that diameter:call allows to set extra arguments, so I was wondering
> I could set some data like:
> diameter:call(Name, ?APP_CCR_ALIAS, CCR, [{extra, [self()]}]).
> which sets the client process ID and I hope to deliver to the callback
> module "client_cb_ccra" and when the callback module knows which client
> process sends request and response accordingly, for example using the client
> process ID in the callback function handle_answer.

You can do that, but what is it you're trying to accomplish? if it's
handle_answer that's supposed to communicate something then it already
does: the return value of handle_answer is returned by diameter:call.

> However, I don't want pack the extra arguments into the diameter packet
> since the diameter server doesn't know what they are and the extra ones are
> not part of standard diameter packet.

Not sure what you mean here. There's no way for your client to send
the server anything other than a Diameter message.

> Now I changed the pick_peer callback signatures to allow extra arguments,
> pick_peer([Peer | _], _, _SvcName, _State, A)
>
> But I got encoding error in the callback prepare_request
>
> =ERROR REPORT==== 14-Apr-2013::11:40:41 ===
> Error in process <0.175.0> with exit value:
> {undef,[{client_cb_ccra,prepare_request,[{diameter_packet,

The arity of your callback probably doesn't agree with the number of
extra arguments you've specified: prepare_request will also get your
extra arguments.

>{diameter_header,1,undefined,undefined,undefined,3958849953,3958849953,undefined,undefined,undefined,undefined},undefined,{diameter_rfc4006_cc_CCR,["who",";","142745567...
>
> {error,encode}
>
> In overall, I read the online documents, which have limited information on
> how to use the extra arguments in the library and  don't quite get how to
> utilize the extra arguments to do something tricky,
>
> Are there any suggestions on how to deal with multiple client processes?

Not sure I understand what problem it is you're trying to solve.
Multiple processes invoking diameter:call is nothing strange. You
typically just return something useful (eg. the answer message from
the peer) from handle_answer, which diameter:call then returns for the
caller to deal with.

Anders


> Thanks a lot!
>
> Samuel
>