python multiprocessing pool terminate

Question

I'm working on a renderfarm, and I need my clients to be able to launch multiple instances of a renderer, without blocking so the client can receive new commands. I've got that working correctly, however I'm having trouble terminating the created processes.

At the global level, I define my pool (so that I can access it from any function):

p = Pool(2)

I then call my renderer with apply_async:

for i in range(totalInstances):
    p.apply_async(render, (allRenderArgs[i],args[2]), callback=renderFinished)
p.close()

That function finishes, launches the processes in the background, and waits for new commands. I've made a simple command that will kill the client and stop the renders:

def close():
    '''
        close this client instance
    '''
    tn.write ("say "+USER+" is leaving the farm\r\n")
    try:
        p.terminate()
    except Exception,e:
        print str(e)
        sys.exit()

It doesn't seem to give an error (it would print the error), the python terminates but the background processes are still running. Can anyone recommend a better way of controlling these launched programs?

Answer 1

I found solution: stop pool in separate thread, like this:

def close_pool():
    global pool
    pool.close()
    pool.terminate()
    pool.join()

def term(*args,**kwargs):
    sys.stderr.write('\nStopping...')
    # httpd.shutdown()
    stophttp = threading.Thread(target=httpd.shutdown)
    stophttp.start()
    stoppool=threading.Thread(target=close_pool)
    stoppool.daemon=True
    stoppool.start()


signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, term)
signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, term)
signal.signal(signal.SIGQUIT, term)

Works fine and always i tested.

signal.SIGINT

Interrupt from keyboard (CTRL + C). Default action is to raise KeyboardInterrupt.

signal.SIGKILL

Kill signal. It cannot be caught, blocked, or ignored.

signal.SIGTERM

Termination signal.

signal.SIGQUIT

Quit with core dump.