.. include:: guide-common.rst.inc
.. _building-cluster:
##################
Building a Cluster
##################
This guide walks through the steps to build an externally accessible FoundationDB cluster of one or more machines. Before setting up a cluster for performance testing or production use, you should also read the reference material in :doc:`configuration` and :doc:`administration`.
.. warning:: |development-use-only-warning|
To build an externally accessible FoundationDB cluster, perform the following steps:
.. contents::
:depth: 1
:local:
:backlinks: none
Install FoundationDB
====================
Follow the steps in :doc:`getting-started-linux` to install FoundationDB locally on each of the Linux machines that you wish to use in your cluster.
.. warning:: When building a cluster, do **not** simply copy the FoundationDB installation, and in particular the **data** files, from one machine to another, whether by direct copying or by cloning a VM.
Optimize for your hardware
==========================
|optimize-configuration|
We recommend changing the configuration file once and copying to other machines in the cluster.
Make FoundationDB externally accessible
=======================================
By default, FoundationDB installs on a single server in a locally accessible mode suitable for development --- only clients on the same machine will be able to access the database. To allow external access, you will have to make your :ref:`cluster file <foundationdb-cluster-file>` public.
Choose a machine to be the starting machine for your cluster. The database on this machine will be the one that we grow to span the cluster. Use the ``/usr/lib/foundationdb/make_public.py`` script on that server to update your cluster file to use a public interface. For example::
user@host1$ sudo /usr/lib/foundationdb/make_public.py
/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster is now using address 10.0.1.1
.. note:: A FoundationDB cluster has the option of supporting :doc:`Transport Layer Security (TLS) <tls>` for all connections (between server processes and between clients and servers). To enable TLS on a new cluster, see :ref:`Enabling TLS <enable-TLS>`.
By default, the script will pick a local network interface that can access the internet. To specify the address manually, use the ``-a`` flag and choose an address that is accessible by all machines in the cluster as well as by all intended clients.::
user@host1$ sudo /usr/lib/foundationdb/make_public.py -a 10.0.1.1
/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster is now using address 10.0.1.1
.. _test-the-database:
Test the database
=================
At this point and after each subsequent step, it is a good idea to test the database to make sure it is operating normally. Run ``fdbcli`` on the starting machine::
user@host1$ fdbcli
Using cluster file `/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster'.
The database is available.
Welcome to the fdbcli. For help, type `help'.
fdb> status
Configuration:
Redundancy mode - single
Storage engine - ssd
Coordinators - 1
Cluster:
FoundationDB processes - 1
Machines - 1
Memory availability - 4.1 GB per process on machine with least available
Fault Tolerance - 0 machines
Server time - Thu Mar 15 14:41:34 2018
Data:
Replication health - Healthy
Moving data - 0.000 GB
Sum of key-value sizes - 8 MB
Disk space used - 103 MB
Operating space:
Storage server - 1.0 GB free on most full server
Transaction log - 1.0 GB free on most full server
Workload:
Read rate - 2 Hz
Write rate - 0 Hz
Transactions started - 2 Hz
Transactions committed - 0 Hz
Conflict rate - 0 Hz
Backup and DR:
Running backups - 0
Running DRs - 0
Client time: Thu Mar 15 14:41:34 2018
.. note:: If the database is not operational the status command will provide diagnostic information to help you resolve the issue. For more help, please post a question (and the results of the status command) on the `community forums <https://forums.foundationdb.org>`_.
Add machines to the cluster
===========================
To add the rest of your machines to the cluster, perform the following steps on each one:
* Copy the cluster file from a server already in the cluster (located at ``/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster``) to the new machine, overwriting the existing ``fdb.cluster`` file.
* Restart FoundationDB on the new machine so that it uses the new cluster file::
user@host2$ sudo service foundationdb restart
.. _change-redundancy-mode-and-storage-engine:
Change redundancy mode and storage engine
=========================================
By default, the database will be in ``single`` redundancy mode and use the ``memory`` storage engine. You should change the redundancy mode (see :ref:`configuration-choosing-redundancy-mode`) and storage engine (see :ref:`configuration-storage-engine`) to appropriate values for your cluster.
For example, to use a triple-replicated database with the SSD storage engine, use the ``configure`` command in the ``fdbcli``::
user@host1$ fdbcli
Using cluster file `/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster'.
The database is available.
Welcome to the fdbcli. For help, type `help'.
fdb> configure triple ssd
Configuration changed
If the configure command hangs or returns an error message, see :ref:`test-the-database`.
Change coordination servers
===========================
At this point, your cluster will be using the starting machine as the only coordination server, leaving that as a single point of failure. You should therefore select a fault-tolerant set of coordinators according to the criteria in :ref:`configuration-choosing-coordination-servers`. To switch the cluster to your chosen coordinators, run the ``fdbcli`` command on one of the servers and use the ``coordinators`` command to :ref:`set the coordinators <configuration-changing-coordination-servers>`. ::
user@host$ fdbcli
Using cluster file `/etc/foundationdb/fdb.cluster'.
The database is available.
Welcome to the fdbcli. For help, type `help'.
fdb> coordinators 10.0.4.1:4500 10.0.4.2:4500 10.0.4.3:4500
Coordinators changed
There is also a convenience option, ``coordinators auto``, that will automatically select a set of coordinators based on your redundancy mode.
.. note:: |coordinators-auto|
You can also change the cluster ``description``, as described in :ref:`configuration-setting-cluster-description`.
Next steps
==========
To add or remove machines from the cluster or perform other administrative tasks, see :doc:`administration`.