A cluster is a group of servers in a single location. The key feature of such servers (cluster nodes) is their location and high data transfer speed between them. 

Note

You can set up your own scripts to run automatically when the server is connected to the cluster. Read more in Creating a script for the node.

Server connection

Before connecting, make sure that the server meets the requirements for the cluster.

Note

When the server connects to the LXD cluster, all information in the node's ZFS pool will be deleted.

Perform the following steps to connect a server to the cluster: 

  1. Go to Cluster nodes → Connect a node.
  2. Enter a cluster node Name. 
  3. Select a Cluster that the server will be connected to.

  4. To prevent VMmanager from creating a default bridge on the node, enable the Do not configure network automatically option. Learn more in Network setting on the cluster node. 

    Note

    Enable this option if you plan to use the VLAN interface for the server IP. After connecting the node, you will be able to manually configure the necessary network settings.

  5. Enter additional information into the Notes field.
  6. Enter a server IP address and Port to connect via SSH. The default port is 22. 
  7. Enter the server Root password or add a public SSH-key of the server with VMmanager. To do so, click on I want to use a public ssh-key, copy the key, and add it into the file /root/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server. 
  8. Enter the RAM Overselling ratio. Learn more in Overselling. 
  9. Select VM limit. When the limit is reached, the creation and migration of virtual machines on the node will be forbidden. If the limits are not set, the virtual machines can be created unless there are sufficient resources on the node.
  10. Select vCPU limit — the maximum number of vCPUs that can be allocated to VMs on this node. The default value of the parameter is the number of CPUs on the server multiplied by the overselling ratio.
  11. Specify the VM parameters that will be created on the cluster node. For details, see the VM distribution settings section.
  12. If you are connecting the server to a cluster with IP-fabric type, specify an IPv6 address for configuring networks.
  13. If you connect the server to the cluster with the "Routing" network configuration type, enter the IP for new VM. You can enter single IP addresses, or a mask. Enter every IP address from a new line. 
  14. Select the scripts to be executed when the node is connected:
    1. Press Select scripts.
    2. Mark the desired scripts in the list.
    3. Select the order in which the scripts will be executed in the Start Priority column.

    4. Press Select ... scripts.

      Note

      If the Autorun on clusters option is enabled in the script settings, you cannot disable the script and change the priority. Read more in Creating a script for the node.

  15. Click on Connect the node.
  16. If you have selected a cluster with two network interfaces, specify the Interface for the main network and/or the Interface for the additional network. Read more in Main and additional network. Press Continue.


Example of server connection


The system will install the required software and configure the server. 

Note

To increase the number of possible network connections, VMmanager changes the values of net.nf_conntrack_max and net.netfilter.nf_conntrack_max parameters to 1048576 on the cluster node. Read more in How to change netfilter parameters?

Cluster node dashboard

To see the information about the cluster node, go to Cluster nodes → open the cluster node page.

To view information on cluster nodes, go to Nodes. The following parameters are displayed in the cluster node dashboard:

  • CPU, % — CPU load;
  • RAM, % — RAM used;
  • Storage, % — HDD space used;
  • All VM — total number of VMs on the node;
  • number of VMs with a certain status;
  • Estimated number — maximum possible number of VMs. The value is calculated dynamically and depends on available node resources;
  • Cluster — cluster name;
  • OS — operating system;
  • IP-address — IP-address of the node;
  • Uptime — time of continuous node operation;
  • Services — services running.

On the scales CPU, RAM, Storage, the used amount of resource is displayed in green, and the amount of resource allocated for the VM, taking into account overselling, is displayed with an orange label.


Cluster node dashboard interface

Open cluster node page to view node details.

Change connection settings

If the IP address and/or SSH port on the cluster node has changed, VMmanager will lose connection with the node. To reconnect:

  1. Go to Nodes → select a node → menu → Change connection settings.
  2. Specify the Node IP address.
  3. Specify the SSH port.
  4. Click Connect to node.

VM distribution settings

When creating a VM, the platform selects the cluster node with the most suitable distribution settings. For example, you can configure the settings so that only VMs with a certain amount of RAM or Storage are created on the node.

To configure distribution settings:

  1. Enter Nodes → select the node → VM distribution settings.
  2. Enter the RAM оverselling ratio. Read more in Overselling.
  3. Specify the VM limit — the maximum number of VMs on the node.
  4. Specify the Limit the vCPU number — the maximum number of vCPUs that can be allocated to VMs on this node.
  5. Select VM parameters for distribution filters:
    • OS tags — operating system template tags;
    • Configurations — the names of configurations;
    • RAM resources — the amount of RAM;
    • Storage resources — the volume of the disk;
    • vCPU resources — the number of virtual CPUs;
    • Complex filter — a condition with several parameters.
       When entering conditions, use the filter syntax. If you want to set an additional condition, press Add filter. To delete a condition, press .
  6. Press Save.

Example of setting distribution filters


To configure VM distribution on multiple nodes of a cluster:

  1. Enter Nodes → select the nodes.
  2. On the bottom menu, press VM distribution settings.
  3. In the window that opens, configure the VM distribution filters.
  4. Press Save.

Example of setting distribution filters

Forbid users to create VMs on a cluster node

To prevent users from creating virtual machines on a cluster node: 

  1. Go to Cluster nodes → menu → Prohibit VM creation.
  2. Click on Confirm.

To cancel the settings: 

  1. Go to Cluster nodes → menu → Allow VM creation.
  2. Click on Allow.


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