--- discourse: 15871 --- (cluster-form)= # How to form a cluster When forming a LXD cluster, you start with a bootstrap server. This bootstrap server can be an existing LXD server or a newly installed one. After initializing the bootstrap server, you can join additional servers to the cluster. See {ref}`clustering-members` for more information. You can form the LXD cluster interactively by providing configuration information during the initialization process or by using preseed files that contain the full configuration. To quickly and automatically set up a basic LXD cluster, you can use {ref}`MicroCloud `. ## Configure the cluster interactively To form your cluster, you must first run `lxd init` on the bootstrap server. After that, run it on the other servers that you want to join to the cluster. When forming a cluster interactively, you answer the questions that `lxd init` prompts you with to configure the cluster. ### Initialize the bootstrap server To initialize the bootstrap server, run `lxd init` and answer the questions according to your desired configuration. You can accept the default values for most questions, but make sure to answer the following questions accordingly: - `Would you like to use LXD clustering?` Select **yes**. - `What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server?` Make sure to use an IP or DNS address that other servers can reach. - `Are you joining an existing cluster?` Select **no**. - `Setup password authentication on the cluster?` Select **no** to use authentication tokens (recommended) or **yes** to use a trust password.
Expand to see a full example for lxd init on the bootstrap server ```{terminal} :input: lxd init Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server? [default=192.0.2.101]: Are you joining an existing cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: no What member name should be used to identify this server in the cluster? [default=server1]: Setup password authentication on the cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: no Do you want to configure a new local storage pool? (yes/no) [default=yes]: Name of the storage backend to use (btrfs, dir, lvm, zfs) [default=zfs]: Create a new ZFS pool? (yes/no) [default=yes]: Would you like to use an existing empty block device (e.g. a disk or partition)? (yes/no) [default=no]: Size in GiB of the new loop device (1GiB minimum) [default=9GiB]: Do you want to configure a new remote storage pool? (yes/no) [default=no]: Would you like to connect to a MAAS server? (yes/no) [default=no]: Would you like to configure LXD to use an existing bridge or host interface? (yes/no) [default=no]: Would you like to create a new Fan overlay network? (yes/no) [default=yes]: What subnet should be used as the Fan underlay? [default=auto]: Would you like stale cached images to be updated automatically? (yes/no) [default=yes]: Would you like a YAML "lxd init" preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]: ```
After the initialization process finishes, your first cluster member should be up and available on your network. You can check this with [`lxc cluster list`](lxc_cluster_list.md). ### Join additional servers You can now join further servers to the cluster. ```{note} The servers that you add should be newly installed LXD servers. If you are using existing servers, make sure to clear their contents before joining them, because any existing data on them will be lost. ``` To join a server to the cluster, run `lxd init` on the cluster. Joining an existing cluster requires root privileges, so make sure to run the command as root or with `sudo`. Basically, the initialization process consists of the following steps: 1. Request to join an existing cluster. Answer the first questions that `lxd init` asks accordingly: - `Would you like to use LXD clustering?` Select **yes**. - `What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server?` Make sure to use an IP or DNS address that other servers can reach. - `Are you joining an existing cluster?` Select **yes**. - `Do you have a join token?` Select **yes** if you configured the bootstrap server to use authentication tokens (recommended) or **no** if you configured it to use a trust password. 1. Authenticate with the cluster. There are two alternative methods, depending on which authentication method you choose when configuring the bootstrap server. `````{tabs} ````{group-tab} Authentication tokens (recommended) Generate a cluster join token for each new member. To do so, run the following command on an existing cluster member (for example, the bootstrap server): lxc cluster add This command returns a single-use join token that is valid for a configurable time (see {config:option}`server-cluster:cluster.join_token_expiry`). Enter this token when `lxd init` prompts you for the join token. The join token contains the addresses of the existing online members, as well as a single-use secret and the fingerprint of the cluster certificate. This reduces the amount of questions that you must answer during `lxd init`, because the join token can be used to answer these questions automatically. ```` ````{group-tab} Trust password If you configured your cluster to use a trust password, `lxd init` requires more information about the cluster before it can start the authorization process: 1. Specify a name for the new cluster member. 1. Provide the address of an existing cluster member (the bootstrap server or any other server you have already added). 1. Verify the fingerprint for the cluster. 1. If the fingerprint is correct, enter the trust password to authorize with the cluster. ```` ````` 1. Confirm that all local data for the server is lost when joining a cluster. 1. Configure server-specific settings (see {ref}`clustering-member-config` for more information). You can accept the default values or specify custom values for each server.
Expand to see full examples for lxd init on additional servers `````{tabs} ````{group-tab} Authentication tokens (recommended) ```{terminal} :input: sudo lxd init Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server? [default=192.0.2.102]: Are you joining an existing cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes Do you have a join token? (yes/no/[token]) [default=no]: yes Please provide join token: eyJzZXJ2ZXJfbmFtZSI6InJwaTAxIiwiZmluZ2VycHJpbnQiOiIyNjZjZmExZDk0ZDZiMjk2Nzk0YjU0YzJlYzdjOTMwNDA5ZjIzNjdmNmM1YjRhZWVjOGM0YjAxYTc2NjU0MjgxIiwiYWRkcmVzc2VzIjpbIjE3Mi4xNy4zMC4xODM6ODQ0MyJdLCJzZWNyZXQiOiJmZGI1OTgyNjgxNTQ2ZGQyNGE2ZGE0Mzg5MTUyOGM1ZGUxNWNmYmQ5M2M3OTU3ODNkNGI5OGU4MTQ4MWMzNmUwIn0= All existing data is lost when joining a cluster, continue? (yes/no) [default=no] yes Choose "size" property for storage pool "local": Choose "source" property for storage pool "local": Choose "zfs.pool_name" property for storage pool "local": Would you like a YAML "lxd init" preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]: ``` ```` ````{group-tab} Trust password ```{terminal} :input: sudo lxd init Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server? [default=192.0.2.102]: Are you joining an existing cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes Do you have a join token? (yes/no/[token]) [default=no]: no What member name should be used to identify this server in the cluster? [default=server2]: IP address or FQDN of an existing cluster member (may include port): 192.0.2.101:8443 Cluster fingerprint: 2915dafdf5c159681a9086f732644fb70680533b0fb9005b8c6e9bca51533113 You can validate this fingerprint by running "lxc info" locally on an existing cluster member. Is this the correct fingerprint? (yes/no/[fingerprint]) [default=no]: yes Cluster trust password: All existing data is lost when joining a cluster, continue? (yes/no) [default=no] yes Choose "size" property for storage pool "local": Choose "source" property for storage pool "local": Choose "zfs.pool_name" property for storage pool "local": Would you like a YAML "lxd init" preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]: ``` ```` `````
After the initialization process finishes, your server is added as a new cluster member. You can check this with [`lxc cluster list`](lxc_cluster_list.md). ## Configure the cluster through preseed files To form your cluster, you must first run `lxd init` on the bootstrap server. After that, run it on the other servers that you want to join to the cluster. Instead of answering the `lxd init` questions interactively, you can provide the required information through preseed files. You can feed a file to `lxd init` with the following command: cat | lxd init --preseed You need a different preseed file for every server. ### Initialize the bootstrap server The required contents of the preseed file depend on whether you want to use authentication tokens (recommended) or a trust password for authentication. `````{tabs} ````{group-tab} Authentication tokens (recommended) To enable clustering, the preseed file for the bootstrap server must contain the following fields: ```yaml config: core.https_address: cluster: server_name: enabled: true ``` Here is an example preseed file for the bootstrap server: ```yaml config: core.https_address: 192.0.2.101:8443 images.auto_update_interval: 15 storage_pools: - name: default driver: dir - name: my-pool driver: zfs networks: - name: lxdbr0 type: bridge profiles: - name: default devices: root: path: / pool: my-pool type: disk eth0: name: eth0 nictype: bridged parent: lxdbr0 type: nic cluster: server_name: server1 enabled: true ``` ```` ````{group-tab} Trust password To enable clustering, the preseed file for the bootstrap server must contain the following fields: ```yaml config: core.https_address: core.trust_password: cluster: server_name: enabled: true ``` Here is an example preseed file for the bootstrap server: ```yaml config: core.trust_password: the_password core.https_address: 192.0.2.101:8443 images.auto_update_interval: 15 storage_pools: - name: default driver: dir - name: my-pool driver: zfs networks: - name: lxdbr0 type: bridge profiles: - name: default devices: root: path: / pool: my-pool type: disk eth0: name: eth0 nictype: bridged parent: lxdbr0 type: nic cluster: server_name: server1 enabled: true ``` ```` ````` See {ref}`preseed-yaml-file-fields` for the complete fields of the preseed YAML file. ### Join additional servers The required contents of the preseed files depend on whether you configured the bootstrap server to use authentication tokens (recommended) or a trust password for authentication. The preseed files for new cluster members require only a `cluster` section with data and configuration values that are specific to the joining server. `````{tabs} ````{group-tab} Authentication tokens (recommended) The preseed file for additional servers must include the following fields: ```yaml cluster: enabled: true server_address: cluster_token: ``` Here is an example preseed file for a new cluster member: ```yaml cluster: enabled: true server_address: 192.0.2.102:8443 cluster_token: eyJzZXJ2ZXJfbmFtZSI6Im5vZGUyIiwiZmluZ2VycHJpbnQiOiJjZjlmNmVhMWIzYjhiNjgxNzQ1YTY1NTY2YjM3ZGUwOTUzNjRmM2MxMDAwMGNjZWQyOTk5NDU5YzY2MGIxNWQ4IiwiYWRkcmVzc2VzIjpbIjE3Mi4xNy4zMC4xODM6ODQ0MyJdLCJzZWNyZXQiOiIxNGJmY2EzMDhkOTNhY2E3MGJmYThkMzE0NWM4NWY3YmE0ZmU1YmYyNmJiNDhmMmUwNzhhOGZhMDczZDc0YTFiIn0= member_config: - entity: storage-pool name: default key: source value: "" - entity: storage-pool name: my-pool key: source value: "" - entity: storage-pool name: my-pool key: driver value: "zfs" ``` ```` ````{group-tab} Trust password The preseed file for additional servers must include the following fields: ```yaml cluster: server_name: enabled: true cluster_address: server_address: cluster_password: cluster_certificate: # use this or cluster_certificate_path cluster_certificate_path: # use this or cluster_certificate ``` To create a YAML-compatible entry for the `cluster_certificate` key, run one the following commands on the bootstrap server: - When using the snap: `sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\n\n/g' /var/snap/lxd/common/lxd/cluster.crt` - Otherwise: `sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\n\n/g' /var/lib/lxd/cluster.crt` Alternatively, copy the `cluster.crt` file from the bootstrap server to the server that you want to join and specify its path in the `cluster_certificate_path` key. Here is an example preseed file for a new cluster member: ```yaml cluster: server_name: server2 enabled: true server_address: 192.0.2.102:8443 cluster_address: 192.0.2.101:8443 cluster_certificate: "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- opyQ1VRpAg2sV2C4W8irbNqeUsTeZZxhLqp4vNOXXBBrSqUCdPu1JXADV0kavg1l 2sXYoMobyV3K+RaJgsr1OiHjacGiGCQT3YyNGGY/n5zgT/8xI0Dquvja0bNkaf6f ... -----END CERTIFICATE----- " cluster_password: the_password member_config: - entity: storage-pool name: default key: source value: "" - entity: storage-pool name: my-pool key: source value: "" - entity: storage-pool name: my-pool key: driver value: "zfs" ``` ```` ````` See {ref}`preseed-yaml-file-fields` for the complete fields of the preseed YAML file. (use-microcloud)= ## Use MicroCloud ```{youtube} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWZYUU8lX5A ``` Instead of setting up your LXD cluster manually, you can use [MicroCloud](https://canonical.com/microcloud) to get a fully highly available LXD cluster with OVN and with Ceph storage up and running. To install the required snaps, run the following command: snap install lxd microceph microovn microcloud Then start the bootstrapping process with the following command: microcloud init During the initialization process, MicroCloud detects the other servers, sets up OVN networking and prompts you to add disks to Ceph. When the initialization is complete, you’ll have an OVN cluster, a Ceph cluster and a LXD cluster, and LXD itself will have been configured with both networking and storage suitable for use in a cluster. See the [MicroCloud documentation](https://canonical-microcloud.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/) for more information.