CirrusGrid Shared Storage Сontainer is a special type of node, designed for data storing. Compared to other managed containers, it provides a number of the appropriate benefits:
Note: Any CirrusGrid-managed container can receive mounts over the fourth version of the protocol, but only Shared Storage Container can export data over NFSv4.
And below we’ll consider how to set up such Shared Storage server inside CirrusGrid PaaS, some tips on its management, and use case specifics:
To create a new Shared Storage Container, enable the corresponding Storage section at the topology wizard. This option is available for all engine types, including Docker containers.
In the middle part of the wizard, you can provide additional configurations for your Shared Storage. The exact amount of provided storage space can be adjusted via the Disk Limit field. The platform can automatically configure a reliable storage cluster (instead of separate nodes) if you enable the Auto-Clustering switcher. Also, in case of necessity, public IP addresses can be attached to the nodes (both IPv4 and IPv6).
Tip: Since this container type was specially developed to be used as a data storage server, you need to consider some specifics about its configuration:
Click Create when ready.
Upon enabling Auto-Clustering switcher for the Shared Storage Container in topology wizard, the platform automatically configures a replicated volume (replicates files across bricks in the volume). Such a solution is implemented based on the pre-installed GlusterFS RPM packages and is intended for environments where high-reliability is critical.
Tip: Consider the following specifics:
During creation, the GlusterFS volume is mounted into the /data folder and is accessible over NFSv4 protocol. Consequently, when mounting from/to your storage cluster, it is managed as a single component (i.e. not a collection of separate storage containers). In case of failure of one or several nodes, the AutoFS client (that is used in application containers by default) automatically switches to the working instances on the next read/write operation attempt.
Tip: If facing the split-brains error (i.e. storage cannot determine which copy in the replica is the correct one), follow the linked troubleshooting guide to resolve the issue.
The storage cluster based on the Gluster software is suitable for the most solutions. However, some cases benefit from the GlusterFS & NFS usage more than others.
Recommended use cases:
Not recommended use cases:
Some general examples of the storage usage are described in the Dedicated Storage documentation.
Right after creation, you can immediately proceed to the container configuration. Below, we’ll show several basic actions that may be useful for you to get started:
1. For the most common operations with your storage, the built-in configuration file manager can be used. For more complex management, you may prefer to work with some third-party tool (use the connection details from the SFTP / SSH Gate tab circled in the image below).
Tip: For files sharing with other instances within the platform or external servers, the appropriate Mount Points and Exports tabs can be used.
2. SSH access (either via the web or local SSH client) can be established to get full control over your storage server.
3. If you want to use your Shared Storage Container as an external server (i.e. not only within the current CirrusGrid installation) – enable the public IP option to make it accessible from outside. Follow instructions in the dedicated NFS server configurations guide.
The IP address(es) attached to Shared Storage can be viewed through expanding the appropriate node in the dashboard.
4. When stopping or deleting an environment, the platform automatically checks for the mounts configured on the comprised nodes and provides Details on instances affected by the action in the confirmation frame.
Note: The live migration option is not available for migration of environment with Shared Storage containers. So, to check the nodes affected by the temporary unavailability of the storage, use the appropriate availability of the components link circled in the image below.
That’s all! For now, as you know the main points on your Shared Storage Container handling, feel free to proceed and fill it with the required content.
If you experience any problem with Shared Storage Container deployment, configuration or usage, feel free to appeal to our technical expert’s assistance at Stackoverflow.
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