Multiple CE nodes in vmware?

[JoshBecigneul]

Hi all,

I've been working through building out a lab for DXC in my local VMware ESXi environment. I've got a handle on one node pretty well, but trying to add an additional node to the cluster, it never seems to finish provisioning. I'm on the lowest paid tier, curious if anyone has made this work and hopefully has some pointers or a guide?

Thanks!
Josh

[mayurs142 · Accepted solution]

Hi Josh, when creating a multi-node VMware site, you must specify the same value for Cluster Name (that is site name) for all 3 nodes and different Host Name in the vApp properties.

After that follow this guide to accept the registration in case of a multi-node VMware site: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs/how-to/site-management/create-vmw-site#multi-node-site-registration

Also, you can try out the F5 XC App Stack site where you will have more control over the K8s cluster: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs/how-to/site-management/create-voltstack-site

[AubreyKingF5 · Accepted solution]

I have done this on KVM. The trick is to set up ALL isos first, as though they were independent and get ALL of them to provisioning. When you go to provision, let it know how many nodes (I did 3) and it will provision all 3 at once.

[mayurs142 · Accepted solution]

Hi Josh, when creating a multi-node VMware site, you must specify the same value for Cluster Name (that is site name) for all 3 nodes and different Host Name in the vApp properties.

After that follow this guide to accept the registration in case of a multi-node VMware site: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs/how-to/site-management/create-vmw-site#multi-node-site-registration

Also, you can try out the F5 XC App Stack site where you will have more control over the K8s cluster: https://docs.cloud.f5.com/docs/how-to/site-management/create-voltstack-site

[AubreyKingF5 · Accepted solution]

I have done this on KVM. The trick is to set up ALL isos first, as though they were independent and get ALL of them to provisioning. When you go to provision, let it know how many nodes (I did 3) and it will provision all 3 at once.

[JoshBecigneul]

So doing some more reading on this, it seems to be implied that all CE clusters are either 1 node, or 3 nodes? No 2 node clusters, right?

And AppStack clusters could have a group of master nodes and a group of worker nodes? What is the limit on AppStack nodes?

Also it seemed like I had better luck assigning the fleet config to my CE devices after it was finished provisioning, otherwise I tended to get a an error about a missing eth1 interface for bond networking.

[AubreyKingF5]

I have been told by XC team just now that 40 is the number: 3 control nodes and 37 workers.

I didn't enjoy the fleet method, but it is certainly flexible once you set it up. 🙂

[Matt_Dierick · Accepted solution]

Correct, 3 nodes minimum for a cluster. It is a k8s cluster, so 3 minimum. Then you can add workers, but to be honest, with 4vcpu x 3 nodes, you have enough compute for several GB of traffic. Workers are interesting for AppStack.

I'm working on a DevCentral article on how-to create a Cluster of CE in KVM/VMware and Public Cloud (it is different for public cloud). Stay tuned.