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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-17 06:53:20 +0000
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+Scaling a Pacemaker Cluster
+---------------------------
+
+Overview
+########
+
+In a basic Pacemaker high-availability cluster [#]_ each node runs the full
+cluster stack of Corosync and all Pacemaker components. This allows great
+flexibility but limits scalability to around 32 nodes.
+
+To allow for scalability to dozens or even hundreds of nodes, Pacemaker
+allows nodes not running the full cluster stack to integrate into the cluster
+and have the cluster manage their resources as if they were a cluster node.
+
+Terms
+#####
+
+.. index::
+ single: cluster node
+ single: node; cluster node
+
+**cluster node**
+ A node running the full high-availability stack of corosync and all
+ Pacemaker components. Cluster nodes may run cluster resources, run
+ all Pacemaker command-line tools (``crm_mon``, ``crm_resource`` and so on),
+ execute fencing actions, count toward cluster quorum, and serve as the
+ cluster's Designated Controller (DC).
+
+.. index:: pacemaker-remoted
+
+**pacemaker-remoted**
+ A small service daemon that allows a host to be used as a Pacemaker node
+ without running the full cluster stack. Nodes running ``pacemaker-remoted``
+ may run cluster resources and most command-line tools, but cannot perform
+ other functions of full cluster nodes such as fencing execution, quorum
+ voting, or DC eligibility. The ``pacemaker-remoted`` daemon is an enhanced
+ version of Pacemaker's local executor daemon (pacemaker-execd).
+
+.. index::
+ single: remote node
+ single: node; remote node
+
+**pacemaker_remote**
+ The name of the systemd service that manages ``pacemaker-remoted``
+
+**Pacemaker Remote**
+ A way to refer to the general technology implementing nodes running
+ ``pacemaker-remoted``, including the cluster-side implementation
+ and the communication protocol between them.
+
+**remote node**
+ A physical host running ``pacemaker-remoted``. Remote nodes have a special
+ resource that manages communication with the cluster. This is sometimes
+ referred to as the *bare metal* case.
+
+.. index::
+ single: guest node
+ single: node; guest node
+
+**guest node**
+ A virtual host running ``pacemaker-remoted``. Guest nodes differ from remote
+ nodes mainly in that the guest node is itself a resource that the cluster
+ manages.
+
+.. NOTE::
+
+ *Remote* in this document refers to the node not being a part of the underlying
+ corosync cluster. It has nothing to do with physical proximity. Remote nodes
+ and guest nodes are subject to the same latency requirements as cluster nodes,
+ which means they are typically in the same data center.
+
+.. NOTE::
+
+ It is important to distinguish the various roles a virtual machine can serve
+ in Pacemaker clusters:
+
+ * A virtual machine can run the full cluster stack, in which case it is a
+ cluster node and is not itself managed by the cluster.
+ * A virtual machine can be managed by the cluster as a resource, without the
+ cluster having any awareness of the services running inside the virtual
+ machine. The virtual machine is *opaque* to the cluster.
+ * A virtual machine can be a cluster resource, and run ``pacemaker-remoted``
+ to make it a guest node, allowing the cluster to manage services
+ inside it. The virtual machine is *transparent* to the cluster.
+
+.. index::
+ single: virtual machine; as guest node
+
+Guest Nodes
+###########
+
+**"I want a Pacemaker cluster to manage virtual machine resources, but I also
+want Pacemaker to be able to manage the resources that live within those
+virtual machines."**
+
+Without ``pacemaker-remoted``, the possibilities for implementing the above use
+case have significant limitations:
+
+* The cluster stack could be run on the physical hosts only, which loses the
+ ability to monitor resources within the guests.
+* A separate cluster could be on the virtual guests, which quickly hits
+ scalability issues.
+* The cluster stack could be run on the guests using the same cluster as the
+ physical hosts, which also hits scalability issues and complicates fencing.
+
+With ``pacemaker-remoted``:
+
+* The physical hosts are cluster nodes (running the full cluster stack).
+* The virtual machines are guest nodes (running ``pacemaker-remoted``).
+ Nearly zero configuration is required on the virtual machine.
+* The cluster stack on the cluster nodes launches the virtual machines and
+ immediately connects to ``pacemaker-remoted`` on them, allowing the
+ virtual machines to integrate into the cluster.
+
+The key difference here between the guest nodes and the cluster nodes is that
+the guest nodes do not run the cluster stack. This means they will never become
+the DC, initiate fencing actions or participate in quorum voting.
+
+On the other hand, this also means that they are not bound to the scalability
+limits associated with the cluster stack (no 32-node corosync member limits to
+deal with). That isn't to say that guest nodes can scale indefinitely, but it
+is known that guest nodes scale horizontally much further than cluster nodes.
+
+Other than the quorum limitation, these guest nodes behave just like cluster
+nodes with respect to resource management. The cluster is fully capable of
+managing and monitoring resources on each guest node. You can build constraints
+against guest nodes, put them in standby, or do whatever else you'd expect to
+be able to do with cluster nodes. They even show up in ``crm_mon`` output as
+nodes.
+
+To solidify the concept, below is an example that is very similar to an actual
+deployment that we tested in a developer environment to verify guest node
+scalability:
+
+* 16 cluster nodes running the full Corosync + Pacemaker stack
+* 64 Pacemaker-managed virtual machine resources running ``pacemaker-remoted``
+ configured as guest nodes
+* 64 Pacemaker-managed webserver and database resources configured to run on
+ the 64 guest nodes
+
+With this deployment, you would have 64 webservers and databases running on 64
+virtual machines on 16 hardware nodes, all of which are managed and monitored by
+the same Pacemaker deployment. It is known that ``pacemaker-remoted`` can scale
+to these lengths and possibly much further depending on the specific scenario.
+
+Remote Nodes
+############
+
+**"I want my traditional high-availability cluster to scale beyond the limits
+imposed by the corosync messaging layer."**
+
+Ultimately, the primary advantage of remote nodes over cluster nodes is
+scalability. There are likely some other use cases related to geographically
+distributed HA clusters that remote nodes may serve a purpose in, but those use
+cases are not well understood at this point.
+
+Like guest nodes, remote nodes will never become the DC, initiate
+fencing actions or participate in quorum voting.
+
+That is not to say, however, that fencing of a remote node works any
+differently than that of a cluster node. The Pacemaker scheduler
+understands how to fence remote nodes. As long as a fencing device exists, the
+cluster is capable of ensuring remote nodes are fenced in the exact same way as
+cluster nodes.
+
+Expanding the Cluster Stack
+###########################
+
+With ``pacemaker-remoted``, the traditional view of the high-availability stack
+can be expanded to include a new layer:
+
+Traditional HA Stack
+____________________
+
+.. image:: images/pcmk-ha-cluster-stack.png
+ :alt: Traditional Pacemaker+Corosync Stack
+ :align: center
+
+HA Stack With Guest Nodes
+_________________________
+
+.. image:: images/pcmk-ha-remote-stack.png
+ :alt: Pacemaker+Corosync Stack with pacemaker-remoted
+ :align: center
+
+.. [#] See the `<https://www.clusterlabs.org/doc/>`_ Pacemaker documentation,
+ especially *Clusters From Scratch* and *Pacemaker Explained*.