Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
180 lines (125 loc) · 5.96 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

180 lines (125 loc) · 5.96 KB

Setting Up a Load Balancer for Murmuration Services

Introduction

This guide outlines the steps for setting up a load balancer for Murmuration services, leveraging Docker and Nginx. A load balancer efficiently distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers, enhancing the reliability and availability of your services. Upon completing this guide, you will have a fully operational load balancing setup for Murmuration services.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Before beginning, ensure you have:

  • A server designated for the load balancer.
  • Basic understanding of Nginx configurations.
  • Access to a Kubernetes cluster via kubectl.

Step 1 - Preparing the Load Balancer Server

Identify a server to serve as your load balancer. For instructions on setting up a server, see the Ubuntu Server Setup Guide.

Step 2 - Installing Docker

Docker streamlines the deployment and management of containerized applications. To install Docker on your load balancer server, follow these steps:

First, update your package list:

sudo apt update

Then, install the necessary packages for HTTPS repository access:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

Before installing Docker, it's essential to add the Docker repository GPG key to ensure the software package is officially verified and has not been altered:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

Include the Docker repository:

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Update the package list again:

sudo apt update

Finally, install Docker:

sudo apt install docker-ce

Verify Docker installation by checking its status:

sudo systemctl status docker

Docker will now be installed and configured to start on boot.

Step 3 - Setting Up Nginx as a Load Balancer

To configure Nginx as a load balancer, you'll need to create and modify a configuration file in /etc/nginx.conf to manage your traffic appropriately.

Open the configuration file for editing by running:

vim /etc/nginx.conf

Insert the following configuration, replacing <server-address> with the actual addresses of your backend services. For a high-availability (HA) setup, it's recommended to deploy an odd number of servers, at least three, to ensure resilience and failover capabilities:

worker_processes auto;
worker_rlimit_nofile 40000;

events {
    worker_connections 8192;
}

stream {
    upstream murmur_servers_http {
        least_conn;
        server <server-address-1>:80 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
        server <server-address-2>:80 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
        server <server-address-3>:80 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
    }

    upstream murmur_servers_https {
        least_conn;
        server <server-address-1>:443 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
        server <server-address-2>:443 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
        server <server-address-3>:443 max_fails=3 fail_timeout=5s;
    }

    server {
        listen 80;
        proxy_pass murmur_servers_http;
        proxy_protocol on;
    }

    server {
        listen 443;
        proxy_pass murmur_servers_https;
        proxy_protocol on;
    }
}

Step 4 - Launching the Nginx Load Balancer

Deploy Nginx within Docker to initiate the load balancing functionality:

First, execute the following command to start Nginx as a load balancer:

docker run -d --restart=unless-stopped \
  --name lb-nginx \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  -v /etc/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf \
  nginx:1.14

Step 5 - Integrating the Load Balancer with the RKE2 Cluster

Configure the RKE2 cluster to direct traffic through your new load balancer:

First, switch to the appropriate RKE2 cluster context:

kubectl config use-context <your-cluster-name>

Then, modify the ingress-nginx controller's configuration to enable proxy protocol support:

kubectl edit configmaps rke2-ingress-nginx-controller -n kube-system

Add use-proxy-protocol: "true" directly under the data section of the config map. Ensure you do not modify any other parts of the configuration.

data:
  use-proxy-protocol: "true"

Step 6 - Configuring DNS to Point to the Load Balancer

After setting up your load balancer and ensuring it is operational, the final step is to configure a DNS A record to point your domain name to the IP address of the load balancer.

  • Log in to your DNS provider's management console.
  • Navigate to the DNS settings section for your domain.
  • Add an A record with the following details:
    • Host: The subdomain or prefix you wish to use (e.g., lb).
    • Points to: The IP address of your load balancer server.
    • TTL: For A Record, 3600 seconds is recommended.

Conclusion

You have successfully established a load balancer for Murmuration services using Docker and Nginx. This setup enhances the distribution and reliability of your service traffic, ensuring high availability and performance.

Go to Section 6 - Set up Longhorn.