Considering NodeWorx, a few questions

NodeWorx General Discussion
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We?re a cPanel NOC partner but I really want to look at replacing cPanel with something that clusters. NodeWorx seems like it might be a good way to go, but there are still single points of failure.

I have some spare servers and a 24TB 10GbE NAS and am thinking about giving NodeWorx a try. I?m just curious what people have done to work around the single points of failure. Some questions I have are:

  1. Do people typically have a standby master in case the primary goes down? If MySQL is handled by remote servers and storage is on a NAS, is there much data to replicate between the master and a standby so the standby can replace the master quickly in the event of a problem with the master?

  2. Can the cluster be set up to automatically alternate mysql databases per account? I?m thinking of having at least two separate MySQL servers, each set up to replicate to a backup (i.e. 4 servers, 2 primary and 2 replication slaves). I?d like each new account to alternate mysql servers to sort of distribute the mysql load without having to think about it. If you use MySQL replication to keep a spare database server ready in the event the primary goes down, is it fairly simple to switch over?

Has anyone set things up similarly? I?m looking at something like:

1 Master (+ 1 for standby, kept in sync somehow)

2 MySQL DB Servers (+ 2 being replicated)

8 Nodes.

1 NAS for data.

2nd NAS for backup of the first NAS.

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Hi Mediaserve

Welcome to IW forums.

IW have had a full HA clsuter, but this is not avaiable at the moment, and I am not too sure if/when it will return. I can tell you it worked perfectly, as I was a beta on it.

I do not run with a secondary CM (cluster master). We use R1soft for backups and can do bare metal restore (or it takes less then 20 minutes to fully load a new server with Centos 7 and IW and then add the nodes to it).

You can create your own MYSQL cluster (IW will not cluster MYSQL) and add this into IW, then tell IW to use your MYSQL cluster

DNS - I would apply for 2 x free 1 user IW licences, and use these to cluster DNS servers (or you could use some node servers for this)

I am sure you know, but IW cluster, I would make sure you use internal IP and not external IP, so your not paying for bandwidth on cluster

As far as I know, IW cannot rotate MYSQL, but if you set your own MYSQL cluster up as above, this is no longer a weak point

You could have a reserve IW CM, and rsync files (but it is the MYSQL which holds the data mostly). However, be careful if doing so, as issues may arise on NIC/IP

I think some users use a loadbalancer infront of IW, but IW also loadbalances between nodes

YOur NAS would hold all the files for siteworx/nodeworx users, so you would just need to sync your nas to nas carefully and then it is no longer a weak point

Also, if using internal IP for clustering, then any changes to servers are instant, as no external IP are changed, just the internal routing/servers change.

I would drop IW an email, as they will be able to answer any specific questions you may have (support@interworx.com). They are extremly helpful and friendly. FYI I do not work for Interworx but was so impressed with IW, I have not rebadged any of our systems, as Interworx is a good selling point.

Lastly, we are an Interworx reseller but given your quoted quantity, ask IW.

I Hope that helps a little

Many thanks

John

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>1. Do people typically have a standby master in case the primary goes down? If MySQL is handled by remote servers and storage is on a NAS, is there much data to replicate between the master and a standby so the standby can replace the master quickly in the event of a problem with the master?

Instead of having a backup Cluster Manager you may be able to use the “External Load Balancer” mode. InterWorx doesn’t provide a true High Availability solution, but there are ways, as you suggest, to eliminate single points of failure.

http://www.interworx.com/support/faq/enable-external-load-balancer-mode-aws-elastic-load-balancer-google-load-balancer/

> 2. Can the cluster be set up to automatically alternate mysql databases per account? I?m thinking of having at least two separate MySQL servers, each set up to replicate to a backup (i.e. 4 servers, 2 primary and 2 replication slaves). I?d like each new account to alternate mysql servers to sort of distribute the mysql load without having to think about it. If you use MySQL replication to keep a spare database server ready in the event the primary goes down, is it fairly simple to switch over?

The connection to the external database only requires that the external database understand MySQL commands. We do not manage the database, so those decisions would be completely up to you. I know some customers have used a Galera Cluster.

We’ve had customers set up similar configurations, without the backup cluster manager. We’d be happy to help answer any questions further. Feel free to submit a support ticket and I can provide demo licenses if you’d like to test this configuration.

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I had the same question. Thanks you)