Before beginning the standard installation, record the key data about each of the four nodes involved in the installation. You will input this data at several points during the installation process.

Record the following key data about each of the four nodes involved in the installation:

  • The IP addresses or DNS names
  • The minion IDs

Make sure that you clearly indicate which IP address and minion ID belongs to which host (the Salt master node, the RaaS node, the PostgreSQL database node, the Redis database node).

As a best practice, verify that your IP addresses or DNS names are correct as incorrect IP addresses or DNS names can cause a multi-node installation failure.

Keep this data in an easily accessible record for your own reference. As you configure the orchestration, you need to input this data into several settings and variables in the configuration files. For that reason, it’s helpful to keep this record on hand throughout the installation.

Note:

If you are in a virtualized environment, take care to specify the internal address, as opposed to the public address.

Static vs. dynamic IP addresses

The Redis and the PostgreSQL hosts need static IP addresses or DNS names and the configuration files need to reference those static IP addresses or DNS names. Depending on how the RaaS node is deployed, it might need a static IP address or DNS name as well. Relying on dynamic IP addresses in configurations can change and break your environment.

Setting a custom minion ID (optional)

A minion ID is a unique name given to each minion that is managed by a Salt master. By default, the minion identifies itself to the Salt master by the system’s hostname. However, you can assign custom IDs that are descriptive of their function or location within your network.

If you decide to customize your minion IDs, try to keep the ID brief but descriptive of its role. For example, you could use apache-server-1 to name one of your web servers or you could use datacenter-3-rack-2 after its location in a datacenter. The goal is to make the names descriptive and helpful for future reference.

To declare a minion ID:

  1. In the minion’s terminal, navigate to the directory that contains the minion’s id.conf file. By default, the directory location is etc/salt/minion.d/id.conf.
  2. Open the id.conf file in an editor. Change the id setting to your preferred minion ID. For example:
    id: postgres-database-1
  3. After changing a minion ID, the minion’s keys need to be accepted (or re-accepted) by the Salt master. For specific instructions on setting up the keys, see Accept the minion keys on the master(s).

What to do next

After recording this key data, read and follow the steps in Copy and edit the top state files.