Setting Up a FalkorDB Cluster

Setting up a FalkorDB cluster enables you to distribute your data across multiple nodes, providing horizontal scalability and improved fault tolerance. This guide will walk you through the steps to configure a FalkorDB cluster with 3 masters and 1 replica for each, using Docker.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• Docker installed on your machine.
• A working FalkorDB Docker image. You can pull it from Docker Hub.
• Basic knowledge of Docker networking and commands.

Step 1: Network Configuration

First, create a Docker network to allow communication between the FalkorDB nodes.

docker network create falkordb-cluster-network

This network will enable the containers to communicate with each other.

Step 2: Launching FalkorDB Nodes

Next, you need to launch multiple FalkorDB instances that will form the cluster. For example, you can start six nodes:

2.1 Start the nodes

docker run -d \
  --name node1 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6379:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

docker run -d \
  --name node2 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6380:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

docker run -d \
  --name node3 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6381:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

docker run -d \
  --name node4 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6382:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

docker run -d \
  --name node5 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6383:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

docker run -d \
  --name node6 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6384:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

In this command, the –network falkordb-cluster-network flag connects the container to the network created in Step 1.

Step 3: Configuring the Cluster

Once all nodes are up, you need to connect them to form a cluster. Use the redis-cli tool inside one of the nodes to initiate the cluster setup.

3.1 Connect to a Node

docker exec -it node1 /bin/bash

3.2 Initiate the Cluster

Inside the container, use the following command to form the cluster:

redis-cli --cluster create node1:6379 node2:6379 node3:6379 node4:6379 node5:6379 node6:6379 --cluster-replicas 1

This command will join node1, node2, and node3 into a cluster.

3.3 Verify Cluster Status

You can verify the status of the cluster with:

redis-cli --cluster check node1:6379

This command will display the status of each node and their roles (master/replica).

Step 4: Scaling the Cluster

You can scale the cluster by adding more nodes as needed. Simply launch additional FalkorDB instances and add them to the cluster using the falkordb-cli tool.

For example, to add a new node:

4.1 Start a New Node

docker run -d \
  --name node7 \
  --network falkordb-cluster-network \
  -p 6385:6379 \
  -e 'FALKORDB_ARGS=--cluster-enabled yes' \
  falkordb/falkordb

4.2 Add the Node to the Cluster

docker exec -it node1 /bin/bash
redis-cli --cluster add-node node7:6379 node1:6379

This will add node7 into the existing cluster.

Conclusion

With your FalkorDB cluster set up, you now have a scalable, distributed environment that can handle increased loads and provide higher availability.