MooseFS Quick Start Guide

Client Setup

To mount MooseFS on any machine that needs access:

1. Install the client package:
   apt install moosefs-client
2. Mount the filesystem:
   sudo mfsmount -H use.your.ip /mnt/moosefs -o mfspassword=Password

Adding Block Storage (Recommended)

For enhanced performance and reliability, we recommend using block storage with your MooseFS server.
Prerequisites
* An attached block storage subscription
* SSH access to your MooseFS server

Setup Steps
1. Create a mount point and format the block device:
mkdir /mnt/block_storage
mkfs.xfs /dev/vdb

1. Configure automatic mounting by adding this line to /etc/fstab
/dev/vdb /mnt/block_storage xfs defaults 0 2

2. Mount the storage and set permissions:
   mount -A
chown -R mfs:mfs /mnt/block_storage

3. Configure MooseFS to use the block storage:
   echo "/mnt/block_storage" > /etc/mfs/mfshdd.cfg
systemctl stop moosefs-master
mfsmaster -a
killall mfsmaster || true
systemctl restart moosefs-chunkserver
systemctl start moosefs-master

Adding VFS (Recommended)

For enhanced performance and reliability, we recommend using Vultr File Systems with your MooseFS server.
Prerequisites
* An attached Vultr File Systems Subscription
* SSH access to your MooseFS server

Setup Steps
1. Create a mount point and mount your VFS subscription:
mkdir /mnt/vfs
2. Mount your VFS Subscription (Command available in your VFS Subscription Management Page)
mount -t virtiofs <your-vfs-mount-id-here (i.e.77306467)> /mnt/vfs
3. Configure automatic mounting by adding this line to /etc/fstab
<your-vfs-mount-id-here (i.e.77306467)> /mnt/vfs virtiofs defaults 0 0
4. Mount the storage (if not already mounted in step 2) and set permissions:
mount -A
chown -R mfs:mfs /mnt/vfs
5. Configure MooseFS to use the VFS Storage:
echo "/mnt/vfs" > /etc/mfs/mfshdd.cfg
systemctl stop moosefs-master
mfsmaster -a
killall mfsmaster || true
systemctl restart moosefs-chunkserver
systemctl start moosefs-master

Adding Additional MooseFS Nodes to VFS (Advanced)

For enhanced performance, reliability, and scalability, you can add more MooseFS VMs to your Vultr File System Subscription.
Prerequisites
* A previous MooseFS Server already attached to the Vultr File Systems Subscription
* An additional server attached to the same Vultr File Systems Subscription
* SSH access to your MooseFS server
* The IP of the first MooseFS Server

Setup Steps
1. Disable the master service on any additional MooseFS Servers attached to this VFS subscription (you only want one master service running)
systemctl disable --now moosefs-master
killall mfsmaster || true
2. Point additional MooseFS VMs to the MooseFS VM running the Master Service by editing /etc/mfs/mfschunkserver.cfg
MASTER_HOST = <MOOSEFS_MASTER_NODE_IP>
3. Create a mount point and mount your VFS subscription:
mkdir /mnt/vfs
4. Mount your VFS Subscription (Command available in your VFS Subscription Management Page)
mount -t virtiofs <your-vfs-mount-id-here (i.e.77306467)> /mnt/vfs
5. Configure automatic mounting of your VFS Subscription by adding this line to /etc/fstab
<your-vfs-mount-id-here (i.e.77306467)> /mnt/vfs virtiofs defaults 0 0
6. Mount the storage (if not already mounted in step 4) and set permissions:
mount -A
chown -R mfs:mfs /mnt/vfs
7. Configure MooseFS to use the VFS Storage:
echo "/mnt/vfs" > /etc/mfs/mfshdd.cfg
systemctl restart moosefs-chunkserver

Notes

• For Block Storage, XFS is recommended for optimal performance with large files
• If using multiple MooseFS nodes on a single VFS subscription, you should use a Vultr Load Balancer infront of the nodes to achieve horizontal scaling, but you must enable Sticky Sessions