Configuring Lustre on Google
The configuration parameters on this page are exclusive to Lustre on Google.
Region*
Use this dropdown menu to select the region that your storage will be deployed into. A region represents a geographic area.
*This setting is only available on persistent storage options. For ephemeral storage options, the Region is determined by the attached cluster.
Zone*
Use this dropdown menu to select the zone to use your storage. A zone refers to an isolated location inside a region.
We recommend that your storage zone matches the zone of the cluster you’re pairing the storage with.
*This setting is only available on persistent storage options. For ephemeral storage options, the Zone is determined by the attached cluster.
MDS Nodes
Use this field to enter the number of nodes on your storage’s MDS. This field is set to 1 by default and will be sufficient for most workloads.
MDS stands for Metadata Service. In Lustre file systems, the MDS manages the namespace hierarchy, records the layout of files, and handles object allocation on object storage targets (OSTs).
MDS fields largely affect data transfer speeds.
MDS Machine Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the machine type for your MDS nodes. The machine type determines the CPUs and amount of memory available. Certain machine types may also have specialty hardware, such as GPUs or low-latency networking options.
Please note that altering the MDS machine type may affect your estimated hourly cost.
MDS Boot Disk Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the type of disk your MDS nodes will use. Currently, the options are local-ssd, pd-balanced, pd-standard, and pd-ssd.
Generally speaking, the ssd options will be faster than balanced options, and balanced options will be faster than standard options.
Please note that altering the boot disk type will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
MDS Boot Disk Size
Use this field to enter the total capacity of your MDS boot disk storage in gibibytes (GiB). This field is set to 20 by default.
Please note that altering the boot disk size will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
MDT Disk Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the type of disk your MDT nodes will use. Currently, the options are local-ssd, pd-balanced, pd-standard, and pd-ssd.
Generally speaking, the ssd options will be faster than balanced options, and balanced options will be faster than standard options.
Please note that altering the boot disk type will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
MDT stands for Metadata Target. Metadata content is stored on MDTs.
MDT fields largely affect data transfer speeds.
MDT Disk Size (Optional)
Use this field to enter the total capacity of your MDT boot disk storage in gibibytes (GiB).
Please note that altering the boot disk size will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
OSS Nodes
Use this field to enter the number of nodes on your storage’s OSS. This field is set to 2 by default.
Changing the number of OSS disk nodes changes your storage’s capacity and overall throughput; if you’re interested in tuning your Lustre filesystem, this parameter as well as OSS disk type will most strongly affect your storage’s performance.
OSS stands for Object Storage Servers. In Lustre filesystems, OSS provide the bulk data storage for all file content.
OSS Machine Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the machine type for your OSS nodes. The machine type determines the CPUs and amount of memory available. Certain machine types may also have specialty hardware, such as GPUs or low-latency networking options.
Please note that altering the OSS machine type may affect your estimated hourly cost.
OSS Boot Disk Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the type of disk your OSS nodes will use. Currently, the options are local-ssd, pd-balanced, pd-standard, and pd-ssd.
Generally speaking, the ssd options will be faster than balanced options, and balanced options will be faster than standard options.
Please note that altering the boot disk type will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
OSS Boot Disk Size (GB)
Use this field to enter the total capacity of your OSS boot disk storage. This field is set to 20 by default.
Please note that altering the boot disk size will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
OST Disk Type
Use this dropdown menu to select the type of disk for your OST nodes. Currently, the options are local-ssd, pd-balanced, pd-standard, and pd-ssd.
Generally speaking, the ssd options will be faster than balanced options, and balanced options will be faster than standard options.
Please note that altering the OST disk type will affect your estimated hourly cost.
OST stands for Object Storage Target. An OST is a set of storage volumes that OSS provides access to.
OST Disk Size
Use this field to enter the total capacity of your OST boot disk storage in gibibytes. This field is set to 1500 by default.
Please note that altering the boot disk size will slightly affect your estimated hourly cost.
Lustre Version
Use this field to enter the version of Lustre software that your storage will use.
This field is set to latest-release by default, and we recommend using this setting for the best performance.
Lustre Image
Use this dropdown menu to select the Lustre image that your storage will use. The image has prepackaged software that our engineers have installed to maximize performance.
We recommend selecting Latest for the best performance.
GVNIC
Use this toggle button to enable Google Virtual Network Interface Card (gVNIC), which supports higher network bandwidths from 50–100 Gbps. This parameter affects both MDS and OSS nodes.
This storage feature can be toggled independently of the gVNIC option on your cluster; your cluster’s configuration will not be affected.
For more information, see the Google documentation on gVNIC.
Tier 1
Use this toggle button to enable Tier_1, which increases maximum egress bandwidth (upload speed) to 50–100 Gps. If Tier_1 is off, the egress bandwidth will range from 10–32 Gbps. This parameter affects both MDS and OSS nodes.
Please note that Tier-1 is only supported if gVNIC is also active. If you try to start Tier-1 by itself, ACTIVATE will display the error message Tier_1 is only supported if gVNIC is on.
For more information, see the Google documentation on Tier_1.