Docker Swarm a native clustering system

Docker Swarm

The native Docker Container Orchestration system is Docker Swarm that in simple terms means that you can have multiple docker machines (hosts) to run your multiple docker containers (replicas). It is best to work with Docker Engine v1.12 and above as docker engine includes docker swarm natively.

Docker Swarm logo:

In not so simply terms, docker instances (engines) running on multiple machines (nodes), communicating together (VXLAN) as a cluster (swarm).

Nodes

To begin with, we need to create our docker machines. One of the nodes must be the manager and the others will run as workers. For testing purposes I will run three (3) docker engines:

Manager Docker Node: myengine0
Worker Docker Node 1: myengine1
Worker Docker Node 2: myengine2

Drivers

A docker node is actually a machine that runs the docker engine in the swarm mode. The machine can be a physical, virtual, a virtualbox, a cloud instance, a VPS, a AWS etc etc

As the time of this blog post, officially docker supports natively the below drivers:

Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Azure
Digital Ocean
Exoscale
Google Compute Engine
Generic
Microsoft Hyper-V
OpenStack
Rackspace
IBM Softlayer
Oracle VirtualBox
VMware vCloud Air
VMware Fusion
VMware vSphere

QEMU - KVM

but there are unofficial drivers also.

I will use the qemu - kvm driver from this github repository: https://github.com/dhiltgen/docker-machine-kvm

The simplest way to add the kvm driver is this:


> cd /usr/local/bin/
> sudo -s
# wget -c https://github.com/dhiltgen/docker-machine-kvm/releases/download/v0.7.0/docker-machine-driver-kvm
# chmod 0750 docker-machine-driver-kvm

Docker Machines

The next thing we need to do, is to create our docker machines. Look on your distro’s repositories:

# yes | pacman -S docker-machine

Manager


$ docker-machine create -d kvm myengine0

Running pre-create checks...
Creating machine...
(myengine0) Image cache directory does not exist, creating it at /home/ebal/.docker/machine/cache...
(myengine0) No default Boot2Docker ISO found locally, downloading the latest release...
(myengine0) Latest release for github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker is v1.13.1
(myengine0) Downloading /home/ebal/.docker/machine/cache/boot2docker.iso from https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker/releases/download/v1.13.1/boot2docker.iso...
(myengine0) 0%....10%....20%....30%....40%....50%....60%....70%....80%....90%....100%
(myengine0) Copying /home/ebal/.docker/machine/cache/boot2docker.iso to /home/ebal/.docker/machine/machines/myengine0/boot2docker.iso...

Waiting for machine to be running, this may take a few minutes...
Detecting operating system of created instance...
Waiting for SSH to be available...
Detecting the provisioner...
Provisioning with boot2docker...
Copying certs to the local machine directory...
Copying certs to the remote machine...
Setting Docker configuration on the remote daemon...
Checking connection to Docker...
Docker is up and running!
To see how to connect your Docker Client to the Docker Engine running on this virtual machine, run: docker-machine env myengine0

Worker 1


$ docker-machine create -d kvm myengine1
Running pre-create checks...
Creating machine...
(myengine1) Copying /home/ebal/.docker/machine/cache/boot2docker.iso to /home/ebal/.docker/machine/machines/myengine1/boot2docker.iso...
Waiting for machine to be running, this may take a few minutes...
Detecting operating system of created instance...
Waiting for SSH to be available...
Detecting the provisioner...
Provisioning with boot2docker...
Copying certs to the local machine directory...
Copying certs to the remote machine...
Setting Docker configuration on the remote daemon...
Checking connection to Docker...
Docker is up and running!
To see how to connect your Docker Client to the Docker Engine running on this virtual machine, run: docker-machine env myengine1

Worker 2

$ docker-machine create -d kvm myengine2
Running pre-create checks...
Creating machine...
(myengine2) Copying /home/ebal/.docker/machine/cache/boot2docker.iso to /home/ebal/.docker/machine/machines/myengine2/boot2docker.iso...
Waiting for machine to be running, this may take a few minutes...
Detecting operating system of created instance...
Waiting for SSH to be available...
Detecting the provisioner...
Provisioning with boot2docker...
Copying certs to the local machine directory...
Copying certs to the remote machine...
Setting Docker configuration on the remote daemon...
Checking connection to Docker...
Docker is up and running!
To see how to connect your Docker Client to the Docker Engine running on this virtual machine, run: docker-machine env myengine2

List your Machines


$ docker-machine env myengine0
export DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY="1"
export DOCKER_HOST="tcp://192.168.42.126:2376"
export DOCKER_CERT_PATH="/home/ebal/.docker/machine/machines/myengine0"
export DOCKER_MACHINE_NAME="myengine0"
# Run this command to configure your shell:
# eval $(docker-machine env myengine0)


$ docker-machine ls

NAME        ACTIVE   DRIVER   STATE     URL                         SWARM   DOCKER    ERRORS
myengine0   -        kvm      Running   tcp://192.168.42.126:2376           v1.13.1
myengine1   -        kvm      Running   tcp://192.168.42.51:2376            v1.13.1
myengine2   -        kvm      Running   tcp://192.168.42.251:2376           v1.13.1

Inspect

You can get the IP of your machines with:


$ docker-machine ip myengine0
192.168.42.126

$ docker-machine ip myengine1
192.168.42.51

$ docker-machine ip myengine2
192.168.42.251

with ls as seen above or use the inspect parameter for a full list of information regarding your machines in a json format:


$ docker-machine inspect myengine0

If you have jq you can filter out some info


$ docker-machine inspect myengine0  | jq .'Driver.DiskPath'

"/home/ebal/.docker/machine/machines/myengine0/myengine0.img"

SSH

To enter inside the kvm docker machine, you can use ssh

Manager


$ docker-machine ssh myengine0

                        ##         .
                  ## ## ##        ==
               ## ## ## ## ##    ===
           /"""""""""""""""""___/ ===
      ~~~ {~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ /  ===- ~~~
           ______ o           __/
                          __/
              ___________/
 _                 _   ____     _            _
| |__   ___   ___ | |_|___  __| | ___   ___| | _____ _ __
| '_  / _  / _ | __| __) / _` |/ _  / __| |/ / _  '__|
| |_) | (_) | (_) | |_ / __/ (_| | (_) | (__|   <  __/ |
|_.__/ ___/ ___/ __|_______,_|___/ ___|_|____|_|
Boot2Docker version 1.13.1, build HEAD : b7f6033 - Wed Feb  8 20:31:48 UTC 2017
Docker version 1.13.1, build 092cba3

Worker 1


$ docker-machine ssh myengine1

                        ##         .
                  ## ## ##        ==
               ## ## ## ## ##    ===
           /"""""""""""""""""___/ ===
      ~~~ {~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ /  ===- ~~~
           ______ o           __/
                          __/
              ___________/
 _                 _   ____     _            _
| |__   ___   ___ | |_|___  __| | ___   ___| | _____ _ __
| '_  / _  / _ | __| __) / _` |/ _  / __| |/ / _  '__|
| |_) | (_) | (_) | |_ / __/ (_| | (_) | (__|   <  __/ |
|_.__/ ___/ ___/ __|_______,_|___/ ___|_|____|_|
Boot2Docker version 1.13.1, build HEAD : b7f6033 - Wed Feb  8 20:31:48 UTC 2017
Docker version 1.13.1, build 092cba3

Worker 2


$ docker-machine ssh myengine2

                        ##         .
                  ## ## ##        ==
               ## ## ## ## ##    ===
           /"""""""""""""""""___/ ===
      ~~~ {~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ /  ===- ~~~
           ______ o           __/
                          __/
              ___________/
 _                 _   ____     _            _
| |__   ___   ___ | |_|___  __| | ___   ___| | _____ _ __
| '_  / _  / _ | __| __) / _` |/ _  / __| |/ / _  '__|
| |_) | (_) | (_) | |_ / __/ (_| | (_) | (__|   <  __/ |
|_.__/ ___/ ___/ __|_______,_|___/ ___|_|____|_|
Boot2Docker version 1.13.1, build HEAD : b7f6033 - Wed Feb  8 20:31:48 UTC 2017
Docker version 1.13.1, build 092cba3

Swarm Cluster

Now it’s time to build a swarm of docker machines!

Initialize the manager

docker@myengine0:~$  docker swarm init --advertise-addr 192.168.42.126

Swarm initialized: current node (jwyrvepkz29ogpcx18lgs8qhx) is now a manager.

To add a worker to this swarm, run the following command:

    docker swarm join
    --token SWMTKN-1-4vpiktzp68omwayfs4c3j5mrdrsdavwnewx5834g9cp6p1koeo-bgcwtrz6srt45qdxswnneb6i9
    192.168.42.126:2377

To add a manager to this swarm, run 'docker swarm join-token manager' and follow the instructions.

Join Worker 1

docker@myengine1:~$  docker swarm join
>     --token SWMTKN-1-4vpiktzp68omwayfs4c3j5mrdrsdavwnewx5834g9cp6p1koeo-bgcwtrz6srt45qdxswnneb6i9
>     192.168.42.126:2377

This node joined a swarm as a worker.

Join Worker 2

docker@myengine2:~$   docker swarm join
>     --token SWMTKN-1-4vpiktzp68omwayfs4c3j5mrdrsdavwnewx5834g9cp6p1koeo-bgcwtrz6srt45qdxswnneb6i9
>     192.168.42.126:2377

This node joined a swarm as a worker.

From the manager


docker@myengine0:~$  docker node ls

ID                           HOSTNAME   STATUS  AVAILABILITY  MANAGER STATUS
jwyrvepkz29ogpcx18lgs8qhx *  myengine0  Ready   Active        Leader
m5akhw7j60fru2d0an4lnsgr3    myengine2  Ready   Active
sfau3r42bqbhtz1c6v9hnld67    myengine1  Ready   Active

Info

We can find more information about the docker-machines running the docker info command when you have ssh-ed the nodes:

eg. the swarm part:

manager


Swarm: active
 NodeID: jwyrvepkz29ogpcx18lgs8qhx
 Is Manager: true
 ClusterID: 8fjv5fzp0wtq9hibl7w2v65cs
 Managers: 1
 Nodes: 3
 Orchestration:
  Task History Retention Limit: 5
 Raft:
  Snapshot Interval: 10000
  Number of Old Snapshots to Retain: 0
  Heartbeat Tick: 1
  Election Tick: 3
 Dispatcher:
  Heartbeat Period: 5 seconds
 CA Configuration:
  Expiry Duration: 3 months
 Node Address: 192.168.42.126
 Manager Addresses:
  192.168.42.126:2377

worker1

Swarm: active
 NodeID: sfau3r42bqbhtz1c6v9hnld67
 Is Manager: false
 Node Address: 192.168.42.51
 Manager Addresses:
  192.168.42.126:2377

worker 2

Swarm: active
 NodeID: m5akhw7j60fru2d0an4lnsgr3
 Is Manager: false
 Node Address: 192.168.42.251
 Manager Addresses:
  192.168.42.126:2377

Services

Now it’s time to test our docker swarm by running a container service across our entire fleet!

For testing purposes we chose 6 replicas of an nginx container:


docker@myengine0:~$ docker service create --replicas 6 -p 80:80 --name web nginx

ql6iogo587ibji7e154m7npal

List images

docker@myengine0:~$  docker images
REPOSITORY          TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED             SIZE
nginx               <none>              db079554b4d2        9 days ago          182 MB

List of services

regarding your docker registry or your internet connection, we will see the replicas running:


docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  0/6       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  2/6       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  3/6       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  6/6       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$  docker service ps web

ID            NAME   IMAGE         NODE       DESIRED STATE  CURRENT STATE           ERROR  PORTS
t3v855enecgv  web.1  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 17 minutes ago
xgwi91plvq00  web.2  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 17 minutes ago
0l6h6a0va2fy  web.3  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 16 minutes ago
qchj744k0e45  web.4  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 17 minutes ago
udimh2bokl8k  web.5  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 17 minutes ago
t50yhhtngbac  web.6  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 16 minutes ago

Browser

To verify that our replicas are running as they should:

Scaling a service

It’s really interesting that we can scale out or scale down our replicas on the fly !

from the manager


docker@myengine0:~$  docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  6/6       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ps web
ID            NAME   IMAGE         NODE       DESIRED STATE  CURRENT STATE       ERROR  PORTS
t3v855enecgv  web.1  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 3 days ago
xgwi91plvq00  web.2  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 3 days ago
0l6h6a0va2fy  web.3  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 3 days ago
qchj744k0e45  web.4  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 3 days ago
udimh2bokl8k  web.5  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 3 days ago
t50yhhtngbac  web.6  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 3 days ago

Scale Down

from the manager


$ docker service scale web=3
web scaled to 3

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  3/3       nginx:latest

docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ps web
ID            NAME   IMAGE         NODE       DESIRED STATE  CURRENT STATE       ERROR  PORTS
0l6h6a0va2fy  web.3  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 3 days ago
qchj744k0e45  web.4  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 3 days ago
udimh2bokl8k  web.5  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 3 days ago

Scale Up

from the manager


docker@myengine0:~$ docker service scale web=8
web scaled to 8
docker@myengine0:~$
docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  3/8       nginx:latest
docker@myengine0:~$
docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  4/8       nginx:latest
docker@myengine0:~$
docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ls
ID            NAME  MODE        REPLICAS  IMAGE
ql6iogo587ib  web   replicated  8/8       nginx:latest
docker@myengine0:~$
docker@myengine0:~$
docker@myengine0:~$ docker service ps web
ID            NAME   IMAGE         NODE       DESIRED STATE  CURRENT STATE           ERROR  PORTS
lyhoyseg8844  web.1  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 7 seconds ago
w3j9bhcn9f6e  web.2  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 8 seconds ago
0l6h6a0va2fy  web.3  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 3 days ago
qchj744k0e45  web.4  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 3 days ago
udimh2bokl8k  web.5  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 3 days ago
vr8jhbum8tlg  web.6  nginx:latest  myengine1  Running        Running 7 seconds ago
m4jzati4ddpp  web.7  nginx:latest  myengine2  Running        Running 8 seconds ago
7jek2zvuz6fs  web.8  nginx:latest  myengine0  Running        Running 11 seconds ago

Tag(s): docker, swarm, containers

Docker Swarm

Nodes

Drivers

QEMU - KVM

Docker Machines

Manager

Worker 1

Worker 2

List your Machines

Inspect

SSH

Swarm Cluster

Initialize the manager

Join Worker 1

Join Worker 2

Info

Services

List images

List of services

Browser

Scaling a service

Scale Down

Scale Up

Trending Articles