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DNS Setup

Before installing MooseFS, it's important to have a properly configured DNS (Domain Name System) in place. While MooseFS Community Edition (CE) can function without DNS by using direct IP addresses, we strongly recommend using DNS in both CE and PRO environments for better flexibility, scalability, and maintainability.

In MooseFS PRO, a working DNS setup is required - particularly for configurations involving multiple Master Servers in a high-availability (HA) setup. This is because MooseFS PRO relies on DNS to resolve a single hostname (e.g., mfsmaster) to multiple IP addresses, allowing Clients (Mounts) and Chunkservers to automatically connect to the appropriate Master node.

All IP addresses of the Master Servers must be included in the DNS and associated with the same hostname. For example:

Example DNS Records:​

mfsmaster IN A 192.168.1.1   ; IP address of the first Master Server
mfsmaster IN A 192.168.1.2   ; IP address of the second Master Server

This setup allows MooseFS components to connect to mfsmaster and reach either of the Master nodes, which is essential for failover and load balancing in PRO environments.

tip

If you don’t have access to a centralized DNS server, you can simulate this behavior using /etc/hosts on each node. However, this approach is less scalable and requires manual updates across all machines if any changes occur.

Best Practices:​

  • Ensure forward and reverse DNS resolution works correctly for all MooseFS nodes.
  • Use consistent hostnames and avoid relying on IP addresses in configuration files when possible.
  • Confirm that all nodes (Master, Chunkservers, Clients, Metalogger) can resolve the shared Master hostname to all appropriate IPs.