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Web GUI Monitoring

The MooseFS Web GUI provides an easy-to-use interface for monitoring the status and performance of your cluster in real time. It offers a clear overview of key system components, including the Master Server, Chunkservers, metadata replicas, and storage usage.

This section introduces the main features of the GUI, explains how to access and navigate it, and highlights the most useful views and indicators for day-to-day monitoring. Whether you're diagnosing issues or simply keeping tabs on your system, the Web GUI is a convenient and valuable tool for any MooseFS administrator.

Accessing the GUI​

To access the GUI, open a web browser and navigate to the MooseFS Master Server, which typically also hosts the GUI service:

http://<master-hostname-or-ip>:9425

This opens the main dashboard, which provides real-time information about the state of your MooseFS cluster.

Access to the GUI may be restricted by your network or firewall settings, so ensure that your browser can reach the GUI port (default: 9425).

Key Views and Metrics Available​

The MooseFS GUI includes multiple views that help administrators monitor system health and performance. Some of the most important dashboards and metrics include:

Server Status​

  • Status of Master Servers (Leader/Follower)
  • Chunkserver availability and connectivity
  • Metalogger status
  • Current number of active clients

Chunk Distribution​

  • Number of chunks and their replicas
  • Balance of chunks across Chunkservers
  • Under-replicated or over-replicated chunks
  • Missing or damaged chunks

Load and Performance Metrics​

  • Disk usage per server
  • Network throughput and latency indicators
  • I/O load and current operations
  • System warnings or error counters

Metadata Overview​

  • Total objects (files, directories, chunks)
  • Metadata size and version
  • Last save or metadata snapshot timestamp

These views allow administrators to quickly identify anomalies such as inactive servers, uneven chunk distribution, or replication issues.

Real-time and historical insights​

The MooseFS GUI offers both real-time and historical visibility into cluster activity:

Real-Time Monitoring​

  • Live server status updates
  • Active client sessions
  • On-the-fly load metrics (disk, CPU, and network)
  • Immediate alerts for missing or offline components

Historical Metrics​

  • Trends in storage usage over time
  • Historical chunkserver load patterns
  • Replication and recovery events
  • Metadata changes and snapshot history

Security considerations for GUI access​

The MooseFS GUI does not provide built-in authentication.

If you want to restrict access—for example by using Basic Authentication — the recommended approach is to place the GUI behind a reverse proxy.

In such a setup:

  • The MooseFS GUI listens only on localhost, e.g.: http://127.0.0.1:9425
  • The reverse proxy (Nginx or Apache) is exposed to the network.
  • The reverse proxy handles authentication and forwards traffic to the GUI.
  • The reverse proxy preserves useful headers (client IP, protocol, etc.)
  • This approach also ensures consistent authentication behavior when accessing both the GUI and metrics via the same proxy.

This configuration improves security by preventing direct access to the GUI port and centralizing authentication in a well-known, battle-tested web server.

Example config for MooseFS GUI:

GUISERV_DOCROOT = /usr/share/mfscgi/
GUISERV_LISTEN_HOST = 127.0.0.1

Example: Nginx Reverse Proxy with Basic Authentication​

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    server_name mfsgui.my.lan;

    location / {
        auth_basic           "MooseFS GUI";
        auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;

        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9425;
        proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Example: Apache Reverse Proxy with Basic Authentication​

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName mfsgui.my.lan

    <Location />
        AuthType Basic
        AuthName "MooseFS GUI"
        AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/.htpasswd
        Require valid-user

        ProxyPass        http://127.0.0.1:9425/
        ProxyPassReverse http://127.0.0.1:9425/
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>