Getting started With AeroLab

One-time setup

Follow either the Docker or AWS instructions below, depending on the backend you use. You can use both backends at once, and use AeroLab commands on either one.

Docker instructions

1. Install Docker Desktop on your machine.

2. Start Docker. To make sure it's running, run docker version at the command line.

3. Configure disk, RAM,and CPU resources. In the Docker tray-icon, go to Preferences. Configure the required disk, RAM and CPU resources. At least 2 cores and 2 GB of RAM is recommended for a single-node cluster.

AWS

Configure aws-cli

Follow this manual to install the AWS CLI.

Run aws configure to configure basic access to AWS.

Download AeroLab from the releases page

The releases page has links to installers for all the supported platforms

Note that AeroLab can deploy Aerospike instances on both ARM64 and x86_64 architectures, regardless of which AeroLab binary you use.

Operating System	CPU	File	Comments
macOS	ALL	aerolab-macos.pkg	multi-arch AeroLab installer for macOS
macOS	M1 or M2	aerolab-macos-arm64.zip	single executable binary in a zip file
macOS	Intel CPU	aerolab-macos-amd64.zip	single executable binary in a zip file
Linux (generic)	arm	aerolab-linux-arm64.zip	single executable binary in a zip file
Linux (generic)	Intel/AMD	aerolab-linux-amd64.zip	single executable binary in a zip file
Linux (centos)	arm	aerolab-linux-arm64.rpm	RPM for installing on centos/rhel-based distros
Linux (centos)	Intel/AMD	aerolab-linux-x86_64.rpm	RPM for installing on centos/rhel-based distros
Linux (ubuntu)	arm	aerolab-linux-arm64.deb	DEB for installing on ubuntu/debian-based distros
Linux (ubuntu)	Intel/AMD	aerolab-linux-amd64.deb	DEB for installing on ubuntu/debian-based distros

Install

Installation with the provided installer files is the recommended method. After download, run the executable and the aerolab command will become available.

Alternatively, you can perform a manual installation by downloading the relevant zip file, unpacking it, and then moving the unpacked aerolab binary to /usr/local/bin/. Remember to run chmod +x on the aerolab binary to make it executable.

First run

Running aerolab at the command line outputs a help page asking for backend configuration.

% aerolab

Create a config file and select a backend first using one of:

$ aerolab config backend -t docker
$ aerolab config backend -t aws [-r region] [-p /custom/path/to/store/ssh/keys/in/]

Default file path is ${HOME}/.aerolab.conf

To specify a custom configuration file, set the environment variable:
   $ export AEROLAB_CONFIG_FILE=/path/to/file.conf

Configuring defaults

You can change the default configuration with the aerolab config defaults command. If you change the defaults, the new values are used as defaults. You can still change the configuration at runtime by specifying command line switches.

Command	Description
aerolab config defaults help	print help for using the defaults command
aerolab config defaults	print all defaults
aerolab config defaults -o	print only the defaults that have been adjusted in the config file
aerolab config defaults -k '*Features*'	print all defaults containing the word Features
aerolab config defaults -k '*.HeartbeatMode' -v mesh	adjust HeartbeatMode default to mesh for all available commands

Getting started: configuration basics

It's a good idea to configure the basics so you don't have to use command line switches each time.

If you wish to use a custom features file, run the following command: aerolab config defaults -k '*FeaturesFilePath' -v /path/to/features.conf

To adjust aerospike.conf to always use mesh heartbeat modes, unless specifically overwritten in the command line: aerolab config defaults -k '*.HeartbeatMode' -v mesh

Configuration file generator

AeroLab can generate a basic aerospike.conf file by running:

aerolab conf generate

Shell completion

To enable shell completion, run one (or both) of:

aerolab completion zsh
aerolab completion bash

Basic usage

Deploy a cluster called testme with 5 nodes

aerolab cluster create --name=testme --count=5

Attach to node 2 in that cluster

aerolab attach shell --name=testme --node=2
root@node:/ $ service aerospike status
Aerospike running
root@node:/ $ service aerospike stop
Stopping Aerospike ... OK
root@node:/ $ service aerospike start
Starting Aerospike ... OK
root@node:/ $ exit

Run asadm info command on node 2

$ aerolab attach shell --name=testme --node=2 -- asadm -e info
$ aerolab attach asadm --name=testme --node=2 -- -e info

Run asinfo on all nodes

$ aerolab attach asinfo --name=testme --node=all -- -v service
$ aerolab attach shell --name=testme --node=all -- asinfo -v service
$ aerolab attach shell --name=testme --node=<node-expander-syntax> -- asinfo -v service

Node Expander

For commands accepting a list of nodes, the list is a comma-separated list of:

• ALL - all nodes
• -X - negative number - exclude node
• X - positive number - include node
• X-Y - range of nodes to include

For example:

• ALL,-5 - all nodes except for node 5
• 1-10,-5,12 - nodes 1-10, except node 5, and also node 12

Destroy the cluster, force stopping

$ aerolab cluster destroy --name=testme -f

Get help on commands list

aerolab help
aerolab {command} help
aerolab {command} {subcommand} help