SheepDog is a distributed storage system for QEMU. It allows you to manage your virtual machines easily and efficiently. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install SheepDog on your Ubuntu Server.
Before starting this tutorial, you need to have the following:
It's important to keep your system up-to-date before installing any new packages. To do that, run the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
This command will update your system and install any available updates.
Now, you can proceed with installing SheepDog. Run the following command to install it:
sudo apt install sheepdog
After installing SheepDog, you need to configure it. You can find the configuration file at /etc/sheepdog/sheep.conf.
Open the file using your favorite text editor:
sudo nano /etc/sheepdog/sheep.conf
You should see the following:
# /etc/sheepdog/sheep.conf
# Configuration file for sheepdog
[dog]
# specify your node id here
# valid node id starts from 1, 0 is reserved for special usage
# you can have nodes with consecutive node ids in one subnet
# and nodes with crossing subnet boundaries
# node_id = 1
# set the hostname or ip address of this node
# this is used by shepherd to identify nodes
# hostname = localhost.localdomain
# specify your cluster directory here
# it will store objects and journal logs
# default is /var/lib/sheepdog
# dir = /mnt/sheepdog
# specify the number of copies to keep for each object
# default is 3
# copies = 3
# specify the epoch format for journal logs
# default is "dog-%Y-%m-%d-%H.%M.%S"
# you may want to set this unique by using node_id: "dog-%Y-%m-%d-%H.%M.%S.%N-%H-%d-%m-%y"
# epoch_fmt = dog-%Y-%m-%d-%H.%M.%S
# port for other sheep daemons to connect to
# default is 7000
# port = 7000
You can change the options based on your requirements. For example, you can change the copies option to 2 to keep only two copies of each object.
After configuring SheepDog, you can start it using the following command:
sudo systemctl start sheepdog
You can check the status of SheepDog using the following command:
sudo systemctl status sheepdog
You can now test SheepDog to make sure it's working correctly.
Run the following command to create a new object:
echo "Hello, SheepDog" > test.txt
dog store test.txt
You should see the output like this:
"This object is stored in the following nodes:"
" .(192.168.0.10:7000,192.168.0.10:7000)"
" .(192.168.0.11:7000,192.168.0.11:7000)"
" .(192.168.0.12:7000,192.168.0.12:7000)"
This means that the object is stored on three nodes.
You can check the list of objects using the following command:
dog list
It should output the name of the object that you created.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed SheepDog on your Ubuntu Server and tested it by storing an object. You can now use SheepDog to manage your virtual machines.
If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!
Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!
