Cluster Manager - service level cluster management...

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#1 Sun, 01/03/2010 - 04:14
tpnsolutions
tpnsolutions's picture

Cluster Manager - service level cluster management...

Hi Folks,

I've decided to take on a private challenge to develop a Virtualmin ™ cluster management interface.

The interface will encompass many of the common features found in AWBS ™ and WHMCS ™ but will likely be simplified in the initial release.

The interface is being designed to build a Virtualmin ™ cluster allowing "service-level" allocation on multiple cluster nodes. All this will be possible while retaining control via a centralized management interface.

Administrators will still be able to do maintenance on a node via Virtualmin ™ as you do today.

Clients would login to my control panel to manage contact details, view/pay for invoices, purchase new products/services, and request support.

Similar to WHMCS ™, we will link to Virtualmin ™ from the control panel, however because the system will automatically setup the appropriate features on each Virtualmin ™ node, the link between Virtualmin ™ and our control panel will be setup in a way to allow you to login to anyone of the nodes to manage that particular service accordingly.

*** Password management will be handled by either the Virtualmin ™ node or my control panel. Although, it will be advisable to maintain it through the control panel to prevent confusion. ***

I will be utilizing this solution for my own in-house hosting operation initially to iron out some stuff, then will likely make it available publically.

Licensing, should we get this far will be done on a per domain basis, while you'll be able to add unlimited nodes under a single cluster setup. The idea here is that each company or individual should really only need to setup a single cluster, which could contain almost unlimited nodes if setup correctly.

Pricing for such licensing would likely be around $60 per year (Canadian) which I feel is reasonable, and won't break the bank for anyone.

Anyways, I will be starting to work on this within the next week, and will be providing updates on the forums, as things progress. I hope this will create a solution for the masses, and am always open to suggestions so please feel free to contact me on the forums anytime, or by email at: pknowles@peterknowles.ca (just don't spam me)

-Peter

Sun, 01/03/2010 - 14:41
JamieCameron

Sounds like a great project .. please let us know if you run into any issues or missing features with the Virtualmin API that would be needed to implement this.

''

Sun, 01/03/2010 - 18:43
tpnsolutions
tpnsolutions's picture

Thanks Jamie!

I'll definitely be keeping you guys in the loop, as the success of this program will be greatly influenced by its ability to utilize your software as much as possible.

While the initial project focuses on working with numerous Virtualmin nodes, I eventually want to make it work with Cloudmin to allow for quick and easy deployment of new nodes.

The ultimate goal is to have it create/manage nodes (using Cloudmin API), and administrate services on each node (using Virtualmin API)

If anyone has suggestions, or likes this idea please feel free to keep this thread active by posting your comments.

-Peter

Best Regards,
Peter Knowles | TPN Solutions
Email: pknowles@tpnsolutions.com | Skype: tpnassist
Sun, 01/03/2010 - 19:49
tpnsolutions
tpnsolutions's picture

The first version will focus on splitting services into two cluster nodes as follows:

node #1 - http/https/ftp/dns/ssh/mysql
node #2 - smtp/pop/imap/clamav/spamassassin

*** In my environment, I employ a white labeled third-party DNS cluster which means that my node #1 will be simply managing the "master" (non-public) zones, which will automatically be transfered to the secondary (public) zones. ***

Disk space will be managed via two separate quotas on each node, which together would make up a customers total quota allocation.

Bandwidth will be allocated as unlimited on each node as bandwidth may vary between services each month. The bandwidth will then be calculated at the panel level to determine if an account is over its limit each month, with appropriate measures being taken.

*** In the initial release, I will likely take no action against bandwidth overage, as most people rarely use up their monthly allocation (at least based on how I've allocated things). It will primarily be used for analytics. ***

-Peter

Best Regards,
Peter Knowles | TPN Solutions
Email: pknowles@tpnsolutions.com | Skype: tpnassist
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 07:42
ksstudio

Hello Peter,

Keep us posted, this sounds like what we are looking for.

Sat, 02/13/2010 - 23:52
tpnsolutions
tpnsolutions's picture

Hey Folks,

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.

I've been working on a sub-project which is being developed prior to the completion of my Cluster Manager, as it is helping me create a foundation on which Cluster Manager will be run in terms of coding and such.

You can test out my current project which is a custom "domain-level" frontend to Virtualmin. The purpose is to build something branded, user friendly, and introduce a few add-on features like billing, tickets, etc.

I've started another thread at:

http://www.virtualmin.com/node/13403

*** the above is the main thread about this custom UI, and is here as a reference. ***

Anyways, I've not given up on my Cluster Manager, it's just taking back seat while I work on the other project. Feel free to send your feedback about either project, and I'll be sure to add as many of the ideas onto the roadmap.

-Peter

Best Regards,
Peter Knowles | TPN Solutions
Email: pknowles@tpnsolutions.com | Skype: tpnassist
Wed, 12/15/2010 - 00:56 (Reply to #6)
LPCA
LPCA's picture

any news?

thanks

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