Form a cluster and install Vertica

Use the install_vertica script to combine two or more individual VMs to form a cluster and install the Vertica database.

Download Vertica

To download the Vertica server appropriate for your operating system and license type, go to www.vertica.com/download/vertica.

Run the rpm to extract the files.

After you complete the download and extraction, the next section describes how to use the install_vertica script to form a cluster and install the Vertica database software.

Before you start

Before you run the install_vertica script:

• Check the Virtual Network page for a list of current VMs and their associated private IP addresses.

• Identify your storage location. The installer assumes that you have mounted your storage to /vertica/data. To specify another location, use the --data-dir argument.

• Identify your storage location. To create your database's data directory on mounted RAID drive, when you run the install_vertica script, provide /vertica/data as the value of the --data-dir option .

  Caution

  Caution: Do not store your data on the root drive.

Combine virtual machines (VMs)

The following example shows how to combine VMs using the install_vertica script.

1. While connected to your primary node, construct the following command to combine your nodes into a cluster.

   $ sudo /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --hosts 10.2.0.164,10.2.0.165,10.2.0.166 --dba-user-password-disabled --point-to-point --data-dir /vertica/data --ssh-identity ~/<name-of-private-key>.pem --license <license.file>
   

2. Substitute the IP addresses for your VMs and include your root key file name, if applicable.

3. Include the --point-to-point parameter to configure spread to use direct point-to-point communication between all Vertica nodes, as required for clusters on Azure when installing or updating Vertica.

4. If you are using Vertica Community Edition, which limits you to three nodes, specify -L CE with no license file.

5. After you combine your nodes, to reduce security risks, keep your key file in a secure place—separate from your cluster—and delete your on-cluster key with the shred command:

   $ shred examplekey.pem
   

   Important

   You need your key file to perform future Vertica updates.

6. Reboot your cluster to complete the cluster formation and Vertica installation.

For complete information on the install_vertica script and its parameters, see Install Vertica with the installation script.

After your cluster is up and running

Now that your cluster is configured and running, take these steps:

1. Log into one of the database nodes using the database administrator account (named dbadmin by default).

2. Create and start a database:

   • To create an Enterprise Mode database, see Create a database using administration tools.
   • To create an Eon Mode database, see Manually create an Eon Mode database on Azure.

3. Configure your database. See Configuring the database.