Add Nodes to a Running AWS Cluster

There are three main steps to adding a node to a database cluster:

  1. Provision the host in AWS. Hosts are also known as instances.
  2. Add the host to the cluster
  3. Add the node to the database

In the Vertica Management Console, the Add Instance wizard performs all three steps. See the instructions in the Managing AWS Instances section of Viewing and Managing Your Cluster and then perform the tasks listed below.

Before You Start

Before you add nodes to a cluster, verify that you have an AWS cluster up and running and that you have:

  • Created a database.
  • Defined a database schema.
  • Loaded data.
  • Run the Database Designer.
  • Connected to your database.

Launch New Instances to Add to an Existing Cluster

Perform the procedure in Configure and Launch an Instance to create new instances that you then will add to your existing cluster. Be sure to choose the same details you chose when you created the original instances (VPC, placement group, subnet, and security group).

Include New Instances as Cluster Nodes

The Management Console Instances page lists the instances and their associated IP addresses. You need those IP addresses when you run the install_vertica script.

If you are configuring EBS volumes, be sure to configure the volumes on the node before you add the node to your cluster.

To add the new instances as nodes to your existing cluster:

  1. Configure and launch your new instances.
  2. Connect to the instance that is assigned to the Elastic IP. See Connect to an Instance if you need more information.

  3. Run the Vertica installation script to add the new instances as nodes to your cluster. Specify the internal IP addresses for your instances and your *pem file name.

    $ sudo /opt/vertica/sbin/install_vertica --add-hosts <instance-ip>--dba-user-password-disabled --point-to-point --data-dir /vertica/data --ssh-identity ~/<nameof-pem>.pem

Add the Nodes

After you have added the new instances to your existing cluster, add them as nodes to your cluster, as described in Adding Nodes to a Database.

Rebalance the Database

After you add nodes to a database, always rebalance the database.