Following is a high-level view of the nature and order of tasks that need to be performed for a full-stack Swarm implementation.

Phase 1: Prepare Environment

The work to prepare the environment must be completed before adding any Swarm components:

• Rack and stack hardware designated for Swarm, replacing and upgrading as needed. (See Hardware Setup)

• Upgrade firmware to the latest versions:

  • All servers

  • All disk controllers

  • All disk drives

• Configure networking and switches (see Network Infrastructure), including the following:

  • VLAN configuration

  • IGMP snooping disabled (or IGMP querier implemented)

• Configure IPMI management.

• Provide access for the storage cluster to phone home. (See Health Data to Support)

• Verify the servers and base operating systems meet the Swarm system requirements. (See Hardware Requirements for Storage and Hardware Requirements for Elasticsearch Cluster)

• Configure IPMI (remote server management)

• Complete licenses and agreements

  • Obtain any needed storage capacity and capability licenses from DataCore. (See Swarm License Management)

  • A user in the organization must register and accept the appropriate OS license and EULA if required by the selected operating system.

  • Accept the DataCore EULA.

Phase 2: Platform Server and Storage Cluster

Swarm Platform Server is installed and configured first so that the platform server can install Storage nodes on the designated hardware. Ensure that the Platform Server and Storage nodes are deployed on supported operating systems (Rocky Linux 9 for current Swarm Cluster Services (SCS) versions).

• Install Platform Server. (See SCS Installation)

• Configure Platform Server to integrate with the environment.

• Configure Platform Server to boot the current version of Swarm Storage.

• Boot the Storage nodes and configure the cluster-wide settings. (See Configuring Swarm Storage)

• Install the Swarm Storage UI. (See Swarm Storage UI Installation)

• Verify the storage cluster is operational: read, write, and delete test objects

• Optional: Install the open-source components to use Swarm's exports to Prometheus. (See Prometheus Node Exporter and Grafana)

Phase 3: Elasticsearch

Install and configure an Elasticsearch cluster on designated hardware, providing the Storage cluster with the search and metrics capabilities.

• Base install the chosen operating system (Rocky Linux 9).

• Install Elasticsearch nodes on designated hardware. (See Elasticsearch Implementation)

• Configure Elasticsearch based on DataCore recommendations. (See Configuring Elasticsearch)

• Create a Search feed to populate the Elasticsearch metadata index. (See Managing Feeds)

• Configure Elasticsearch Curator and Swarm Metrics. (See Installing Swarm Metrics, ES 2.3.3)

Phase 4: Content Gateway

Install and configure Content Gateways, which provide the primary access to the Storage cluster.

• Base install the chosen operating system (Rocky Linux 9).

• Install the Content Gateway. See Content Gateway Implementation

• Install the Content UI. See Content UI Installation

• Configure basic gateway setup for verification and initialization of primary domain. See Gateway Configuration and Configuring Swarm Storage for Gateway

• Verify the Gateway is operational: read, write, and delete test objects using the Content UI, S3, and SCSP.

• Create the initial domains, with policy definitions. See Gateway Access Control Policies

Phase 5: Swarm Clients

As fits with the implementation plan, extend access to Swarm storage by installing one or more Swarm client applications, such as the following:

• SwarmFS Implementation

• FileFly

Phase 6: Post-Installation

• Conduct performance measurement and tuning.

• Test and debug third-party/custom applications and integration.

• Train administrators and staff.