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diff --git a/doc/administration/geo/index.md b/doc/administration/geo/index.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..6fdf213ac78 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/administration/geo/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,295 @@ +--- +stage: Enablement +group: Geo +info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers +type: howto +--- + +# Geo **(PREMIUM ONLY)** + +> - Introduced in GitLab Enterprise Edition 8.9. +> - Using Geo in combination with +> [multi-node architectures](../reference_architectures/index.md) +> is considered **Generally Available** (GA) in +> [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 10.4. + +Geo is the solution for widely distributed development teams and for providing a warm-standby as part of a disaster recovery strategy. + +## Overview + +CAUTION: **Caution:** +Geo undergoes significant changes from release to release. Upgrades **are** supported and [documented](#updating-geo), but you should ensure that you're using the right version of the documentation for your installation. + +Fetching large repositories can take a long time for teams located far from a single GitLab instance. + +Geo provides local, read-only instances of your GitLab instances. This can reduce the time it takes +to clone and fetch large repositories, speeding up development. + +For a video introduction to Geo, see [Introduction to GitLab Geo - GitLab Features](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HDLxSjEh6w). + +To make sure you're using the right version of the documentation, navigate to [the source version of this page on GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/doc/administration/geo/index.md) and choose the appropriate release from the **Switch branch/tag** dropdown. For example, [`v11.2.3-ee`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/v11.2.3-ee/doc/administration/geo/index.md). + +## Use cases + +Implementing Geo provides the following benefits: + +- Reduce from minutes to seconds the time taken for your distributed developers to clone and fetch large repositories and projects. +- Enable all of your developers to contribute ideas and work in parallel, no matter where they are. +- Balance the read-only load between your **primary** and **secondary** nodes. + +In addition, it: + +- Can be used for cloning and fetching projects, in addition to reading any data available in the GitLab web interface (see [current limitations](#current-limitations)). +- Overcomes slow connections between distant offices, saving time by improving speed for distributed teams. +- Helps reducing the loading time for automated tasks, custom integrations, and internal workflows. +- Can quickly fail over to a **secondary** node in a [disaster recovery](disaster_recovery/index.md) scenario. +- Allows [planned failover](disaster_recovery/planned_failover.md) to a **secondary** node. + +Geo provides: + +- Read-only **secondary** nodes: Maintain one **primary** GitLab node while still enabling read-only **secondary** nodes for each of your distributed teams. +- Authentication system hooks: **Secondary** nodes receives all authentication data (like user accounts and logins) from the **primary** instance. +- An intuitive UI: **Secondary** nodes utilize the same web interface your team has grown accustomed to. In addition, there are visual notifications that block write operations and make it clear that a user is on a **secondary** node. + +## How it works + +Your Geo instance can be used for cloning and fetching projects, in addition to reading any data. This will make working with large repositories over large distances much faster. + + + +When Geo is enabled, the: + +- Original instance is known as the **primary** node. +- Replicated read-only nodes are known as **secondary** nodes. + +Keep in mind that: + +- **Secondary** nodes talk to the **primary** node to: + - Get user data for logins (API). + - Replicate repositories, LFS Objects, and Attachments (HTTPS + JWT). +- Since GitLab Premium 10.0, the **primary** node no longer talks to **secondary** nodes to notify for changes (API). +- Pushing directly to a **secondary** node (for both HTTP and SSH, including Git LFS) was [introduced](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/2018/09/22/gitlab-11-3-released/) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/#self-managed) 11.3. +- There are [limitations](#current-limitations) in the current implementation. + +### Architecture + +The following diagram illustrates the underlying architecture of Geo. + + + +In this diagram: + +- There is the **primary** node and the details of one **secondary** node. +- Writes to the database can only be performed on the **primary** node. A **secondary** node receives database + updates via PostgreSQL streaming replication. +- If present, the [LDAP server](#ldap) should be configured to replicate for [Disaster Recovery](disaster_recovery/index.md) scenarios. +- A **secondary** node performs different type of synchronizations against the **primary** node, using a special + authorization protected by JWT: + - Repositories are cloned/updated via Git over HTTPS. + - Attachments, LFS objects, and other files are downloaded via HTTPS using a private API endpoint. + +From the perspective of a user performing Git operations: + +- The **primary** node behaves as a full read-write GitLab instance. +- **Secondary** nodes are read-only but proxy Git push operations to the **primary** node. This makes **secondary** nodes appear to support push operations themselves. + +To simplify the diagram, some necessary components are omitted. Note that: + +- Git over SSH requires [`gitlab-shell`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-shell) and OpenSSH. +- Git over HTTPS required [`gitlab-workhorse`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-workhorse). + +Note that a **secondary** node needs two different PostgreSQL databases: + +- A read-only database instance that streams data from the main GitLab database. +- [Another database instance](#geo-tracking-database) used internally by the **secondary** node to record what data has been replicated. + +In **secondary** nodes, there is an additional daemon: [Geo Log Cursor](#geo-log-cursor). + +## Requirements for running Geo + +The following are required to run Geo: + +- An operating system that supports OpenSSH 6.9+ (needed for + [fast lookup of authorized SSH keys in the database](../operations/fast_ssh_key_lookup.md)) + The following operating systems are known to ship with a current version of OpenSSH: + - [CentOS](https://www.centos.org) 7.4+ + - [Ubuntu](https://ubuntu.com) 16.04+ +- PostgreSQL 11+ with [Streaming Replication](https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Streaming_Replication) +- Git 2.9+ +- All nodes must run the same GitLab version. + +Additionally, check GitLab's [minimum requirements](../../install/requirements.md), +and we recommend you use: + +- At least GitLab Enterprise Edition 10.0 for basic Geo features. +- The latest version for a better experience. + +### Firewall rules + +The following table lists basic ports that must be open between the **primary** and **secondary** nodes for Geo. + +| **Primary** node | **Secondary** node | Protocol | +|:-----------------|:-------------------|:-------------| +| 80 | 80 | HTTP | +| 443 | 443 | TCP or HTTPS | +| 22 | 22 | TCP | +| 5432 | | PostgreSQL | + +See the full list of ports used by GitLab in [Package defaults](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/package-information/defaults.html) + +NOTE: **Note:** +[Web terminal](../../ci/environments/index.md#web-terminals) support requires your load balancer to correctly handle WebSocket connections. +When using HTTP or HTTPS proxying, your load balancer must be configured to pass through the `Connection` and `Upgrade` hop-by-hop headers. See the [web terminal](../integration/terminal.md) integration guide for more details. + +NOTE: **Note:** +When using HTTPS protocol for port 443, you will need to add an SSL certificate to the load balancers. +If you wish to terminate SSL at the GitLab application server instead, use TCP protocol. + +### LDAP + +We recommend that if you use LDAP on your **primary** node, you also set up secondary LDAP servers on each **secondary** node. Otherwise, users will not be able to perform Git operations over HTTP(s) on the **secondary** node using HTTP Basic Authentication. However, Git via SSH and personal access tokens will still work. + +NOTE: **Note:** +It is possible for all **secondary** nodes to share an LDAP server, but additional latency can be an issue. Also, consider what LDAP server will be available in a [disaster recovery](disaster_recovery/index.md) scenario if a **secondary** node is promoted to be a **primary** node. + +Check for instructions on how to set up replication in your LDAP service. Instructions will be different depending on the software or service used. For example, OpenLDAP provides [these instructions](https://www.openldap.org/doc/admin24/replication.html). + +### Geo Tracking Database + +The tracking database instance is used as metadata to control what needs to be updated on the disk of the local instance. For example: + +- Download new assets. +- Fetch new LFS Objects. +- Fetch changes from a repository that has recently been updated. + +Because the replicated database instance is read-only, we need this additional database instance for each **secondary** node. + +### Geo Log Cursor + +This daemon: + +- Reads a log of events replicated by the **primary** node to the **secondary** database instance. +- Updates the Geo Tracking Database instance with changes that need to be executed. + +When something is marked to be updated in the tracking database instance, asynchronous jobs running on the **secondary** node will execute the required operations and update the state. + +This new architecture allows GitLab to be resilient to connectivity issues between the nodes. It doesn't matter how long the **secondary** node is disconnected from the **primary** node as it will be able to replay all the events in the correct order and become synchronized with the **primary** node again. + +## Setup instructions + +For setup instructions, see [Setting up Geo](setup/index.md). + +## Post-installation documentation + +After installing GitLab on the **secondary** nodes and performing the initial configuration, see the following documentation for post-installation information. + +### Configuring Geo + +For information on configuring Geo, see [Geo configuration](replication/configuration.md). + +### Updating Geo + +For information on how to update your Geo nodes to the latest GitLab version, see [Updating the Geo nodes](replication/updating_the_geo_nodes.md). + +### Pausing and resuming replication + +> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/35913) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 13.2. + +In some circumstances, like during [upgrades](replication/updating_the_geo_nodes.md) or a [planned failover](disaster_recovery/planned_failover.md), it is desirable to pause replication between the primary and secondary. + +Pausing and resuming replication is done via a command line tool from the secondary node. + +**To Pause: (from secondary)** + +```shell +gitlab-ctl geo-replication-pause +``` + +**To Resume: (from secondary)** + +```shell +gitlab-ctl geo-replication-resume +``` + +### Configuring Geo for multiple nodes + +For information on configuring Geo for multiple nodes, see [Geo for multiple servers](replication/multiple_servers.md). + +### Configuring Geo with Object Storage + +For information on configuring Geo with object storage, see [Geo with Object storage](replication/object_storage.md). + +### Disaster Recovery + +For information on using Geo in disaster recovery situations to mitigate data-loss and restore services, see [Disaster Recovery](disaster_recovery/index.md). + +### Replicating the Container Registry + +For more information on how to replicate the Container Registry, see [Docker Registry for a **secondary** node](replication/docker_registry.md). + +### Security Review + +For more information on Geo security, see [Geo security review](replication/security_review.md). + +### Tuning Geo + +For more information on tuning Geo, see [Tuning Geo](replication/tuning.md). + +### Set up a location-aware Git URL + +For an example of how to set up a location-aware Git remote URL with AWS Route53, see [Location-aware Git remote URL with AWS Route53](replication/location_aware_git_url.md). + +## Remove Geo node + +For more information on removing a Geo node, see [Removing **secondary** Geo nodes](replication/remove_geo_node.md). + +## Disable Geo + +To find out how to disable Geo, see [Disabling Geo](replication/disable_geo.md). + +## Current limitations + +CAUTION: **Caution:** +This list of limitations only reflects the latest version of GitLab. If you are using an older version, extra limitations may be in place. + +- Pushing directly to a **secondary** node redirects (for HTTP) or proxies (for SSH) the request to the **primary** node instead of [handling it directly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/1381), except when using Git over HTTP with credentials embedded within the URI. For example, `https://user:password@secondary.tld`. +- Cloning, pulling, or pushing repositories that exist on the **primary** node but not on the **secondary** nodes where [selective synchronization](replication/configuration.md#selective-synchronization) does not include the project is not supported over SSH [but support is planned](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/2562). HTTP(S) is supported. +- The **primary** node has to be online for OAuth login to happen. Existing sessions and Git are not affected. Support for the **secondary** node to use an OAuth provider independent from the primary is [being planned](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/208465). +- The installation takes multiple manual steps that together can take about an hour depending on circumstances. We are working on improving this experience. See [Omnibus GitLab issue #2978](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/2978) for details. +- Real-time updates of issues/merge requests (for example, via long polling) doesn't work on the **secondary** node. +- [Selective synchronization](replication/configuration.md#selective-synchronization) applies only to files and repositories. Other datasets are replicated to the **secondary** node in full, making it inappropriate for use as an access control mechanism. +- Object pools for forked project deduplication work only on the **primary** node, and are duplicated on the **secondary** node. +- [External merge request diffs](../merge_request_diffs.md) will not be replicated if they are on-disk, and viewing merge requests will fail. However, external MR diffs in object storage **are** supported. The default configuration (in-database) does work. +- GitLab Runners cannot register with a **secondary** node. Support for this is [planned for the future](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/3294). + +### Limitations on replication/verification + +You can keep track of the progress to implement the missing items in +these epics/issues: + +- [Unreplicated Data Types](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/893) +- [Verify all replicated data](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/1430) + +There is a complete list of all GitLab [data types](replication/datatypes.md) and [existing support for replication and verification](replication/datatypes.md#limitations-on-replicationverification). + +## Frequently Asked Questions + +For answers to common questions, see the [Geo FAQ](replication/faq.md). + +## Log files + +Since GitLab 9.5, Geo stores structured log messages in a `geo.log` file. For Omnibus installations, this file is at `/var/log/gitlab/gitlab-rails/geo.log`. + +This file contains information about when Geo attempts to sync repositories and files. Each line in the file contains a separate JSON entry that can be ingested into. For example, Elasticsearch or Splunk. + +For example: + +```json +{"severity":"INFO","time":"2017-08-06T05:40:16.104Z","message":"Repository update","project_id":1,"source":"repository","resync_repository":true,"resync_wiki":true,"class":"Gitlab::Geo::LogCursor::Daemon","cursor_delay_s":0.038} +``` + +This message shows that Geo detected that a repository update was needed for project `1`. + +## Troubleshooting + +For troubleshooting steps, see [Geo Troubleshooting](replication/troubleshooting.md). |