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+# Geo nodes admin area **[PREMIUM ONLY]**
+
+For more information about setting up GitLab Geo, read the
+[Geo documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/administration/geo/replication/index.html).
+
+When you're done, you can navigate to **Admin area > Geo** (`/admin/geo/nodes`).
+
+## Common settings
+
+All Geo nodes have the following settings:
+
+| Setting | Description |
+| --------| ----------- |
+| Primary | This marks a Geo Node as **primary** node. There can be only one **primary** node; make sure that you first add the **primary** node and then all the others. |
+| Name    | The unique identifier for the Geo node. Must match the setting `gitlab_rails[geo_node_name]` in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`. The setting defaults to `external_url` with a trailing slash. |
+| URL     | The instance's user-facing URL. |
+
+The node you're reading from is indicated with a green `Current node` label, and
+the **primary** node is given a blue `Primary` label. Remember that you can only make
+changes on the **primary** node!
+
+## **Secondary** node settings
+
+**Secondary** nodes have a number of additional settings available:
+
+| Setting                   | Description |
+|---------------------------|-------------|
+| Selective synchronization | Enable Geo [selective sync](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/administration/geo/replication/configuration.html#selective-synchronization) for this **secondary** node. |
+| Repository sync capacity  | Number of concurrent requests this **secondary** node will make to the **primary** node when backfilling repositories. |
+| File sync capacity        | Number of concurrent requests this **secondary** node will make to the **primary** node when backfilling files. |
+
+## Geo backfill
+
+**Secondary** nodes are notified of changes to repositories and files by the **primary** node,
+and will always attempt to synchronize those changes as quickly as possible.
+
+Backfill is the act of populating the **secondary** node with repositories and files that
+existed *before* the **secondary** node was added to the database. Since there may be
+extremely large numbers of repositories and files, it's infeasible to attempt to
+download them all at once, so GitLab places an upper limit on the concurrency of
+these operations.
+
+How long the backfill takes is a function of the maximum concurrency, but higher
+values place more strain on the **primary** node. From [GitLab 10.2](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/merge_requests/3107),
+the limits are configurable. If your **primary** node has lots of surplus capacity,
+you can increase the values to complete backfill in a shorter time. If it's
+under heavy load and backfill is reducing its availability for normal requests,
+you can decrease them.
+
+## Using a different URL for synchronization
+
+The **primary** node's Internal URL is used by **secondary** nodes to contact it
+(to sync repositories, for example). The name Internal URL distinguishes it from
+[External URL](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/configuration.html#configuring-the-external-url-for-gitlab)
+which is used by users. Internal URL does not need to be a private address.
+
+Internal URL defaults to External URL, but you can customize it under
+**Admin area > Geo Nodes**.
+
+## Multiple secondary nodes behind a load balancer
+
+In GitLab 11.11, **secondary** nodes can use identical external URLs as long as
+a unique `name` is set for each Geo node. The `gitlab.rb` setting
+`gitlab_rails[geo_node_name]` must:
+
+- Be set for each GitLab instance that runs `unicorn`, `sidekiq`, or `geo_logcursor`.
+- Match a Geo node name.
+
+The load balancer must use sticky sessions in order to avoid authentication
+failures and cross site request errors.