Setting up a node¶

hox doesn't install SlapOS on a machine. It gives a node's installation what it needs from the master, without the web panel: the node's certificate, and its token for re6st, the IPv6 network that connects SlapOS nodes. Your provisioning tool (Abilian uses a pyinfra deploy) does the rest, then runs hox deploy for each software.

The node's certificate¶

hox node-certificate > node.secret.json
chmod 600 node.secret.json

Prints the reference, certificate and key of the compute node named [node] title, as JSON. If the node doesn't exist, hox creates it in your project (the panel's "Add Compute Node"). If it exists, hox revokes its certificate and requests a new one (the master gives a certificate only once), so a node still configured with the old certificate loses access. Keep the file until the node is configured, so that a rerun of your provisioning doesn't need a new one.

slapos node register with a token isn't an option here: on Rapid.Space, the panel's "Add Compute Node Token" works only through panel.rapid.space, which doesn't accept a client certificate. Configure the node with the certificate instead.

The re6st token¶

hox re6st-token

Prints the node's re6st token, and only that on stdout (progress goes to stderr). hox requests a shared instance of the re6st registry ([node] re6st_release) in the registry's project ([node] re6st_project, "Re6st Registries" on Rapid.Space), titled "re6st token for ". The registry takes 10 minutes or more to publish a new token; asking again gives the same one.

A failed re6st registration uses the token up. Destroy the token instance so that the next request makes a new one:

hox destroy "re6st token for my-node"

Then¶

Once the node runs SlapOS, hox status shows it, and hox deploy brings each software to an instance that passes its checks. Instances stay on the node they were first requested on, so a new node means new instance names in hox.toml.