2.2 KiB
Start a One-Machine Node
In this step, we will install, configure and run all the software necessary to run BigchainDB, all on one machine.
Create an Ansible Inventory File
An Ansible "inventory" file is a file which lists all the hosts (machines) you want to manage using Ansible. (Ansible will communicate with them via SSH.) Right now, we only want to manage one host.
First, determine the public IP address of the host (i.e. something like 192.0.2.128).
Then create a one-line text file named hosts by doing this:
# cd to the directory .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible
echo "192.0.2.128" > hosts
but replace 192.0.2.128 with the IP address of the host.
Run the Ansible Playbook
The next step is to run the Ansible playbook one-m-node.yml:
# cd to the directory .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible
ansible-playbook -i hosts --private-key ~/.ssh/<key-name> one-m-node.yml
where <key-name> should be replaced by the name of the SSH private key you created earlier (for SSHing to the host machine at your cloud hosting provider).
What did you just do? Running that playbook ensures all the software necessary for a one-machine BigchainDB node is installed, configured, and running properly. You can run that playbook on a regular schedule to ensure that the system stays properly configured. If something is okay, it does nothing; it only takes action when something is not as-desired.
Note: At the time of writing (Aug. 25, 2016), the playbook isn't complete, so not all of the above happens yet.
Optional: Create an Ansible Config File
The above command (ansible-playbook -i ...) is fairly long. You can omit the optional arguments if you put their values in an Ansible configuration file (config file) instead. There are many places where you can put a config file, but to make one specifically for the "one-m" case, you should put it in .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible/. In that directory, create a file named ansible.cfg with the following contents:
[defaults]
private_key_file = $HOME/.ssh/<key-name>
inventory = hosts
where, as before, <key-name> must be replaced.