Next Step

After you have a complete cluster plan, you are ready to prepare each node.

It is important to begin installation with a complete Cluster Plan, but plans should not be immutable. Cluster services often change over time, particularly as clusters scale up by adding nodes. Balancing resources to maximize utilization is the goal, and it will require flexibility.

The next step is to prepare each node. Most installation difficulties are traced back to nodes that are not qualified to contribute to the cluster, or which have not been properly prepared. For large clusters, it can save time and trouble to use a configuration management tool such as Puppet or Chef.

Proceed to Preparing Each Node and assess each node.