Private Compute Cluster
The Private Compute Cluster is the flagship infrastructure project in this wiki. It combines cloud orchestration, distributed storage, virtualization, and software-defined networking into a private platform for running virtualized workloads.
System Intent
The goal is to design a private cloud that exposes cloud-like infrastructure primitives without depending entirely on a public cloud provider. It should demonstrate strong systems taste: clean network boundaries, resilient storage, understandable operations, and enough automation that the platform can be rebuilt and explained.
Architecture Layers
| Layer | Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Orchestration | OpenStack | VM lifecycle, identity, images, networking, APIs |
| Compute | KVM/QEMU | Hardware virtualization and guest execution |
| Storage | Ceph | Distributed block/object storage and resilience |
| Network | Neutron + SDN | Tenant networks, routing, isolation, overlays |
| Operations | Runbooks + observability | Deployment, debugging, and reliability |
Reference Architecture
flowchart TB
user[Operator / Developer] --> horizon[OpenStack Horizon / API]
horizon --> keystone[Keystone Identity]
horizon --> nova[Nova Compute]
horizon --> glance[Glance Images]
nova --> kvm[KVM / QEMU Hypervisors]
nova --> neutron[Neutron Networking]
nova --> ceph[Ceph Block Storage]
neutron --> tenant[Tenant Networks]
neutron --> router[Virtual Routers]
ceph --> osd[OSD Nodes]
ceph --> mon[Monitor / Manager Nodes]
Design Questions
| Question | Current Direction |
|---|---|
| How are tenants isolated? | Neutron networks, routers, and security groups. |
| How is VM storage made resilient? | Ceph-backed volumes and image storage. |
| How are failures diagnosed? | Runbooks, service health checks, and topology diagrams. |
| How does this become repeatable? | Documented deployment steps first, automation after patterns stabilize. |
Current References
Next Improvements
- Add polished architecture diagrams
- Add deployment runbooks
- Add failure-mode analysis
- Add capacity-planning notes
- Add networking deep dives