Introduction

OtterScale is a Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) platform that unifies compute, storage, networking, and virtualization into a scalable solution. Seamlessly manage VMs, containers, GPUs, and applications through a single control plane with enterprise-grade performance.

System Architecture

OtterScale is built on a layered architecture that provides complete control from the hardware up to the application layer.

Core Layers

1. Hardware Layer: Manages physical resources including Compute nodes, Storage nodes, and GPU accelerators.
2. Provisioning Layer (MAAS): Handles bare metal provisioning, OS deployment, and network configuration.
3. Orchestration Layer (Juju & Kubernetes): Manages application lifecycles and container orchestration.
4. Storage Layer (Ceph): Provides scalable, distributed storage for the cluster.

Node Provisioning & Management

OtterScale automates the lifecycle of physical nodes. Through the integration with MAAS, it handles power management (IPMI/Redfish), PXE booting, and OS installation.

Storage Topology

The platform utilizes Ceph to provide a robust, self-healing storage fabric. Storage nodes are dedicated to managing data replication and distribution, ensuring high availability and performance for data-intensive workloads like AI model training.

Key Features

Virtualization

KVM/QEMU VMs with live migration and GPU management

Container Orchestration

Native Kubernetes and Juju charm deployment

Distributed Storage

Built-in Ceph clusters with automated backup

Monitoring

Integrated Prometheus and Grafana stack

Security

RBAC with LDAP/AD integration and SSO

Application Marketplace

Curated catalog of ready-to-deploy apps

High Availability

Multi-node deployment with automatic failover

Next Steps

Check Prerequisites Get your environment ready

Installation Install OtterScale

Create a Scope Set up your first scope