tiansuyu StarRocks Cluster Setup
Deploy and manage the StarRocks cluster topology: FE/BE/Broker roles, node configuration, and node lifecycle operations.
When to Use
- Deploying a new StarRocks cluster or planning topology
- Configuring
fe.conf/be.conf - Adding, removing, or decommissioning BE nodes
- Adding FE followers/observers for HA and read scaling
- Checking cluster status
Related skills: [starrocks-resource-management] for session limits, resource groups, and storage volumes; [starrocks-monitoring] for ongoing health checks and maintenance.
Cluster Architecture
Components
Frontend (FE):
- Query planning and scheduling
- Metadata management
- Client connection handling
- Recommend: 3+ nodes for HA
Backend (BE):
- Data storage and processing
- Query execution
- Recommend: 3+ nodes minimum
Broker (Optional):
- Used for loading data from external storage (S3, HDFS)
- Lightweight, can share with FE nodes
Cluster Configuration Files
fe.conf (Frontend)
# Metadata directory
meta_dir = /path/to/meta
# HTTP server port
http_port = 8030
# RPC port
rpc_port = 9020
# Query port
query_port = 9030
# Enable authentication
enable_auth_check = true
# Max connections per FE
qe_max_connection = 4096
be.conf (Backend)
# Storage directories (use multiple for better I/O)
storage_root_path = /data1/starrocks;/data2/starrocks
# Heartbeat service port
heartbeat_service_port = 9050
# BE server port
be_port = 9060
# BE HTTP port
be_http_port = 8040
# Number of scanner threads
scanner_thread_pool_thread_num = 48
# Number of workers per CPU core
pipeline_exec_thread_pool_thread_num = 0 # 0 means auto
Cluster Management Commands
-- Add Backend
ALTER SYSTEM ADD BACKEND "host:port";
-- Remove Backend (data will be migrated)
ALTER SYSTEM DECOMMISSION BACKEND "host:port";
-- Add Frontend (Observer for read replicas)
ALTER SYSTEM ADD FOLLOWER "host:edit_log_port";
ALTER SYSTEM ADD OBSERVER "host:edit_log_port";
-- Check cluster status
SHOW PROC '/backends';
SHOW PROC '/frontends';
-- Check cluster load
SHOW PROC '/statistic';