Hardware Best Practices

This guide outlines the hardware requirements and best practices for setting up an Akash provider.

Table of Contents

• System Requirements
  • Operating System
  • CPU Architecture
  • Hardware Specifications
    • Control Plane Node Requirements
    • Worker Node Requirements
• GPU Requirements
  • Important Considerations
  • Supported GPU Types
• Persistent Storage Guidelines
• Network Requirements
  • External Network Access
  • Firewall Rules
  • Internal Network Requirements
    • Network Topology
    • Network Configuration
  • Network Performance
  • Security
• System Configuration
  • DNS Configuration

System Requirements

Operating System

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Server is the recommended operating system for all nodes
• Ensure all nodes are fully updated with the latest security patches

CPU Architecture

• Only x86_64 processors are officially supported
• ARM processors are not currently supported
• This requirement applies to all nodes in the cluster

Hardware Specifications

Control Plane Node Requirements

• Minimum Requirements (Per Node)
  • CPU: 2 cores
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 30GB
• Recommended Specifications (Per Node)
  • CPU: 4 cores
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 40GB

Worker Node Requirements

• Minimum Requirements (Per Node)
  • CPU: 4 cores
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 100GB
• Important Considerations
  • CPU is typically the largest resource bottleneck
  • Reserve approximately 2 CPU cores for Kubernetes system components
  • The more resources available, the more concurrent deployments can be supported
  • Example: A node with 8 CPU, 100GB RAM, and 2TB disk can host approximately 6 deployments (8 CPU - 2 reserved = 6 available)

GPU Requirements

Important Considerations

• Each node in the cluster should only support one type of GPU
• Mixing different GPU models on the same node is not recommended
• Ensure proper GPU drivers are installed and configured on all nodes
• GPU requirements are per node

Supported GPU Types

• NVIDIA GPUs only.

Persistent Storage Guidelines

• All persistent storage must be of the same type across the entire cluster
• SSD or NVMe storage is required for optimal performance
• Do not mix different storage types (e.g., SSD and HDD) within the cluster
• Recommended minimum storage size: 1TB per node
• Storage requirements are per node

Network Requirements

External Network Access

• Outbound internet access required
• Must be reachable from the internet
• External access requirements:
  • Option 1: At least one Static Public IP must be available to forward to the cluster
  • Option 2: Use a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service if static IP is not available

Firewall Rules

• Required open ports:
  • 8443/tcp - for manifest uploads
  • 80/tcp - for web app deployments
  • 443/tcp - for web app deployments
  • 30000-32767/tcp - for Kubernetes node port range
  • 30000-32767/udp - for Kubernetes node port range

Internal Network Requirements

Network Topology

• All nodes must be on the same internal network
• Use a dedicated network for cluster communication
• Ensure low latency (<1ms) between all nodes
• Implement proper network segmentation

Network Configuration

• Static IP addressing required for all nodes
• Configure proper DNS resolution within the cluster
• Disable search domains to prevent DNS issues
• Disable IPv6 Router Advertisement (RA)

Network Performance

• Minimum 1Gbps internal network connection per node
• Recommended 10Gbps for high-performance deployments
• Ensure consistent network performance across all nodes
• Monitor network latency and packet loss

Security

• Implement proper network segmentation
• Configure firewall rules between nodes
• Use secure network protocols
• Implement proper access controls

System Configuration

DNS Configuration

• Configure proper DNS resolution
• Disable search domains
• Set up proper upstream DNS servers
• Ensure proper domain name configuration for provider services