elasticsearch/docs/reference/modules/discovery/bootstrapping.asciidoc

[[modules-discovery-bootstrap-cluster]]
=== Bootstrapping a cluster

Starting an Elasticsearch cluster for the very first time requires the initial
set of <<master-node,master-eligible nodes>> to be explicitly defined on one or
more of the master-eligible nodes in the cluster. This is known as _cluster
bootstrapping_.  This is only required the very first time the cluster starts
up: nodes that have already joined a cluster store this information in their
data folder and freshly-started nodes that are joining an existing cluster
obtain this information from the cluster's elected master. 

The initial set of master-eligible nodes is defined in the 
<<initial_master_nodes,`cluster.initial_master_nodes` setting>>. When you
start a master-eligible node, you can provide this setting on the command line
or in the `elasticsearch.yml` file. After the cluster has formed, this setting
is no longer required and is ignored. It need not be set
on master-ineligible nodes, nor on master-eligible nodes that are started to
join an existing cluster. Note that master-eligible nodes should use storage
that persists across restarts. If they do not, and
`cluster.initial_master_nodes` is set, and a full cluster restart occurs, then
another brand-new cluster will form and this may result in data loss.

It is technically sufficient to set `cluster.initial_master_nodes` on a single
master-eligible node in the cluster, and only to mention that single node in the
setting's value, but this provides no fault tolerance before the cluster has
fully formed. It is therefore better to bootstrap using at least three
master-eligible nodes, each with a `cluster.initial_master_nodes` setting
containing all three nodes.

NOTE: In alpha releases, all listed master-eligible nodes are required to be
discovered before bootstrapping can take place. This requirement will be relaxed
in production-ready releases.

WARNING: You must set `cluster.initial_master_nodes` to the same list of nodes
on each node on which it is set in order to be sure that only a single cluster
forms during bootstrapping and therefore to avoid the risk of data loss.

For a cluster with 3 master-eligible nodes (with <<node.name,node names>>
`master-a`, `master-b` and `master-c`) the configuration will look as follows:

[source,yaml]
--------------------------------------------------
cluster.initial_master_nodes:
  - master-a
  - master-b
  - master-c
--------------------------------------------------

Alternatively the IP addresses or hostnames (<<node.name,if node name defaults
to the host name>>) can be used. If there is more than one Elasticsearch node
with the same IP address or hostname then the transport ports must also be given
to specify exactly which node is meant:

[source,yaml]
--------------------------------------------------
cluster.initial_master_nodes:
  - 10.0.10.101
  - 10.0.10.102:9300
  - 10.0.10.102:9301
  - master-node-hostname
--------------------------------------------------

Like all node settings, it is also possible to specify the initial set of master
nodes on the command-line that is used to start Elasticsearch:

[source,bash]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -Ecluster.initial_master_nodes=master-a,master-b,master-c
--------------------------------------------------

[float]
==== Choosing a cluster name

The <<cluster.name,`cluster.name`>> setting enables you to create multiple
clusters which are separated from each other. Nodes verify that they agree on
their cluster name when they first connect to each other, and Elasticsearch
will only form a cluster from nodes that all have the same cluster name. The
default value for the cluster name is `elasticsearch`, but it is recommended to
change this to reflect the logical name of the cluster.

[float]
==== Auto-bootstrapping in development mode

If the cluster is running with a completely default configuration then it will
automatically bootstrap a cluster based on the nodes that could be discovered to
be running on the same host within a short time after startup. This means that
by default it is possible to start up several nodes on a single machine and have
them automatically form a cluster which is very useful for development
environments and experimentation.  However, since nodes may not always
successfully discover each other quickly enough this automatic bootstrapping
cannot be relied upon and cannot be used in production deployments.

If any of the following settings are configured then auto-bootstrapping will not
take place, and you must configure `cluster.initial_master_nodes` as described
in the <<modules-discovery-bootstrap-cluster,section on cluster bootstrapping>>:

* `discovery.seed_providers`
* `discovery.seed_hosts`
* `cluster.initial_master_nodes`