---
title: Create a multi-node cluster
description: Create a multi-node InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster for high availability, performance, read replicas, and more to meet the specific needs of your use case.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/multi-server/
estimated_tokens: 9521
product: InfluxDB 3 Enterprise
version: enterprise
---

# Create a multi-node cluster

Create a multi-node InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster for high availability, performance, and workload isolation. Configure nodes with specific *modes* (ingest, query, process, compact) to optimize for your use case.

## Prerequisites

-   Shared object store

## Basic multi-node setup

The examples in this guide assume each node runs on a distinct host and uses the default port (8181). If you run multiple nodes on the same host for testing or development, specify a different port for each node using the `--http-bind` option–for example, `--http-bind localhost:8282`.

```bash
## NODE 1 compacts stored data

# Example variables
# node-id: 'host01'
# cluster-id: 'cluster01'
# bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'

influxdb3 serve \
  --node-id host01 \
  --cluster-id cluster01 \
  --mode ingest,query,compact \
  --object-store s3 \
  --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
  --http-bind localhost:8181 \
  --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
  --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
```

```bash
## NODE 2 handles writes and queries 

# Example variables
# node-id: 'host02'
# cluster-id: 'cluster01'
# bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'

influxdb3 serve \
  --node-id host02 \
  --cluster-id cluster01 \
  --mode ingest,query \
  --object-store s3 \
  --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
  --aws-access-key-id AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID \
  --aws-secret-access-key AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
```

Learn how to set up a multi-node cluster for different use cases, including high availability, read replicas, processing data, and workload isolation.

-   [Create an object store](#create-an-object-store)
-   [Connect to your object store](#connect-to-your-object-store)
-   [Server modes](#server-modes)
-   [Cluster configuration examples](#cluster-configuration-examples)
-   [Writing and querying in multi-node clusters](#writing-and-querying-in-multi-node-clusters)

## Create an object store

With the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise diskless architecture, all data is stored in a common object store. In a multi-node cluster, you connect all nodes to the same object store.

Enterprise supports the following object stores:

-   AWS S3 (or S3-compatible)
-   Azure Blob Storage
-   Google Cloud Storage

Refer to your object storage provider’s documentation for setting up an object store.

## Connect to your object store

When starting your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise node, include provider-specific options for connecting to your object store–for example:

<!-- Tabbed content: Select one of the following options -->

**S3 or S3-compatible:**

To use an AWS S3 or S3-compatible object store, provide the following options with your `influxdb3 serve` command:

-   `--object-store`: `s3`
-   `--bucket`: Your AWS S3 bucket name
-   `--aws-access-key-id`: Your AWS access key ID  
    *(can also be defined using the `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` environment variable)*
-   `--aws-secret-access-key`: Your AWS secret access key  
    *(can also be defined using the `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` environment variable)*

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --object-store s3 \
  --bucket AWS_BUCKET_NAME \
  --aws-access-key-id AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID \
  --aws-secret-access-key AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
```

*For information about other S3-specific settings, see [Configuration options - AWS](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#aws).*

**Azure Blob Storage:**

To use Azure Blob Storage as your object store, provide the following options with your `influxdb3 serve` command:

-   `--object-store`: `azure`
-   `--bucket`: Your Azure Blob Storage container name
-   `--azure-storage-account`: Your Azure Blob Storage account name  
    *(can also be defined using the `AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT` environment variable)*
-   `--azure-storage-access-key`: Your Azure Blob Storage access key  
    *(can also be defined using the `AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY` environment variable)*

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --object-store azure \
  --bucket AZURE_CONTAINER_NAME \
  --azure-storage-account AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT \
  --azure-storage-access-key AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY
```

**Google Cloud Storage:**

To use Google Cloud Storage as your object store, provide the following options with your `influxdb3 serve` command:

-   `--object-store`: `google`
-   `--bucket`: Your Google Cloud Storage bucket name
-   `--google-service-account`: The path to your Google credentials JSON file *(can also be defined using the `GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT` environment variable)*

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --object-store google \
  --bucket GOOGLE_BUCKET_NAME \
  --google-service-account GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT
```

<!-- End tabbed content -->

## Server modes

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise *modes* determine what subprocesses the Enterprise node runs. These subprocesses fulfill required tasks including data ingestion, query processing, compaction, and running the processing engine.

The `influxdb3 serve --mode` option defines what subprocesses a node runs. Each node can run in one *or more* of the following modes:

-   **all** *(default)*: Runs all necessary subprocesses.
    
-   **ingest**: Runs the data ingestion subprocess to handle writes.
    
-   **query**: Runs the query processing subprocess to handle queries.
    
-   **process**: Runs the processing engine subprocess to trigger and execute plugins.
    
-   **compact**: Runs the compactor subprocess to optimize data in object storage.
    
    Only *one* node in your cluster can run in `compact` mode.
    

### Server mode examples

#### Configure a node to only handle write requests

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --mode ingest
```

#### Configure a node to only run the Compactor

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --mode compact
```

#### Configure a node to handle queries and run the processing engine

```bash
influxdb3 serve \
  # ...
  --mode query,process
```

When using `process` mode, you must also specify `--plugin-dir` to configure the Python plugin environment. Without this flag, starting a node with `process` mode will fail with an error. See the [plugin-dir configuration option](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#plugin-dir) for more information.

## Cluster configuration examples

-   [High availability cluster](#high-availability-cluster)
-   [High availability with a dedicated Compactor](#high-availability-with-a-dedicated-compactor)
-   [High availability with read replicas and a dedicated Compactor](#high-availability-with-read-replicas-and-a-dedicated-compactor)

### High availability cluster

A minimum of two nodes are required for basic high availability (HA), with both nodes reading and writing data.

![Basic high availability setup](/img/influxdb/influxdb-3-enterprise-high-availability.png)

In a basic HA setup:

-   Two nodes both write data to the same object store and both handle queries
-   Node 1 and Node 2 are *read replicas* that read from each other’s object store directories
-   One of the nodes is designated as the Compactor node

Only one node can be designated as the Compactor. Compacted data is meant for a single writer, and many readers.

The following examples show how to configure and start two nodes for a basic HA setup.

-   *Node 1* is for compaction
-   *Node 2* is for ingest and query

```bash
## NODE 1

# Example variables
# node-id: 'host01'
# cluster-id: 'cluster01'
# bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'

influxdb3 serve \
  --node-id host01 \
  --cluster-id cluster01 \
  --mode ingest,query,compact \
  --object-store s3 \
  --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
  --http-bind localhost:8181 \
  --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
  --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
```

```bash
## NODE 2

# Example variables
# node-id: 'host02'
# cluster-id: 'cluster01'
# bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'

influxdb3 serve \
  --node-id host02 \
  --cluster-id cluster01 \
  --mode ingest,query \
  --object-store s3 \
  --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
  --aws-access-key-id AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID \
  --aws-secret-access-key AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
```

After the nodes have started, querying either node returns data for both nodes, and *NODE 1* runs compaction. To add nodes to this setup, start more read replicas with the same cluster ID.

### High availability with a dedicated Compactor

Data compaction in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise is one of the more computationally demanding operations. To ensure stable performance in ingest and query nodes, set up a compactor-only node to isolate the compaction workload.

![Dedicated Compactor setup](/img/influxdb/influxdb-3-enterprise-dedicated-compactor.png)

The following examples sets up high availability with a dedicated Compactor node:

1. Start two read-write nodes as read replicas, similar to the previous example.
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 1 — Writer/Reader Node #1
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host01'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host01 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode ingest,query \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --http-bind localhost:8181 \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 2 — Writer/Reader Node #2
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host02'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host02 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode ingest,query \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
2. Start the dedicated compactor node with the `--mode=compact` option to ensure the node **only** runs compaction.
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 3 — Compactor Node
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host03'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host03 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode compact \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    

### High availability with read replicas and a dedicated Compactor

For a robust and effective setup for managing time-series data, you can run ingest nodes alongside query nodes and a dedicated Compactor node.

![Workload Isolation Setup](/img/influxdb/influxdb-3-enterprise-workload-isolation.png)

1. Start ingest nodes with the **`ingest`** mode.
    
    Send all write requests to only your ingest nodes.
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 1 — Writer Node #1
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host01'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host01 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode ingest \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --http-bind localhost:8181 \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 2 — Writer Node #2
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host02'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host02 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode ingest \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
2. Start the dedicated Compactor node with the `compact` mode.
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 3 — Compactor Node
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host03'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
     --node-id host03 \
     --cluster-id cluster01 \
     --mode compact \
     --object-store s3 \
     --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
     --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
3. Finally, start the query nodes using the `query` mode.
    
    Send all query requests to only your query nodes.
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 4 — Read Node #1
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host04'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host04 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode query \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      --aws-secret-access-key <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    
    ```bash
    ## NODE 5 — Read Node #2
    
    # Example variables
    # node-id: 'host05'
    # cluster-id: 'cluster01'
    # bucket: 'influxdb-3-enterprise-storage'
    
    influxdb3 serve \
      --node-id host05 \
      --cluster-id cluster01 \
      --mode query \
      --object-store s3 \
      --bucket influxdb-3-enterprise-storage \
      --aws-access-key-id <AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
      <AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>
    ```
    

## Writing and querying in multi-node clusters

You can use the default port `8181` for any write or query request without changing any of the commands.

#### Specify hosts for write and query requests

To benefit from this multi-node, isolated architecture:

-   Send write requests to a node that you have designated as an ingester.
-   Send query requests to a node that you have designated as a querier.

When running multiple local instances for testing or separate nodes in production, specifying the host ensures writes and queries are routed to the correct instance.

```bash
# Example querying a specific host
# HTTP-bound Port: 8585
influxdb3 query \
  --host http://localhost:8585
  --token AUTH_TOKEN \
  --database DATABASE_NAME \
  "QUERY" 
```

Replace the following placeholders with your values:

-   `http://localhost:8585`: the host and port of the node to query
    
-   `AUTH_TOKEN`: your [database token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/) with permission to query the specified database
    
-   `DATABASE_NAME`: the name of the database to query
    
-   `QUERY`: the SQL or InfluxQL query to run against the database
    

[Set up InfluxDB](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/setup/) [Write data](/influxdb3/enterprise/get-started/write/)

#### Related

-   [Upgrade InfluxDB 3 Enterprise](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/upgrade/)

[cluster](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/cluster/) [multi-node](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/multi-node/) [multi-server](/influxdb3/enterprise/tags/multi-server/)