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warewulf/userdocs/getting-started/glossary.rst
2026-03-18 08:10:49 -06:00

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========
Glossary
========
Cluster network
A dedicated network for the Warewulf cluster. Used for provisioning
communication between cluster nodes and the Warewulf server.
External services
The Warewulf server can configure external services to support the
provisioning process. For example, the Warewulf server typically deploys and
configures a DHCP server (either ISC DHCP or dnsmasq) and a TFTP server.
Image
See "Operating System (OS) Image" or "Overlay Image."
Kernel
In addition to an image, Warewulf also requires a kernel (typically a Linux
kernel) in order to provision a node.
Warewulf (after v4.3.0) automatically provisions a kernel detected and
extracted from the image itself. In most cases, kernels may be installed in
the image using normal system packages, and no special consideration is
necessary.
Node
Warewulf nodes are the systems that are being provisioned by Warewulf. The
roles of these systems could be "compute", "storage", "GPU", "IO", etc.
nodes.conf
One of two primary Warewulf configuration files, ``nodes.conf`` is a YAML
document which records all configuration parameters for Warewulf's nodes and
profiles. It does not contain the images or overlays, but refers to them by
name.
This file is sometimes referred to as the "nodes database" or "node
registry."
Operating System (OS) Image
An operating system image (or OS image) contains a bootable operating
system. When provisioning a cluster node, Warewulf combines the OS image
with the node's overlay images to provision the complete, configured image.
OS images may be imported from OCI image registries, OCI image archives,
Apptainer sandboxes, and manual chroot directories.
Overlay
Warewulf overlays provide customization for the provisioned image. Overlays
may be configured on nodes or profiles, as either **system** or **runtime**
overlays.
**System overlays** are applied only once, when a node is first provisioned.
**Runtime overlays** are applied when a node is first provisioned and
periodically during the runtime of the node. (The default period is 1
minute.)
Warewulf includes a number of **distribution overlays**; but additional
**site overlays** can be added to a Warewulf environment.
Overlay Image
An overlay image contains the rendered contents of multiple overlays for a
given cluster node. Nodes have a "system overlay" image and a "runtime
overlay" image, based on the system and runtime overlays associated with each
node.
Overlay images are not managed directly, but are built by the ``wwctl
overlay build`` command.
Profile
Warewulf profiles are abstract nodes that carry the same configuration
attributes but do not provision any specific node. Warewulf nodes may then
refer to one or more such profiles for their configuration. In this way,
profiles provide a simple mechanism for applying configuration to a group of
nodes, and this configuration may be mixed with configuration from other
profiles.
Server, Warewulf
The Warewulf controller runs the Warewulf daemon (``warewulfd``) and is
responsible for the management, control, and administration of the cluster.
This system may also sometimes be referred to as the "master," "head," or
"admin" node.
A typical Warewulf controller also runs a DHCP service and a TFTP service,
and often an NFS service; though these services may be managed separately
and on separate servers.
Two-stage boot
A two-stage boot uses an intermediate image (often called "initrd," or
"initramfs") to initialize hardware and load the final image. This contrasts
with Warewulf's default "single stage" behavior, which effectively uses the
final image as a large initial root file system.
The Warewulf two-stage boot process currently supports Dracut-based images.
warewulf.conf
One of two primary Warewulf configuration files, ``warewulf.conf`` is a YAML
document which records all configuration parameters for the Warewulf server
and its optional subservices.
wwclient
Warewulf adds a ``wwclient`` daemon to provisioned nodes. This daemon is
responsible for periodically fetching and applying runtime overlays.
wwctl
The main administrative interface for Warewulf is the ``wwctl`` command,
which provides commands to manage nodes, profiles, images, overlays,
kernels, and more.
wwinit
Warewulf performs some setup during the provisioning process before control
is passed to the provisioned operating system. This process is referred to
as "wwinit," and is implemented and configured by a script and overlay of
the same name.