Install from Packages

This guide covers how to install Backend.AI from the official release packages. You can build a fully-functional Backend.AI cluster with open-source packages.

Backend.AI consists of a variety of components, including open-source core components, pluggable extensions, and enterprise modules. Some of the major components are:

  • Backend.AI Manager : API gateway and resource management. Manager delegates workload requests to Agent and storage/file requests to Storage Proxy.

  • Backend.AI Agent : Installs on a compute node (usually GPU nodes) to start and manage the workload execution. It sends periodic heartbeat signals to the Manager in order to register itself as a worker node. Even if the connection to the Manager is temporarily lost, the pre-initiated workloads continue to be executed.

  • Backend.AI Storage Proxy : Handles requests relating to storage and files. It offloads the Manager’s burden of handling long-running file I/O operations. It embeds a plugin backend structure that provides dedicated features for each storage type.

  • Backend.AI Webserver : A web server that provides persistent user web sessions. Users can use the Backend.AI features without subsequent authentication upon initial login. It also serves the statically built graphical user interface in an Enterprise environment.

  • Backend.AI Web UI : Web application with a graphical user interface. Users can enjoy the easy-to-use interface to launch their secure execution environment and use apps like Jupyter and Terminal. It can be served as statically built JavaScript via Webserver. Or, it also offers desktop applications for many operating systems and architectures.

Most components can be installed in a single management node except Agent, which is usually installed on dedicated computing nodes (often GPU servers). However, this is not a rule and Agent can also be installed on the management node.

It is also possible to configure a high-availability (HA) setup with three or more management nodes, although this is not the focus of this guide.