You can launch your instances in Amazon AWS either by launching the instances via the Marketplace console, or via pre-configured Cloudformation Templates.
First you will need to subscribe through the Amazon Marketplace by clicking here, or by simply searching for "Continuent" in the AWS Catalog.
You can choose an annual subscription or an hourly based usage subscription. The Amazon Marketplace will provide all the information required to allow you to subscribe accordingly.
Once subscribed you can then start to configure your instance. When choosing the instance size there are a number of factors to take into account
Which topology are you deploying? For a standard 3-node cluster the minimum instance should be at least a t2.large. For advanced topologies you shoud consider at least a t2.xlarge (or the equivalent depending on the availability within the region your are deploying). The larger your anticipated workload, then the larger the instance should be, and should primarily be determined by your MySQL Database needs.
How large will your database be? By default the instance is launched with a 40Gb partition which should be suitable for most small to medium workloads. You should consider increasing this as required, based on your MySQL Database needs, taking into consideration that binary logging must be enabled and there will be an almost 1:1 relationship between binary logs and THL Logs.
Once you have decided on your instance size you can launch following the steps in the next sections for the method you choose, either Manual, or Cloudformation.
Quantity of instances and their Location
Standard Clusters : You will need a minimum of 3-nodes, for any greater, there must be an odd number to maintain quorum, for example 3,5,7,9 etc. All nodes must be in the same region however they can, and probably should, be in different availability zones.
Composite Active/Passive & Composite Active/Active Clusters : These topologises consist of multiple clusters connected together, each cluster must conform to the same node count and rules for a standard cluster, and there must be a minimum of 2 clusters. Therefore for these topologies you will need a minimum of 6 nodes (3 per cluster). Each cluster may reside in a different region, allowing you to configure full geo-distribution.
For more details and to understand the different topologies, see Deployment: MySQL Topologies. Whilst the launch wizard on the launched VM will assist you to pre-configure either a Standard cluster, a Composite Active/Passive cluster or a Composite Active/Active cluster, users with advanced knowledge can adjust and configure the nodes to suit any required clustering topology available.
By default, the instances only launch with the default SSH security group. Based on your business rules, you will need to configure the appropriate security group to allow communication between all nodes within the cluster, and to allow your applications to communicate with the proxy nodes. A full breakdown of the network requirements can be found here: Configuring Network and SSH Environment
After luanching your instances, you can now proceed to configure them, see Chapter 4, Configuring Instances through the Launch Wizard for instructions
There are three cloudformation templates available that will configure one of the three available topologies. They are preconfigured to launch the nodes and configure all of the necessary networking and security groups for you based on the parameters that you provide.
The list below outlines the template configuration. To launch the cloudformation template, simply click on the topology name. Be sure to check the region from the AWS dashboard before launching as this will determine the destination region for your deployment.
Single Standalone Cluster : This cluster will be configured with 3 nodes. The primary and one of the replica nodes will reside in one AZ, and the remaining replica will be in a different AZ. All 3 nodes must be, and will be, in the same region.
Composite Active/Passive Cluster : This topology will exist of 2 clusters, containing 3 nodes within each cluster. One cluster will be the primary Read/Write cluster, the second will be Read-Only. Each cluster will reside in the same region. Within the cluster, the nodes will be distributed across all 3 AZ's.
Composite Active/Active Cluster : This topology will exist of 2 clusters, containing 3 nodes within each cluster. Both clusters will be Read/Write. Each cluster will reside in the same region. Within the cluster, the nodes will be distributed across all 3 AZ's.
The node ccount in the clusters when deploying via cloudformation cannot be changed at this time, therefore if you wish to deploy more than 3 nodes per cluster, you will need to deploy via the manual method outlined above.
For the Composite Active/Passive and Composite Active/Active deployments, all nodes and clusters will reside in the same region. If you wish to deploy a geo-distrbuted topology, with each cluster in a different region, you will need to deploy via the manual method outlined above.
After the launch process has complete you will be able to connect to your instances and access all of the features of Tungsten Clustering. For more full details on the various command-line tools and cluster operation, review the complete set of documentation here
To connect to the dashboard, using the browser of your choice connect via http to the public-ip of one of the instances. For more information on the Dashboard, review the documentation here