Add a Virtual Node
Typically you want to push your apps to a “real edge board” (such as a Raspberry Pi with AI accelerator attached). However, if you do not have an edge board to test on, you can simulate one using the Virtual Node feature.
Adding a Virtual Node sets up a new Ubuntu VM locally and registers it as a node to a Darcy Cloud project via the edgectl CLI. macOS and Windows users can create Virtual Nodes using Darcy Cloud Portal and edgectl. Linux users can directly use the Register Node command on their terminal.
Prerequisites
- Darcy Cloud Account (Free)
- Install edgectl CLI
- Install Multipass : it is used by edgectl to manage VMs.
Get the Virtual Node Installation Script
Log into Darcy Cloud and select the project to which you want to add the node.
Click the + ADD NODE button. This will bring up a modal dialog which shows the different types of
nodes you can add to your project.
Choose VIRTUAL NODE to get the instructions for adding a virtual node.
Make sure you have the latest versions of
edgectl
and
Multipass
installed. Click the COPY button to copy the command to
your clipboard. This command starts an Ubuntu VM which registers
itself with Darcy Cloud as a Virtual Node.
Run the Virtual Node Registration Script
Paste the command line that you copied in the previous step into your local terminal. The entire install process can take up to a few minutes (depending on the spec of your machine, your internet connection speed, and other dependencies).
--name="your-choice-of-name" in the edgectl create virtual-node command as seen in the above
example.View the Node in Your Darcy Cloud Project
Switch back to Darcy Cloud in your browser and if you have not done so yet, click the DONE button
in the modal dialog. You should see your new node ONLINE in your Nodes list. If you do not see
your node online, see troubleshooting (below) for more information.
You now have an edge node, let’s start using it!
Delete a Virtual Node
We recommend using edgectl delete virtual-node command to delete the Virtual Node after use, so
that all the resources used are cleaned up properly i.e. Ubuntu VM.
Troubleshooting
Unable to create Virtual Node with default values on Windows machine
We can modify the default values based on our Windows machine spec. For example:edgectl create virtual-node --name=darcy-node --cpus 2
Below are the default values used to spin up a multipass VM.
-d, --disk string Disk space to allocate. Positive integers, in bytes, or with K, M, G suffix. Minimum: 512M, default: 15G.
-c, --cpus string Number of CPUs to allocate. Minimum: 1, default: 2.
-m, --mem string Amount of memory to allocate. Positive integers, in bytes, or with K, M, G suffix. Minimum: 128M, default: 1G.
--network string Add a network interface to the instance, where <spec> is in the "key=value,key=value" format, with the following keys available:
name: the network to connect to (required), use the networks command for a list of possible values,
or use 'bridged' to use the interface configured via "multipass set local.bridged-network".
mode: auto|manual (default: auto) mac: hardware address (default: random).
You can also use a shortcut of "<name>" to mean "name=<name>"
Unable to view the output from a Virtual Node (incorrect IP).
Known Issue: Depending on the particular network setup, the Virtual Node IP address displayed in the portal may not be correct. Use `multipass ls` to retrieve the correct IP.Use edgectl delete virtual-node in favor of edgectl delete node.
The edgectl delete node command deletes the node from Darcy Cloud, but does not delete the local VM.
Use edgectl delete virtual-node
to delete both the node and the local VM.