Prerequisites

This section outlines the requirements for deploying Mesh Hypervisor on your systems. Mesh Hypervisor is a distributed hypervisor built on Alpine Linux, designed for diskless operation via PXE booting. Ensure your environment meets these hardware, software, and network specifications before proceeding to Installation.

Hardware Requirements

  • Central Orchestration Node:

    • Architecture: x86_64.
    • CPU: Minimum 2 cores.
    • RAM: Minimum 2 GB (4 GB recommended).
    • Storage: USB flash drive (at least 8 GB) for the boot image; no local disk required.
    • Network: At least one Ethernet port.

  • Remote Nodes:

    • Architecture: x86_64.
    • CPU: Minimum 2 cores.
    • RAM: Minimum 2 GB (4 GB recommended).
    • Storage: Optional local disks for workloads; operates disklessly by default.
    • Network: At least one Ethernet port, configured for network booting (PXE).

Mesh Hypervisor runs lightweight Alpine Linux, so resource demands are minimal. The central node can be an old laptop or embedded device, while remote nodes must support PXE in their BIOS/UEFI.

Software Requirements

  • Familiarity with Linux system administration, including:
    • Command-line operations (e.g., SSH, basic file editing).
    • Alpine Linux package management (apk) is helpful but not mandatory.
  • A system to prepare the flash drive image (e.g., a Linux host with dd or similar tools).

No additional software is pre-installed on target systems; Mesh Hypervisor provides all necessary components via the orchestration node.

Network Requirements

  • A physical Ethernet network connecting the central node and remote nodes.
  • No pre-existing PXE server on the network (Mesh Hypervisor will host its own).
  • Optional DHCP server:
    • If present, Mesh Hypervisor will proxy it.
    • If absent, Mesh Hypervisor will provide DHCP on detected subnets.
  • Sufficient IP address space for automatic subnet assignment (e.g., from 10.11.0.0/16 or similar pools).

Mesh Hypervisor scans networks using ARP to detect topology and avoid conflicts, so no specific topology is assumed. Ensure remote nodes can reach the central node over Ethernet.

Knowledge Prerequisites

Mesh Hypervisor targets Linux sysadmins comfortable with:

  • Network booting (PXE) concepts.
  • Editing configuration files (e.g., manifest files, network configs).
  • Debugging via logs and CLI tools.

If you can set up a PXE-booted Linux server and manage it via SSH, you’re ready for Mesh Hypervisor.

Proceed to Installation once these requirements are met.