Configuring a Nomad Cluster with Linux and Windows Clients using Terraform CLI Code

Introduction

In this Knowledge Base (KB) Article, we'll guide you through the process of configuring a Nomad cluster using both Linux and Windows clients using Terraform CLI code. Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code tool that allows you to define and manage your infrastructure declaratively through configuration files.

Architecture

Using this article, we will configure below - 

• 1 Nomad Server Node (on Ubuntu Linux)
• 1 Nomad Client Node (on Ubuntu Linux)
• 1 Windows Client Node (on WIndows Server 2019)

Please see below image for more reference - 

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

1. Basic familiarity with Terraform.
2. Working knowledge of Nomad and its components.
3. Terraform installed on your local machine.
4. Access to cloud providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) or on-premises infrastructure where you want to deploy the cluster.

Step 1: Set up Terraform Configuration

I have prepared a Terraform repository as per the above architecture diagram. This repository is available at below Github link - 

tf-nomad-linux-windows

Please go through the README file and make the necessary changes to the file as per your environment. You need to update your subnet, security group, key-pair file, path, etc.

Step 2: Initialize and Apply Terraform Configuration

Once you have configured in terraform code as per your environment, follow the below steps - 

1. Run terraform init in the Terraform configuration directory to initialize the AWS provider.

2. Run terraform plan to preview the changes that Terraform will apply.

3. Run terraform apply to create the Nomad cluster and related infrastructure on AWS.

Step 3: Verify the Nomad Cluster

1. Access the Nomad UI to verify that all Nomad servers and clients are successfully registered.

2. Submit test jobs to the cluster to ensure that they are scheduled and executed correctly on both Linux and Windows clients.