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How to Set Up Linode Docker Swarm

If you’re hosting projects on Linode and want high availability, scaling, and service-level control without the overhead of Kubernetes, Docker Swarm is your best bet. It’s simple to get started and doesn’t require third-party tools or complex setups. Here’s exactly how to get Docker Swarm running on your Linode instances, no guesswork, just the essentials.

Start by Spinning Up Linode Instances

Begin with provisioning multiple Linode VPS servers. These will act as nodes in your Swarm cluster. You can either use the Linode Cloud Manager UI or automate the provisioning using the Linode API. Ideally, use the same Linux distro (like Ubuntu 22.04) across all nodes for consistency.

Install Docker on Each Node

Each Linode instance must have Docker installed. SSH into every machine and run the following:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install docker.io -y

sudo systemctl enable docker

sudo systemctl start docker

then ensure Docker is running correctly:

docker version

Do this on all your Linode instances, your future manager and worker nodes alike.

Set the Manager Node

Pick one Linode instance to act as your manager node. Run the following command on that machine to initialize the Swarm:

docker swarm init --advertise-addr <MANAGER-IP>

Then make sure to replace <MANAGER-IP> with the public IP address of your manager node. This command will output a join command with a token—copy it. You’ll need it to add the worker nodes.

Add the Worker Nodes to the Swarm

SSH into each of your remaining Linode instances (these will be your workers) and run the join command you got from the manager node. It will look something like this:

docker swarm join --token <TOKEN> <MANAGER-IP>:2377

Replace <TOKEN> and <MANAGER-IP> with the actual values from the previous step. Once that’s done, your cluster is live.

To verify everything, run this on the manager node:

docker node ls

You’ll see all nodes listed, along with their roles.

Deploy Your Services

Now that your Swarm is operational, it’s time to deploy containers as services. You can do this using a docker-compose.yml file or a direct command.

Here’s an example of running an nginx service with 3 replicas:

docker service create --name nginx-service --replicas 3 -p 80:80 nginx

Afterwards, Swarm will automatically distribute these containers across available nodes.

[If needed, Our team is available 24/7 for additional assistance.]

Conclusion

Setting up a Docker Swarm on Linode isn’t rocket science. With just a few commands, you’ll have a reliable container orchestration environment running across your VPS instances. Plus, scaling, self-healing, and rolling updates are baked in.