Running into challenges with nodes discovering each other and maintaining cluster stability using Libcluster on Kubernetes

Questions / Help
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Hi everyone,

Am trying to set up node clustering for my Elixir app using Libcluster on Kubernetes (hosted on DigitalOcean). I am running into some challenges with nodes discovering each other and maintaining cluster stability, I am also using Oban for background jobs.

Specifically, would love guidance or examples on:

  • Configuring Libcluster for K8s service discovery

  • Best practices for running Elixir nodes in pods

  • Handling dynamic scaling while keeping the cluster healthy

Any tips, example configs, or experiences you can share would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance

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I don’t know what your use cases are, but my advice would be to consider if you really need Kubernetes.

A single BEAM instance (or two, for fault tolerance) on DigitalOcean can serve a large number of concurrent users.

K8s adds a lot more concepts and moving parts to your deployment (I’m a former OpenShift dev), and while it does make sense in some cases, it is not always the best solution.

Are you using Phoenix? The official docs give you some guidance:

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This is the right answer. And setting up K8 cluster for distributed Elixir becomes more complex without the benefits.

I would only use K8 if I had to manage a mixture of different stacks and wanted a standardize way.

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Considered using this strategy ?!

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