Lightbits CLI Overview
Lightbits has developed a Command Line Interface (CLI) called “lbcli” that you can use to configure and manage the Lightbits platform. This section includes several examples of how to use common Lightbits CLI management commands. See the Lightbits CLI User Manual for a complete list of all commands and their specific command syntax.
lbcli Command Syntax
The lbcli command syntax includes the following parameters.
lbcli [command] [type] [options] [flags]lbctl CLI Utility Command Syntax
| Parameter name | Description |
|---|---|
| Command | Specifies the operation performed on one or more resources. See the Key Resources section below for more. |
| Type | Sets the resource type that the command will address. See the Key Resources section below for a description of each resource that can be used. An example command syntax for creating a volume is as follows: lbcli create volume</code> |
| Options | Options that can be given with a command and type. For example, the option is to give the new volume 4 GB of maximum capacity. lbcli create volume --name vol1 --size=4gib |
| Flags | For example, the -o flag for selecting the output format (e.g., json, yaml). lbcli create volume --name vol1 --size=4gib <code>--output-format=yaml</code> |
lbcli Command Summary
The lbcli CLI utility uses commands to refer to the uppermost management level tasks that can be performed by lbcli. Commands such as create and delete are used for creating and deleting resources. Therefore, a resource type must be specified to use these commands. Other commands may require other sub-commands and parameters.
lbcli Common Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| create | Creates a resource such as a volume. |
| delete | Deletes a resource such as a volume. |
| get | Retrieves information about a single resource such as a node or a volume. |
| list | Retrieves information about a list of resources such as snapshots, nodes, or volumes. |
For a list of all of the lbcli commands, see the Lightbits CLI User Manual.
Key Resources
Some of the common resources that can be modified using lbcli are defined here.
Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Node | A node is the collection of physical hardware that makes up a single Lightbits storage controller. This includes the CPU, memory, NIC, and storage devices themselves. A typical AWS instance running the Lightbits SDS contains only one node. |
| Volume | This is a block storage address space - allocated by the Lightbits system and accessible as an NVMe storage device on the client server. |
| NVMe Device | The physical NVMe SSD that is used within a server running the Lightbits system. In AWS there is no need to perform any APIs on the NVMe devices. |
| Events | List and/or Get Lightbits Cluster administrative Events. This includes but is not limited to node/cluster availability (offline/online), NVMe failures, rebalance status, capacity warnings, etc. (Note: This is different from the CloudWatch events that are more high level for deployment, auto maintenance, and backup/restore processes). |
Using the lbcli Commands
To use the Lightbits CLI (lbcli) utility, you must access the Linux command line on one of the Lightbits SDS instances. This can be done by SSH, AWS console Instance connect, or AWS SSM (System Session Manager).
See the Lightbits CLI User Manual for a complete list of all lbcli commands. Some output may be only partially displayed for illustrative purposes. Your output details will likely be different in many cases, depending on your specific configuration.