AOSPERF05-BP01 Enable a dedicated leader node for OpenSearch Service domain - Amazon OpenSearch Service Lens
Implementation guidanceResources

AOSPERF05-BP01 Enable a dedicated leader node for OpenSearch Service domain

Configure dedicated leader nodes with appropriate instance types to improve cluster stability and performance. This separation of cluster management tasks helps prevent split-brain scenarios and optimizes resource utilization as your OpenSearch Service domain grows.

Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established: High

Desired outcome: Your OpenSearch Service domain has dedicated leader nodes with appropriately sized instances to handle cluster management tasks. This configuration improves cluster stability, prevents split-brain scenarios, and maintains performance as your workload grows.

Benefits of establishing this best practice:

  • Improved cluster stability through isolated cluster management tasks

  • Enhanced reliability by preventing split-brain scenarios and reducing election times

  • Better resource utilization with workload separation from data nodes

  • Increased scalability and performance as your domain grows

  • Reduced risk of operational disruptions

Implementation guidance

Dedicated manager nodes' size is directly tied to instance size, number of instances, indexes, and shards they manage. For production clusters, we recommend, at a minimum, the following instance types for dedicated managing nodes.

Instance count Manager node RAM Size Maximum supported shard count Recommended minimum dedicated manager instance type
1–10 8 GiB 10K m5.large.search or m6g.large.search
11–30 16 GiB 30K c5.2xlarge.search or c6g.2xlarge.search
31–75 32 GiB 40K r5.xlarge.search or r6g.xlarge.search
76–125 64 GiB 75K r5.2xlarge.search or r6g.2xlarge.search
126–200 128 GiB 75K r5.4xlarge.search or r6g.4xlarge.search

Implementation steps

  • Log in to the AWS Management Console.

  • Navigate to the Amazon OpenSearch Service console.

  • Create a new domain or modify an existing domain:

    • For a new domain, choose Create domain. For an existing domain, select the domain name and choose Actions, then Edit cluster configuration.

  • Enable dedicated leader nodes:

    • In the Cluster configuration section, under Dedicated master nodes, toggle on the option to enable dedicated leader nodes.

  • Choose leader node instance type and count:

    • Instance type: Select an instance type that fits the workload needs. For detailed information on choosing the right instance type for leader roles, see AOSPERF05-BP02.

    • Instance count: Select three or five. Three is usually more than enough for the majority of workloads.

  • After configuring the settings, review your setup and choose Create (for a new domain) or Save changes (for an existing domain).

Resources