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# How to Add a Node Group to a Hosted Kubernetes Cluster?
## **Overview**
Hosted Kubernetes allows you to add worker nodes to an existing cluster by creating a **Node Group**. A node group is a pool of worker nodes with a common configuration, including compute flavor, storage, security groups, key pair, autoscaling settings, labels, and taints.
## **Prerequisites**
Before adding a node group:
* Ensure that a Hosted Kubernetes cluster is available.
* Ensure that you have the required **quota** available for the worker nodes, including the required **compute flavor, number of worker nodes, and storage capacity**
* Ensure that you have the required **Security Group** and **Key Pair**, or permission to create them.
* Determine the required compute flavor, number of worker nodes, and storage capacity.
* If autoscaling is required, determine the minimum and maximum number of worker nodes.
## **Add a Node Group**
1. Log in to the **AceCloud portal**.
2. Navigate to **Kubernetes > Hosted > Overview**.
3. Click the name of the cluster to which you want to add worker nodes.
4. Go to the **Compute** tab.
5. Under **Node Groups**, click **Add Node Group**.
### **Configure Node Group Details**
Under **Node Group Details**, enter the following:
* **Node Group Name**: Enter a unique name for the node group. This name is used as the hostname prefix for the worker nodes in the pool.
### **Configure Compute and Storage**
Under **Specification**, configure the worker node resources:
1. Select the required **Flavor Type**.
2. Select the required **Flavor**.
3. Enter the **Quantity of worker nodes** to specify the number of worker nodes to create.
4. Enter the required **Volume (GB)** for worker node storage.
***Note:** GPU-based flavors are subject to availability. If you require a GPU flavor that is not currently available, create a **Support Ticket** through the AceCloud portal to request GPU resources.*
### **Configure Access and Metadata**
Under **Access & Metadata**, configure the following options:
#### **Security Groups**
Select the required **Security Group** for the worker nodes.
If the required security group is not available, click **Create** to create one.
#### **Key Pair**
Select the **Key Pair** that will be used for SSH access to the worker nodes.
If required, click **Create** to create a new key pair.
### **Configure Autoscaling**
Enable **Enable Autoscaling** if you want the number of worker nodes in the node group to automatically scale based on the configured limits.
When autoscaling is enabled:
* **Minimum worker nodes**: Specify the minimum number of worker nodes that the node group can scale down to.
* **Maximum worker nodes**: Specify the maximum number of worker nodes that the node group can scale up to.
If autoscaling is disabled, the node group maintains the configured quantity of worker nodes.
### **Configure Worker Node Labels**
Use **Worker Node Labels** to assign key-value labels to the worker nodes.
1. Enter a label **Key**.
2. Enter the corresponding **Value**.
3. Click **+ Add Label** to add additional labels.
Labels can be used to identify and organize worker nodes and can be used by Kubernetes workloads for node selection.
### **Configure Taints**
Use **Taints** to control which workloads can be scheduled on the worker nodes.
1. Enter the **Key**.
2. Enter the **Value**.
3. Select the required **Effect**.
4. Click **+ Add Taint** to add additional taints.
## **Review the Node Group Configuration**
The **Node Group Overview** panel displays a summary of the configuration, including:
* Node Group Name
* Flavor
* Quantity of worker nodes
* Volume
* Key Pair
* Security Groups
* Worker Node Labels
* Taints
* Autoscaling status
* Minimum worker nodes
* Maximum worker nodes
Review the configuration before creating the node group.
## **Create the Node Group**
1. Review the configuration in the **Node Group Overview** panel.
2. Click **Create Node Group**.
3. The node group is created and added to the selected Hosted Kubernetes cluster.
After successful creation, the node group and its worker nodes are available under the cluster's **Compute** tab.
**Note:** The available flavors, security groups, key pairs, and other options may vary depending on the project, region, and available resources.
### Node States
After a node group is created or modified, worker nodes progress through different states during provisioning and removal. The **State** column in the node group displays the current status of each worker node.
| **State** | **Description** |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending** | The node request has been accepted, and the node configuration is being prepared. |
| **Provisioning** | The required port, volume, and instance are being created. |
| **Provisioned** | The instance is booting and preparing to join the Kubernetes cluster. |
| **Running** | The worker node has successfully joined the Kubernetes cluster and is available for workloads. |
| **Deleting** | The port, volume, and instance associated with the worker node are being removed. |
> **Note:** The node state is updated as the provisioning or deletion process progresses. A newly added worker node may take some time to reach the **Running** state.
## Manage Node Group Capacity
After creating a node group, you can manage its worker node capacity directly from the **Compute** tab. The node group provides the following actions:
| Action | Description |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Show node group details** | Opens the node group details and displays its configuration, including autoscaling status, Kubernetes version, key pair, security groups, worker node labels, and taints. |
| **Scale in** | Removes one worker node from the node group, reducing the number of worker nodes in the pool by one. |
| **Scale out** | Adds one worker node to the node group, increasing the number of worker nodes in the pool by one. |
### Scale In
To remove a worker node:
1. In the required node group, click the **– (Scale in)** icon.
2. A confirmation dialog is displayed showing the node group **scale in**.
3. Review the details and click **Confirm** to proceed.
> **Note:** Scaling in reduces the number of worker nodes in the node group by one. Ensure that removing a worker node does not affect your workload capacity.
### Scale Out
To add a worker node:
1. In the required node group, click the **+ (Scale out)** icon.
2. A confirmation dialog is displayed showing the node group **scale out**.
3. Review the details and click **Confirm** to proceed.
The worker node is then added to the node group.
> **Note:** Scaling out increases the number of worker nodes in the node group by one and may consume additional compute and storage quota.
### View Node Group Details
To view the configuration of a node group:
1. In the required node group, click the **Show node group details** icon.
2. Review the displayed configuration.
The details include:
* **Autoscaling**
* **Kubernetes Version**
* **Key Pair**
* **Security Groups**
* **Worker Node Labels**
* **Taints**
These options allow you to verify the node group's current configuration without opening the node group creation page.
