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PICCOLO Clustering System

Lightweight Container Orchestration Optimized for Embedded Environments
Document No. PICCOLO-CLUSTERING-HLD-2025-001
Version 1.0
Date 2025-09-04
Author PICCOLO Team
Classification HLD (High-Level Design)

Project Overview

  • Project Name

    PICCOLO Clustering System

  • Purpose / Background

    Development of a lightweight container orchestration cluster system optimized for embedded environments

  • Main Features

    Node management, cluster configuration, status monitoring, inter-node communication

  • Target Users

    Embedded system developers, administrators, operators

Purpose

The PICCOLO Clustering System is designed to implement a distributed container management system optimized for embedded environments.

  • Provide a lightweight cluster architecture that operates efficiently in resource-constrained environments
  • Implement seamless communication and status management between master and sub nodes
  • Build a cluster system resilient to network instability
  • Provide an operational model optimized for small-scale clusters

Key Features

  • Node Management

    • Manage master-sub node structure
    • Node registration and authentication
    • Node status monitoring and management
    • Node system readiness verification

  • Cluster Topology Management

    • Configure embedded cluster topology
    • Configure hybrid cloud connections
    • Connect multiple embedded clusters
    • Configure geographically distributed clusters

  • State Synchronization

    • Manage state information based on kvstore
    • Synchronize state information between nodes
    • Detect and notify state changes
    • Support offline mode and resynchronization upon reconnection

  • Deployment and Operations

    • Automatic deployment and installation of NodeAgent
    • System checks and readiness verification
    • Heartbeat-based node status monitoring
    • Fault detection and recovery

Scope

  • Small-scale embedded clusters of 2–10 nodes
  • Communication management between master and sub nodes
  • Integration between cloud nodes and embedded nodes
  • Podman-based container monitoring and management

Architecture

The PICCOLO Clustering System is based on a master-sub node structure and adopts a lightweight design optimized for embedded environments.

System Structure

Architecture Diagram

Core Components

Component Role Interaction
API Server Cluster management, node registration, policy distribution NodeAgent, StateManager, kvstore
NodeAgent Node status monitoring, communication with master node API Server, StateManager, MonitoringServer
StateManager Cluster state management and synchronization API Server, NodeAgent, kvstore
kvstore Cluster state information storage All components
Installation Script Deploy and configure NodeAgent Node system
System Check Script Verify node readiness Node system

Technology Stack

Layer Technology Description
Core Service https://www.rust-lang.org/ High-performance, memory-safe core service implementation language
Communication Protocol https://grpc.io/ Efficient protocol for master-sub node communication
State Storage RocksDB Distributed key-value store for cluster state management
Container Runtime https://podman.io/ Daemonless lightweight container management tool
Service Management https://systemd.io/ Node service management and auto-start configuration
Deployment Tool [Bash scwww.gnu.org/software/bash/ Automation tool for node installation and configuration