# Production checklist This page provides a checklist of settings and configurations to verify before running ScyllaDB in production on Kubernetes. ## Checklist | # | Item | Expected state | Guide | |-----|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | **NodeConfig deployed** | A `NodeConfig` resource is applied and `Available=True` in each cluster running ScyllaDB. NodeConfig configures disk setup, kernel parameters, and performance tuning — without it, ScyllaDB runs on untuned nodes with default kernel settings. | [Node configuration](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-nodes.md) | | 2 | **Dedicated node pool** | ScyllaDB runs on isolated nodes with label `scylla.scylladb.com/node-type=scylla` and taint `scylla-operator.scylladb.com/dedicated=scyllaclusters:NoSchedule`. No other workloads are scheduled on these nodes. | [Set up dedicated node pools](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/set-up-dedicated-node-pools.md) | | 3 | **Performance tuning co-located** | NodeConfig `placement` targets the same nodes as the ScyllaCluster placement. Both use the same label selector and toleration. If they target different node sets, tuning does not apply to ScyllaDB pods. | [Set up dedicated node pools](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/set-up-dedicated-node-pools.md) | | 4 | **`fs.nr_open` set** | The sysctl `fs.nr_open` is set to a high value (e.g., `1073741816`) via NodeConfig. This defines the ceiling for `RLIMIT_NOFILE`, which ScyllaDB Operator raises on each ScyllaDB process. Without it, ScyllaDB may fail to open files under heavy load. | [Configure nodes](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-nodes.md) | | 5 | **Coredumps enabled** | `systemd-coredump` is configured on the host with sufficient backing storage. Coredumps are essential for diagnosing crashes. | [Coredumps](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/troubleshoot/configure-coredumps.md) | | 6 | **Monitoring deployed** | A `ScyllaDBMonitoring` resource is created with Prometheus scraping ScyllaDB metrics and Grafana displaying dashboards. Alerts are configured for key failure modes. | [Set up monitoring](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/set-up-monitoring/index.md) | | 7 | **Resource requests and limits set** | Both `resources` (ScyllaDB container) and `agentResources` (Manager Agent sidecar) have explicit requests and limits. ScyllaDB derives its memory allocation from the container memory limit. Ensure values match your instance type and workload. | [Deploy your first cluster](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/deploy-your-first-cluster.md) | | 8 | **CPU pinning active** | The kubelet uses `cpuManagerPolicy: static`. The ScyllaDB pod has Guaranteed QoS class (requests equal limits for all containers). ScyllaDB starts with `--overprovisioned=0`. | [Configure CPU pinning](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-cpu-pinning.md) | | 9 | **XFS online discard enabled** | The `discard` mount option is set on ScyllaDB data volumes via NodeConfig’s `unsupportedOptions`. This enables SSD TRIM for consistent write performance. | [Configure nodes](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-nodes.md) | | 10 | **I/O properties configured** | Precomputed I/O properties are set to avoid the automatic I/O benchmark that runs on first boot, which can produce inconsistent results in cloud environments. | [Configure precomputed IO properties](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/operate/configure-io-properties.md) | | 11 | **Backups scheduled** | ScyllaDB Manager backup tasks are configured with object storage (S3, GCS, or Azure Blob) and appropriate IAM credentials. Backup schedules are tested with a restore drill. | [Back up and restore](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/operate/back-up-and-restore.md) | ## Verification commands Run these commands to quickly check the most critical items: ### NodeConfig status ```shell kubectl get nodeconfigs.scylla.scylladb.com -o wide ``` All NodeConfig resources should show `AVAILABLE=True`, `PROGRESSING=False`, `DEGRADED=False`. ### Pod QoS class ```shell kubectl get pods -l scylla/cluster=scylladb -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\t"}{.status.qosClass}{"\n"}{end}' ``` All pods should show `Guaranteed`. ### ScyllaDB startup flags ```shell kubectl logs -c scylla | grep overprovisioned ``` Expected: `--overprovisioned=0` ### Monitoring status ```shell kubectl get scylladbmonitoring -o wide ``` Should show `AVAILABLE=True`. ## Related pages - [Deploy your first cluster](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/deploy-your-first-cluster.md) — creating a ScyllaCluster. - [Configure nodes](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-nodes.md) — disk setup, sysctls, and performance tuning. - [Configure CPU pinning](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/before-you-deploy/configure-cpu-pinning.md) — configuring CPU exclusivity. - [Set up monitoring](https://operator.docs.scylladb.com/v1.22/deploy-scylladb/set-up-monitoring/index.md) — Prometheus and Grafana setup.