Getting Started with ClusterControl

Welcome to the ClusterControl documentation! This guide will help you get started with ClusterControl, a powerful and user-friendly tool designed to simplify the deployment, management, and monitoring of high-availability database clusters, whether you're working with open-source databases such as MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, MongoDB, Redis, Valkey, and ClickHouse, or proprietary options like SQL Server, MongoDB Enterprise, and EDB. ClusterControl provides a unified interface and advanced features to automate and secure your database operations.

What is ClusterControl?

ClusterControl is an all-in-one database management platform developed by Severalnines that centralizes the deployment, monitoring, scaling, and security of database clusters into a single interface (GUI, CLI, or API), so managing a cluster no longer means juggling manual configuration, monitoring, and scaling across disconnected tools.

It supports multiple database technologies and offers a single platform for:

• Automated deployment: Deploy database clusters with a few clicks, across topologies like primary-replica replication, Galera clusters, and sharded environments.

• Comprehensive monitoring: Real-time visibility into cluster health, resource usage, and performance, with customizable dashboards and alerts.

• Backup and recovery: Schedule automatic backups, configure retention policies, and restore clusters with ease.

• Scaling and load balancing: Scale clusters automatically or manually to absorb workload spikes while keeping them stable and highly available.

• High availability and failover: Automated failover and node recovery minimize downtime and keep databases available.

• Security and compliance: Manage user permissions, enforce SSL, and track access logs to maintain a secure database environment.

With its focus on ease of use and powerful automation, ClusterControl is ideal for both seasoned database administrators and those new to database cluster management.

Editions and releases

ClusterControl comes in 3 editions - Community, Advanced, and Enterprise - within the same binary. Please review the ClusterControl product page for a features comparison between these editions.

All new ClusterControl installations will be automatically configured with a 30-day fully functional Enterprise edition trial license (1). When the license expires, ClusterControl defaults to the Community Edition. To upgrade from Community to Advanced or Enterprise, you need a valid software license. For commercial information, please contact us.

1. This requires an internet connection for automatic license retrieval and activation. For an offline environment, reach out to our Sales department at [email protected] to request for a free trial license.

Starting from ClusterControl 2.2.0 (September 2024), ClusterControl provides 2 releases:

Release branch	Version	Release date
Yearly long-term support (LTS)	2.4.0	February 2026
Latest (default)	2.5.0	July 2026

See Release Notes for details of all ClusterControl's releases.

Target users

ClusterControl is a database management and automation platform designed for DBAs (Database Administrators), DevOps teams, system administrators, and IT operations professionals who are responsible for deploying, managing, and maintaining database clusters. Its target users typically have a need for high-availability, scalability, performance monitoring, and automation in database environments.

Target user	Typical use case
DBAs (Database Administrators)	Automating repetitive tasks such as backups, failover management, and upgrades across complex database systems.
DevOps engineers	Deploying and managing database clusters as infrastructure-as-code, as part of CI/CD pipelines.
System administrators / IT operations	Monitoring database uptime, configuring automated alerts, and ensuring disaster-recovery protocols are in place.
Development teams (for large-scale applications)	Scaling databases to handle increased traffic and high-performance queries as application usage grows.
Companies managing multiple databases	Centrally managing hybrid environments that run several database engines (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and others) on one platform.
Enterprises with high-availability requirements	Ensuring zero-downtime for databases running business-critical applications through automated failover, replication, and clustering.

Next steps

• Quickstart: Get a ClusterControl instance up and running in minutes.
• Installation: Detailed installation options for your environment.
• Tutorials: Step-by-step walkthroughs for deploying your first cluster.