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29 changes: 29 additions & 0 deletions docs/architecture/cloud-storage/arbiter.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -15,6 +15,35 @@ The operator also monitors the remote cluster to verify its availability and
ensure that the tenant has sufficient permissions to handle the deployment of
Arbiter.

## Why Use Arbiter?

The diagram below explains how Arbiter works and why it is necessary. The three
paragraphs that follow this one walk you through the procedure detailed in the
diagram.

Red section: In the event that there is an outage of an availability zone (AZ)
or a network failure between two availability zones, the cluster loses quorum
because neither side can reach a majority (one out of two isn't enough). In
this event, Ceph is unable safely to make decisions about the cluster state.

Blue Section: This situation can be remedied if Arbiter has been deployed. The
operator will spring into action, reading the Ceph cluster, reserving an
`externalMonID`, creating remote resources, and then making sure all necessary
updates are in place.

Green Section: After the Arbiter Operator has taken remedial action, a remote
and independent cluster (`mon.ext-a` in the diagram) will be in operation,
restoring quorum to the cluster.

![Arbiter Diagram](../../assets/project-owned/diagrams/purpose-external-arbiter-operator.png)

>[!IMPORTANT]
>It is important to understand the scope of Arbiter, and the problem that it
>solves. Arbiter restores control-plane quorum to clusters that have lost
>quorum. It does not guarantee data redundancy. Arbiter ensures that the
>cluster is still able to make quorum-related decisions. It does not guarantee
>the congruency of data between OSDs.

## Requirements and Setup

### Required Tools
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