--- weight: 3 title: Scaling vmanomaly menu: docs: identifier: "vmanomaly-scaling" parent: "anomaly-detection" weight: 3 tags: - metrics - enterprise aliases: - /anomaly-detection/high-availability.html - /anomaly-detection/scaling-vmanomaly.html --- ## Overview Ensuring [high availability](#high-availability) and [horizontal scalability](#horizontal-scalability) is important for maintaining reliable anomaly detection in distributed environments. **Horizontal scalability** allows `vmanomaly` to distribute workloads across multiple nodes by **sharding** configuration entities, preventing performance bottlenecks. **High availability** ensures redundancy by replicating [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) across multiple nodes, reducing the risk of data loss or service disruption due to node failures. This document explains how `vmanomaly` achieves **scalability through sharding** and **redundancy through replication**, covering configurations for Docker, Docker Compose, and Helm deployments. ## Global Configuration `vmanomaly` service operations are configured using YAML files that define various [components](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/), as shown in the example below. These (global) configurations can be divided into smaller, fully functional [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration), which can be used for [horizontal scalability](#horizontal-scalability) through sharding or for [high availability](#high-availability) by enabling replication. ### Configuration example ```yaml # https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/scheduler/ schedulers: periodic_1d: # alias class: 'periodic' # scheduler class infer_every: "30s" fit_every: "1h" fit_window: "24h" # https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/ models: zscore: # we can set up alias for model class: 'zscore' # model class z_threshold: 3.5 queries: ['cpu_seconds_total', 'host_network_receive_errors'] # https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/reader/#vm-reader reader: datasource_url: "https://play.victoriametrics.com/" tenant_id: "0:0" class: 'vm' sampling_period: "30s" # what data resolution to fetch from VictoriaMetrics' /query_range endpoint queries: # aliases to MetricsQL expressions cpu_seconds_total: expr: 'avg(rate(node_cpu_seconds_total[5m])) by (mode)' host_network_receive_errors: expr: 'rate(node_network_receive_errs_total[3m]) / rate(node_network_receive_packets_total[3m])' # https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/writer/ writer: datasource_url: "http://victoriametrics:8428/" ``` ## Sub-configuration [Global configuration](#global-configuration) file can be split into `N` >= 1 validated **sub-configurations** based on logical entities such as [schedulers](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/scheduler/), [queries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/#queries), [models](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/), and [extra_filters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/reader/#config-parameters). Each sub-configuration remains functional and respects the many-to-many relationships between models, queries, and schedulers. A minimal valid sub-configuration consists of a single [model type](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/) running on a single [query](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/#queries) and attached to a single [scheduler](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/scheduler/). [Example config above](#configuration-example) can be split into 2 sub-configurations (by queries): - 1 model type (`zscore`), attached to 1 scheduler (`periodic_1d`) which is run on 1st query (`cpu_seconds_total`) - 1 model type (`zscore`), attached to 1 scheduler (`periodic_1d`) which is run on 2nd query (`host_network_receive_errors`) ## Horizontal Scalability `vmanomaly` supports **horizontal scalability** {{% available_from "v1.21.0" anomaly %}} by sharding [sub-config entities](#sub-configuration), enabling workload distribution across multiple nodes while preserving consistency and maintaining a single global configuration entry point. A `vmanomaly` [global YAML configuration](#global-configuration) can be split into `N` validated [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) based on logical entities such as [schedulers](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/scheduler/), [queries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/#queries), [models](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/models/), and [extra_filters](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/reader/#config-parameters). These [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) can be assigned to a specific shard (node) indexed from `{0, K-1}` across `K` available nodes. Additionally, a replication factor `R ≥ 1` ensures [high availability](#high-availability) by enforcing redundancy across shards.

![vmanomaly-sharding-ha-diagram](vmanomaly-sharding-ha-diagram.webp) > Please [refer to deployment options section](#deployment-options) for the examples (Docker, Docker Compose, Helm). To avoid duplicate metrics being reported from each vmanomaly service used in sharded mode, make sure that [deduplication](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#deduplication) is configured on vmsingle or vmselect and vmstorage for the VictoriaMetrics instance used in the [writer section of the configuration](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/writer/). Sharding configuration can be controlled by using the following environment variables: - **`VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT`**: Defines the total number of shards (i.e., available nodes to distribute [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) to).
Defaults to `1` for backward compatibility. - **`VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM`**: Specifies the shard index (`0` to `VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT - 1`), determining the subset of [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) to run on a specific node. Defaults to `0`. Supports automatic **pod name discovery** in Kubernetes [StatefulSets](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/statefulset/) (e.g., if set to `vmanomaly-node-exporter-7`, shard `7` will be extracted). - **`VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR`**: If `R > 1`, enables [high availability](#high-availability) by ensuring each [sub-configuration](#sub-configuration) is assigned to exactly `R` shards. Defaults to `1` (no replication). - **`VMANOMALY_SPLIT_BY`**: Defines the logical entity used to split the global config into [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration). Defaults to `complete`, which provides the most granular distribution (1 model per [sub-config](#sub-configuration), mapped to 1 query and attached to 1 scheduler) for balanced workloads. --- The total number of **available** and **assigned** [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) per shard can be found using the following [self-monitoring](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/self-monitoring/) metric: ```shellhelp # HELP vmanomaly_config_entities Number of sub-configs (entities) in the configuration available for sharding. Scope: total - total number of entities, shard - number of entities used on the current shard. # TYPE vmanomaly_config_entities gauge vmanomaly_config_entities{preset="default",scope="total"} 8.0 vmanomaly_config_entities{preset="default",scope="shard"} 4.0 ``` Meaning, `vmanomaly` runs in sharded mode, where this particular shard uses 4 out of 8 [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration), received after [global config](#global-configuration) split. For more details, refer to the `vmanomaly_config_entities` [self-monitoring metric](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/monitoring/#startup-metrics). --- ### Example For a [global configuration](#global-configuration) that is split into **9 [sub-configs](#sub-configuration)** `[1, 2, 3, ..., 9]`, setting: - **`VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT = 3`** (3 shards) - **`VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR = 1`** (default, no replication) results in the following distribution of [sub-configs](#sub-configuration) across the shards (nodes): - **Node 1 (index 0):** `[1, 4, 7]` - **Node 2 (index 1):** `[2, 5, 8]` - **Node 3 (index 2):** `[3, 6, 9]` Since the replication factor is set to `1`, each [sub-config](#sub-configuration) is assigned to **exactly one node**, meaning there is **no redundancy** in the distribution. ## High Availability Similar to other VictoriaMetrics ecosystem components, like [VMAgent](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/operator/resources/vmagent/#high-availability) or [VMAlert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/operator/resources/vmalert/#high-availability), there exists a support for high availability in `vmanomaly` through [sub-config](#sub-configuration) replication {{% available_from "v1.21.0" anomaly %}}. When `VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR` > 1, each [sub-config](#sub-configuration) `n` from `{0, N-1}` is assigned to exactly `R` nodes. This ensures redundancy, preventing single-node failures from causing data loss.

![vmanomaly-sharding-ha-diagram](vmanomaly-sharding-ha-diagram.webp) > Please [refer to deployment options section](#deployment-options) for the examples (Docker, Docker Compose, Helm). To avoid duplicate metrics being reported from each vmanomaly service used in sharded mode, make sure that [deduplication](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/single-server-victoriametrics/#deduplication) is configured on vmsingle or vmselect and vmstorage for the VictoriaMetrics instance used in the [writer section of the configuration](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/anomaly-detection/components/writer/). ### Example For a [global configuration](#global-configuration) split into **9 [sub-configs](#sub-configuration)** `[1, 2, 3, ..., 9]`, with: - **`VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT = 3`** (3 shards) - **`VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR = 2`** (each [sub-config](#sub-configuration) is assigned to exactly 2 nodes) the resulting **replicated sharded distribution** is: - **Node 1 (index 0):** `[1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9]` - **Node 2 (index 1):** `[1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8]` - **Node 3 (index 2):** `[2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9]` Now, each [sub-config](#sub-configuration) (1–9) is **present on exactly 2 nodes**, ensuring redundancy: - **Sub-config 5** appears on **nodes 2 & 3** - **Sub-config 7** appears on **nodes 1 & 2** - **Sub-config 9** appears on **nodes 1 & 3**, etc. ## Deployment Options To enable horizontal scalability (HS) or high availability (HA) in `vmanomaly`, deployment settings should be accordingly configured. Below are examples for running `vmanomaly` with sharding and replication using [Docker](#docker), [Docker Compose](#docker-compose), and [Helm](#helm-charts). ### Docker To run `vmanomaly` in a Docker container with sharding enabled (e.g., setting `VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT=2` for two shards and `VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR=1` for no replication), specify the shard index using `VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM`. Indexing starts from `0` up to `VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT - 1`. The example below runs the first shard (`VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM=0`): ```bash #!/usr/bin/env bash set -x -e cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." || exit 1 # run the first shard (VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM=0) in a two-shard setup (VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT=2) docker run -i -t --rm \ --user="$(id -u):$(id -g)" \ --cap-drop=ALL \ -e "VM_LICENSE_FILE=/.secret/license" \ -e "VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT=2" \ -e "VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM=0" \ -e "VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR=1" -e "VMANOMALY_SPLIT_BY=COMPLETE" \ -v "$PWD/global_config.yaml":/global_config.yaml \ -v "$PWD/.secret/license":/.secret/license \ -p 8080:8080 \ -p 8490:8490 \ vmanomaly:v1.21.0 \ /global_config.yaml \ --loggerLevel=INFO ``` ### Docker Compose Sharded `vmanomaly` can be set up using **Docker Compose**, enabling easier orchestration of multiple shards. Each shard runs a subset `N_k` out of `N` split [sub-configurations](#sub-configuration) of the global configuration. No replication is set in this example, meaning `VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR` is set to 1. The following example demonstrates how to deploy `vmanomaly` with **two shards**, each assigned a unique subset of the global config: ```yaml # other sections ... services: # other services ... vmanomaly-1: image: victoriametrics/vmanomaly:v1.21.0 user: "1000:1000" restart: always healthcheck: test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://127.0.0.1:8490/health"] interval: 30s timeout: 10s retries: 5 volumes: - ./vmanomaly-config:/config command: - "/config/global_config.yml" - "--license=YOUR_LICENSE" environment: VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT: 2 VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM: 0 VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 1 VMANOMALY_SPLIT_BY: "COMPLETE" vmanomaly-2: image: victoriametrics/vmanomaly:v1.21.0 user: "1000:1000" restart: always healthcheck: test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://127.0.0.1:8490/health"] interval: 30s timeout: 10s retries: 5 volumes: - ./vmanomaly-config:/config command: - "/config/global_config.yml" # Fixed to match vmanomaly-1 - "--license=YOUR_LICENSE" environment: VMANOMALY_MEMBERS_COUNT: 2 VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM: 1 VMANOMALY_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 1 VMANOMALY_SPLIT_BY: "COMPLETE" ``` ### Helm Charts To deploy `vmanomaly` with `N > 1` shards using Helm, ensure **chart version [1.9.0](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/helm-charts/blob/master/charts/victoria-metrics-anomaly/CHANGELOG.md#190) or newer** is used. Configure the following settings in `values.yaml`: - Set shard count **(`.Values.shardsCount`)**: Defines the number of shards (`N > 1`) to enable horizontal scaling. Configure it [here](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/helm-charts/blob/207dd54f90919f0159b950dbd29bf2f57abf38f1/charts/victoria-metrics-anomaly/values.yaml#L187). - *(Optional)* Enable [high availability](#high-availability) **(`.Values.replicationFactor`)**: If `R > 1`, each [sub-config](#sub-configuration) is assigned to exactly `R` shards. Configure it [here](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/helm-charts/blob/207dd54f90919f0159b950dbd29bf2f57abf38f1/charts/victoria-metrics-anomaly/values.yaml#L189). With **StatefulSet enabled**, `vmanomaly` automatically extracts shard numbers from pod names. For example, if the pod is named `vmanomaly-node-exporter-0`, then `VMANOMALY_MEMBER_NUM=0` is assigned automatically.