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          <section id="how-to-form-a-cluster">
<span id="cluster-form"></span><h1>How to form a cluster<a class="headerlink" href="#how-to-form-a-cluster" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h1>
<p>When forming a LXD cluster, you start with a bootstrap server.
This bootstrap server can be an existing LXD server or a newly installed one.</p>
<p>After initializing the bootstrap server, you can join additional servers to the cluster.
See <a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/clusters/#clustering-members"><span class="std std-ref">Cluster members</span></a> for more information.</p>
<p>You can form the LXD cluster interactively by providing configuration information during the initialization process or by using preseed files that contain the full configuration.</p>
<p>To quickly and automatically set up a basic LXD cluster, you can use <a class="reference internal" href="#use-microcloud"><span class="std std-ref">MicroCloud</span></a>.</p>
<section id="configure-the-cluster-interactively">
<h2>Configure the cluster interactively<a class="headerlink" href="#configure-the-cluster-interactively" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>To form your cluster, you must first run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> on the bootstrap server. After that, run it on the other servers that you want to join to the cluster.</p>
<p>When forming a cluster interactively, you answer the questions that <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> prompts you with to configure the cluster.</p>
<section id="initialize-the-bootstrap-server">
<h3>Initialize the bootstrap server<a class="headerlink" href="#initialize-the-bootstrap-server" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>To initialize the bootstrap server, run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> and answer the questions according to your desired configuration.</p>
<p>You can accept the default values for most questions, but make sure to answer the following questions accordingly:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Would</span> <span class="pre">you</span> <span class="pre">like</span> <span class="pre">to</span> <span class="pre">use</span> <span class="pre">LXD</span> <span class="pre">clustering?</span></code></p>
<p>Select <strong>yes</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">What</span> <span class="pre">IP</span> <span class="pre">address</span> <span class="pre">or</span> <span class="pre">DNS</span> <span class="pre">name</span> <span class="pre">should</span> <span class="pre">be</span> <span class="pre">used</span> <span class="pre">to</span> <span class="pre">reach</span> <span class="pre">this</span> <span class="pre">server?</span></code></p>
<p>Make sure to use an IP or DNS address that other servers can reach.</p>
</li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Are</span> <span class="pre">you</span> <span class="pre">joining</span> <span class="pre">an</span> <span class="pre">existing</span> <span class="pre">cluster?</span></code></p>
<p>Select <strong>no</strong>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<details>
<summary>Expand to see a full example for <code>lxd init</code> on the bootstrap server</summary>
<div class="terminal docutils container">
<div class="input docutils container">
<div class="prompt docutils container">
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">user&#64;host:~$</span> </code></div>
<span class="command"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span>
</code></span></div>
<div class="terminal-code highlight-text notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes
What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server? [default=192.0.2.101]:
Are you joining an existing cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: no
What member name should be used to identify this server in the cluster? [default=server1]:
Do you want to configure a new local storage pool? (yes/no) [default=yes]:
Name of the storage backend to use (btrfs, dir, lvm, zfs) [default=zfs]:
Create a new ZFS pool? (yes/no) [default=yes]:
Would you like to use an existing empty block device (e.g. a disk or partition)? (yes/no) [default=no]:
Size in GiB of the new loop device (1GiB minimum) [default=9GiB]:
Do you want to configure a new remote storage pool? (yes/no) [default=no]:
Would you like to connect to a MAAS server? (yes/no) [default=no]:
Would you like to configure LXD to use an existing bridge or host interface? (yes/no) [default=no]:
Would you like to create a new Fan overlay network? (yes/no) [default=yes]:
What subnet should be used as the Fan underlay? [default=auto]:
Would you like stale cached images to be updated automatically? (yes/no) [default=yes]:
Would you like a YAML &quot;lxd init&quot; preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]:
</pre></div>
</div>
</div>
</details>
<p>After the initialization process finishes, your first cluster member should be up and available on your network.
You can check this with <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/cluster/list/#lxc-cluster-list-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">cluster</span> <span class="pre">list</span></code></span></a>.</p>
</section>
<section id="join-additional-servers">
<h3>Join additional servers<a class="headerlink" href="#join-additional-servers" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>You can now join further servers to the cluster.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>The servers that you add should be newly installed LXD servers.
If you are using existing servers, make sure to clear their contents before joining them, because any existing data on them will be lost.</p>
</div>
<p>To join a server to the cluster, run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> on the cluster.
Joining an existing cluster requires root privileges, so make sure to run the command as root or with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sudo</span></code>.</p>
<p>Basically, the initialization process consists of the following steps:</p>
<ol class="arabic">
<li><p>Request to join an existing cluster.</p>
<p>Answer the first questions that <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> asks accordingly:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Would</span> <span class="pre">you</span> <span class="pre">like</span> <span class="pre">to</span> <span class="pre">use</span> <span class="pre">LXD</span> <span class="pre">clustering?</span></code></p>
<p>Select <strong>yes</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">What</span> <span class="pre">IP</span> <span class="pre">address</span> <span class="pre">or</span> <span class="pre">DNS</span> <span class="pre">name</span> <span class="pre">should</span> <span class="pre">be</span> <span class="pre">used</span> <span class="pre">to</span> <span class="pre">reach</span> <span class="pre">this</span> <span class="pre">server?</span></code></p>
<p>Make sure to use an IP or DNS address that other servers can reach.</p>
</li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Are</span> <span class="pre">you</span> <span class="pre">joining</span> <span class="pre">an</span> <span class="pre">existing</span> <span class="pre">cluster?</span></code></p>
<p>Select <strong>yes</strong>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p>Authenticate with the cluster.</p>
<p>Generate a cluster join token for each new member.
To do so, run the following command on an existing cluster member (for example, the bootstrap server):</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc cluster add &lt;new_member_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>This command returns a single-use join token that is valid for a configurable time (see <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../server/#server-cluster:cluster.join_token_expiry"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cluster.join_token_expiry</span></code></a>).
Enter this token when <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> prompts you for the join token.</p>
<p>The join token contains the addresses of the existing online members, as well as a single-use secret and the fingerprint of the cluster certificate.
This reduces the amount of questions that you must answer during <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code>, because the join token can be used to answer these questions automatically.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Confirm that all local data for the server is lost when joining a cluster.</p></li>
<li><p>Configure server-specific settings (see <a class="reference internal" href="../../explanation/clusters/#clustering-member-config"><span class="std std-ref">Member configuration</span></a> for more information).</p>
<p>You can specify custom values for each server.
In case you are restoring a lost server but you were able to recover the storage pool’s disk, you might want to accept the default
values which should help telling LXD how to access the existing underlying storage pool.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<details>
<summary>Expand to see full examples for <code>lxd init</code> on additional servers</summary>
<div class="terminal docutils container">
<div class="input docutils container">
<div class="prompt docutils container">
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">user&#64;host:~$</span> </code></div>
<span class="command"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sudo</span> <span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span>
</code></span></div>
<div class="terminal-code highlight-text notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>Would you like to use LXD clustering? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes
What IP address or DNS name should be used to reach this server? [default=192.0.2.102]:
Are you joining an existing cluster? (yes/no) [default=no]: yes
Do you have a join token? (yes/no/[token]) [default=no]: yes
Please provide join token: eyJzZXJ2ZXJfbmFtZSI6InJwaTAxIiwiZmluZ2VycHJpbnQiOiIyNjZjZmExZDk0ZDZiMjk2Nzk0YjU0YzJlYzdjOTMwNDA5ZjIzNjdmNmM1YjRhZWVjOGM0YjAxYTc2NjU0MjgxIiwiYWRkcmVzc2VzIjpbIjE3Mi4xNy4zMC4xODM6ODQ0MyJdLCJzZWNyZXQiOiJmZGI1OTgyNjgxNTQ2ZGQyNGE2ZGE0Mzg5MTUyOGM1ZGUxNWNmYmQ5M2M3OTU3ODNkNGI5OGU4MTQ4MWMzNmUwIn0=
All existing data in the local database is lost when joining a cluster, continue? (yes/no) [default=no] yes
Choose &quot;size&quot; property for storage pool &quot;local&quot; [default=9GiB]:
Choose &quot;source&quot; property for storage pool &quot;local&quot;:
Choose &quot;zfs.pool_name&quot; property for storage pool &quot;local&quot; [default=local]:
Would you like a YAML &quot;lxd init&quot; preseed to be printed? (yes/no) [default=no]:
</pre></div>
</div>
</div>
</details>
<p>After the initialization process finishes, your server is added as a new cluster member.
You can check this with <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/manpages/lxc/cluster/list/#lxc-cluster-list-md"><span class="std std-ref"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxc</span> <span class="pre">cluster</span> <span class="pre">list</span></code></span></a>.</p>
<p>In case you have restored a cluster member with a disk that was recovered from a previous cluster member, run
the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">recover</span></code> command on this cluster member to recover instances and volumes located on the disk’s storage pool.</p>
</section>
</section>
<section id="configure-the-cluster-through-preseed-files">
<h2>Configure the cluster through preseed files<a class="headerlink" href="#configure-the-cluster-through-preseed-files" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>To form your cluster, you must first run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> on the bootstrap server.
After that, run it on the other servers that you want to join to the cluster.</p>
<p>Instead of answering the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> questions interactively, you can provide the required information through preseed files.
You can feed a file to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lxd</span> <span class="pre">init</span></code> with the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cat &lt;preseed-file&gt; | lxd init --preseed
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>You need a different preseed file for every server.</p>
<section id="id1">
<h3>Initialize the bootstrap server<a class="headerlink" href="#id1" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>To enable clustering, the preseed file for the bootstrap server must contain the following fields:</p>
<div class="highlight-yaml notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nt">config</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">core.https_address</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">&lt;IP_address_and_port&gt;</span>
<span class="nt">cluster</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">server_name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">&lt;server_name&gt;</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">enabled</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">true</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Here is an example preseed file for the bootstrap server:</p>
<div class="highlight-yaml notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nt">config</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">core.https_address</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">192.0.2.101:8443</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">images.auto_update_interval</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">15</span>
<span class="nt">storage_pools</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">default</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">driver</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">dir</span>
<span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">my-pool</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">driver</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">zfs</span>
<span class="nt">networks</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">lxdbr0</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">type</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">bridge</span>
<span class="nt">profiles</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">default</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">devices</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">root</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">path</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">/</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">pool</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">my-pool</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">type</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">disk</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">eth0</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">eth0</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">nictype</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">bridged</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">parent</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">lxdbr0</span>
<span class="w">      </span><span class="nt">type</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">nic</span>
<span class="nt">cluster</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">server_name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">server1</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">enabled</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">true</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>See <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/preseed_yaml_fields/#preseed-yaml-file-fields"><span class="std std-ref">Preseed YAML file fields</span></a> for the complete fields of the preseed YAML file.</p>
</section>
<section id="id2">
<h3>Join additional servers<a class="headerlink" href="#id2" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>The preseed files for new cluster members require only a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cluster</span></code> section with data and configuration values that are specific to the joining server.</p>
<p>The preseed file for additional servers must include the following fields:</p>
<div class="highlight-yaml notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nt">cluster</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">enabled</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">true</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">server_address</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">&lt;IP_address_of_server&gt;</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">cluster_token</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">&lt;join_token&gt;</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Here is an example preseed file for a new cluster member:</p>
<div class="highlight-yaml notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="nt">cluster</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">enabled</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">true</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">server_address</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">192.0.2.102:8443</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">cluster_token</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">eyJzZXJ2ZXJfbmFtZSI6Im5vZGUyIiwiZmluZ2VycHJpbnQiOiJjZjlmNmVhMWIzYjhiNjgxNzQ1YTY1NTY2YjM3ZGUwOTUzNjRmM2MxMDAwMGNjZWQyOTk5NDU5YzY2MGIxNWQ4IiwiYWRkcmVzc2VzIjpbIjE3Mi4xNy4zMC4xODM6ODQ0MyJdLCJzZWNyZXQiOiIxNGJmY2EzMDhkOTNhY2E3MGJmYThkMzE0NWM4NWY3YmE0ZmU1YmYyNmJiNDhmMmUwNzhhOGZhMDczZDc0YTFiIn0=</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="nt">member_config</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">entity</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">storage-pool</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">default</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">key</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">source</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">value</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="s">&quot;&quot;</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">entity</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">storage-pool</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">my-pool</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">key</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">source</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">value</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="s">&quot;&quot;</span>
<span class="w">  </span><span class="p p-Indicator">-</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nt">entity</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">storage-pool</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">name</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">my-pool</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">key</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain">driver</span>
<span class="w">    </span><span class="nt">value</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="s">&quot;zfs&quot;</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>See <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/preseed_yaml_fields/#preseed-yaml-file-fields"><span class="std std-ref">Preseed YAML file fields</span></a> for the complete fields of the preseed YAML file.</p>
</section>
</section>
<section id="use-microcloud">
<span id="id3"></span><h2>Use MicroCloud<a class="headerlink" href="#use-microcloud" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>

            <p class="youtube_link">
              <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0y0hQ16YuE" target="_blank">
                <span title="MicroCloud LTS Demo" class="play_icon">▶</span>
                <span title="MicroCloud LTS Demo">Watch on YouTube</span>
              </a>
            </p>
        <p>Instead of setting up your LXD cluster manually, you can use <a class="reference external" href="https://canonical.com/microcloud">MicroCloud</a> to get a fully highly available LXD cluster with OVN and with Ceph storage up and running.</p>
<p>To install the required snaps, run the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>snap install lxd microceph microovn microcloud
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Then start the bootstrapping process with the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>microcloud init
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you want to set up a multi-machine MicroCloud, run the following command on all the other machines:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>microcloud join
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Following the CLI prompts, a working MicroCloud will be ready within minutes.</p>
<p>When the initialization is complete, you’ll have an OVN cluster, a Ceph cluster and a LXD cluster, and LXD itself will have been configured with both networking and storage suitable for use in a cluster.</p>
<p>See the <a class="reference external" href="https://documentation.ubuntu.com/microcloud/latest/microcloud/">MicroCloud documentation</a> for more information.</p>
</section>
</section>

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        <ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">How to form a cluster</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#configure-the-cluster-interactively">Configure the cluster interactively</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#initialize-the-bootstrap-server">Initialize the bootstrap server</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#join-additional-servers">Join additional servers</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#configure-the-cluster-through-preseed-files">Configure the cluster through preseed files</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#id1">Initialize the bootstrap server</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#id2">Join additional servers</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#use-microcloud">Use MicroCloud</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

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