> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.weka.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.weka.io/4.0/additional-protocols/s3/s3-cluster-management.md).

# S3 cluster management

This page describes how to set up, update, monitor, and delete an S3 cluster.

## Considerations

The S3 service can be exposed from the cluster hosts, ranging from three hosts to the entire cluster. The service performance scales linearly as the S3 cluster scales.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** Depending on the workload, you may need to use several FE cores to gain maximum performance.
{% endhint %}

## Round-robin DNS or load balancer

To ensure that the various S3 clients balance the load on the different Weka hosts serving S3, configuring a *Round-robin DNS* entry is recommended. The round-robin DNS resolves the list of hosts' IPs and equally distributes the clients' loads across all hosts.

A DNS server that supports health checks can help with resiliency if any hosts serving S3 become unresponsive.

Even a robust DNS server or load-balancer may become overloaded with an extreme load. You can also use a client-side load balancer, where each client checks the health of each S3 host in the cluster. One such load balancer is the open-source *Sidekick Load Balancer*.

**Related information**

[Round-robin DNS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robin_DNS) 

[Sidekick Load Balancer](https://github.com/minio/sidekick)

**Related topics**

[Manage the S3 service using the GUI](/4.0/additional-protocols/s3/s3-cluster-management/s3-cluster-management.md)

[Manage the S3 service using the CLI](/4.0/additional-protocols/s3/s3-cluster-management/s3-cluster-management-1.md)


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://docs.weka.io/4.0/additional-protocols/s3/s3-cluster-management.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.