Before we go into installing and using Cloudera Manager, you need to understand the architecture of Cloudera Manager and how it functions. Cloudera Manager is composed of the following two parts:
Cloudera Manager Server
Cloudera Manager Agent
The following diagram depicts the Cloudera Manager architecture:
The Cloudera Manager Server is the master service that manages the data model of the entire cluster in a database. The data model contains information regarding the services, roles, and configurations assigned for each node in the cluster.
The Cloudera Manager Server is responsible for performing the following functions:
It communicates with Cloudera Manager Agents that are installed on each node of the cluster and assigns tasks as well as checking the health of each agent by monitoring its periodic heartbeats.
It provides an administrator web interface for the end user to perform administrator operations.