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---
stage: Enablement
group: Geo
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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type: howto
---
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# Geo configuration **(PREMIUM SELF)**
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## Configuring a new **secondary** node
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NOTE:
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This is the final step in setting up a **secondary** Geo node. Stages of the
setup process must be completed in the documented order.
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Before attempting the steps in this stage, [complete all prior stages ](../setup/index.md#using-omnibus-gitlab ).
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The basic steps of configuring a **secondary** node are to:
- Replicate required configurations between the **primary** node and the **secondary** nodes.
- Configure a tracking database on each **secondary** node.
- Start GitLab on each **secondary** node.
You are encouraged to first read through all the steps before executing them
in your testing/production environment.
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NOTE:
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**Do not** set up any custom authentication for the **secondary** nodes. This is handled by the **primary** node.
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Any change that requires access to the **Admin Area** needs to be done in the
**primary** node because the **secondary** node is a read-only replica.
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### Step 1. Manually replicate secret GitLab values
GitLab stores a number of secret values in the `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json`
file which *must* be the same on all nodes. Until there is
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a means of automatically replicating these between nodes (see [issue #3789 ](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/3789 )),
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they must be manually replicated to the **secondary** node.
1. SSH into the **primary** node, and execute the command below:
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```shell
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sudo cat /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json
```
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This displays the secrets that need to be replicated, in JSON format.
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1. SSH into the **secondary** node and login as the `root` user:
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```shell
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sudo -i
```
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1. Make a backup of any existing secrets:
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```shell
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mv /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json.`date +%F`
```
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1. Copy `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` from the **primary** node to the **secondary** node, or
copy-and-paste the file contents between nodes:
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```shell
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sudo editor /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json
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# paste the output of the `cat` command you ran on the primary
# save and exit
```
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1. Ensure the file permissions are correct:
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```shell
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chown root:root /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json
chmod 0600 /etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json
```
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1. Reconfigure the **secondary** node for the change to take effect:
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```shell
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gitlab-ctl reconfigure
gitlab-ctl restart
```
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### Step 2. Manually replicate the **primary** node's SSH host keys
GitLab integrates with the system-installed SSH daemon, designating a user
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(typically named `git` ) through which all access requests are handled.
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In a [Disaster Recovery ](../disaster_recovery/index.md ) situation, GitLab system
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administrators promote a **secondary** node to the **primary** node. DNS records for the
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**primary** domain should also be updated to point to the new **primary** node
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(previously a **secondary** node). Doing so avoids the need to update Git remotes and API URLs.
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This causes all SSH requests to the newly promoted **primary** node to
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fail due to SSH host key mismatch. To prevent this, the primary SSH host
keys must be manually replicated to the **secondary** node.
1. SSH into the **secondary** node and login as the `root` user:
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```shell
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sudo -i
```
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1. Make a backup of any existing SSH host keys:
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```shell
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find /etc/ssh -iname ssh_host_* -exec cp {} {}.backup.`date +%F` \;
```
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1. Copy OpenSSH host keys from the **primary** node:
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If you can access your **primary** node using the **root** user:
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```shell
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# Run this from the secondary node, change `<primary_node_fqdn>` for the IP or FQDN of the server
scp root@< primary_node_fqdn > :/etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key* /etc/ssh
```
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If you only have access through a user with `sudo` privileges:
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```shell
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# Run this from your primary node:
sudo tar --transform 's/.*\///g' -zcvf ~/geo-host-key.tar.gz /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key*
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# Run this from your secondary node:
scp < user_with_sudo > @< primary_node_fqdn > :geo-host-key.tar.gz .
tar zxvf ~/geo-host-key.tar.gz -C /etc/ssh
```
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1. On your **secondary** node, ensure the file permissions are correct:
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```shell
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chown root:root /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key*
chmod 0600 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key*
```
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1. To verify key fingerprint matches, execute the following command on both nodes:
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```shell
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for file in /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key; do ssh-keygen -lf $file; done
```
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You should get an output similar to this one and they should be identical on both nodes:
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```shell
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1024 SHA256:FEZX2jQa2bcsd/fn/uxBzxhKdx4Imc4raXrHwsbtP0M root@serverhostname (DSA)
256 SHA256:uw98R35Uf+fYEQ/UnJD9Br4NXUFPv7JAUln5uHlgSeY root@serverhostname (ECDSA)
256 SHA256:sqOUWcraZQKd89y/QQv/iynPTOGQxcOTIXU/LsoPmnM root@serverhostname (ED25519)
2048 SHA256:qwa+rgir2Oy86QI+PZi/QVR+MSmrdrpsuH7YyKknC+s root@serverhostname (RSA)
```
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1. Verify that you have the correct public keys for the existing private keys:
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```shell
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# This will print the fingerprint for private keys:
for file in /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key; do ssh-keygen -lf $file; done
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# This will print the fingerprint for public keys:
for file in /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*_key.pub; do ssh-keygen -lf $file; done
```
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NOTE:
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The output for private keys and public keys command should generate the same fingerprint.
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1. Restart `sshd` on your **secondary** node:
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```shell
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# Debian or Ubuntu installations
sudo service ssh reload
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# CentOS installations
sudo service sshd reload
```
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1. Verify SSH is still functional.
SSH into your GitLab **secondary** server in a new terminal. If you are unable to connect,
verify the permissions are correct according to the previous steps.
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### Step 3. Add the **secondary** node
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1. SSH into your GitLab **secondary** server and login as root:
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```shell
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sudo -i
```
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1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and add a **unique** name for your node. You need this in the next steps:
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```ruby
# The unique identifier for the Geo node.
gitlab_rails['geo_node_name'] = '< node_name_here > '
```
1. Reconfigure the **secondary** node for the change to take effect:
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```shell
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gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```
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1. On the top bar of the primary node, select **Menu >** ** {admin}** **Admin** .
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1. On the left sidebar, select **Geo > Nodes** .
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1. Select **Add site** .
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![Add secondary node ](img/adding_a_secondary_node_v13_3.png )
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1. Fill in **Name** with the `gitlab_rails['geo_node_name']` in
`/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` . These values must always match *exactly* , character
for character.
1. Fill in **URL** with the `external_url` in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` . These
values must always match, but it doesn't matter if one ends with a `/` and
the other doesn't.
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1. Optionally, choose which groups or storage shards should be replicated by the
**secondary** node. Leave blank to replicate all. Read more in
[selective synchronization ](#selective-synchronization ).
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1. Select **Add node** to add the **secondary** node.
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1. SSH into your GitLab **secondary** server and restart the services:
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```shell
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gitlab-ctl restart
```
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Check if there are any common issue with your Geo setup by running:
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```shell
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gitlab-rake gitlab:geo:check
```
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1. SSH into your **primary** server and login as root to verify the
**secondary** node is reachable or there are any common issue with your Geo setup:
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```shell
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gitlab-rake gitlab:geo:check
```
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Once added to the Geo administration page and restarted, the **secondary** node automatically starts
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replicating missing data from the **primary** node in a process known as **backfill** .
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Meanwhile, the **primary** node starts to notify each **secondary** node of any changes, so
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that the **secondary** node can act on those notifications immediately.
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Be sure the _secondary_ node is running and accessible. You can sign in to the
_secondary_ node with the same credentials as were used with the _primary_ node.
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### Step 4. (Optional) Configuring the **secondary** node to trust the **primary** node
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You can safely skip this step if your **primary** node uses a CA-issued HTTPS certificate.
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If your **primary** node is using a self-signed certificate for *HTTPS* support, you
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need to add that certificate to the **secondary** node's trust store. Retrieve the
certificate from the **primary** node and follow
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[these instructions ](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/ssl.html )
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on the **secondary** node.
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### Step 5. Enable Git access over HTTP/HTTPS
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Geo synchronizes repositories over HTTP/HTTPS, and therefore requires this clone
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method to be enabled. This is enabled by default, but if converting an existing node to Geo it should be checked:
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On the **primary** node:
1. On the top bar, select **Menu >** ** {admin}** **Admin** .
1. On the left sidebar, select **Settings > General** .
1. Expand **Visibility and access controls** .
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1. Ensure "Enabled Git access protocols" is set to either "Both SSH and HTTP(S)" or "Only HTTP(S)".
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### Step 6. Verify proper functioning of the **secondary** node
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You can sign in to the **secondary** node with the same credentials you used with
the **primary** node. After you sign in:
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1. On the top bar, select **Menu >** ** {admin}** **Admin** .
1. On the left sidebar, select **Geo > Nodes** .
1. Verify that it's correctly identified as a **secondary** Geo node, and that
Geo is enabled.
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The initial replication, or 'backfill', is probably still in progress. You
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can monitor the synchronization process on each Geo node from the **primary**
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node's **Geo Nodes** dashboard in your browser.
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![Geo dashboard ](img/geo_node_dashboard_v14_0.png )
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If your installation isn't working properly, check the
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[troubleshooting document ](troubleshooting.md ).
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The two most obvious issues that can become apparent in the dashboard are:
1. Database replication not working well.
1. Instance to instance notification not working. In that case, it can be
something of the following:
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- You are using a custom certificate or custom CA (see the [troubleshooting document ](troubleshooting.md )).
- The instance is firewalled (check your firewall rules).
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Please note that disabling a **secondary** node stops the synchronization process.
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Please note that if `git_data_dirs` is customized on the **primary** node for multiple
repository shards you must duplicate the same configuration on each **secondary** node.
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Point your users to the [Using a Geo Site guide ](usage.md ).
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Currently, this is what is synced:
- Git repositories.
- Wikis.
- LFS objects.
- Issues, merge requests, snippets, and comment attachments.
- Users, groups, and project avatars.
## Selective synchronization
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Geo supports selective synchronization, which allows administrators to choose
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which projects should be synchronized by **secondary** nodes.
A subset of projects can be chosen, either by group or by storage shard. The
former is ideal for replicating data belonging to a subset of users, while the
latter is more suited to progressively rolling out Geo to a large GitLab
instance.
It is important to note that selective synchronization:
1. Does not restrict permissions from **secondary** nodes.
1. Does not hide project metadata from **secondary** nodes.
- Since Geo currently relies on PostgreSQL replication, all project metadata
gets replicated to **secondary** nodes, but repositories that have not been
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selected are empty.
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1. Does not reduce the number of events generated for the Geo event log.
- The **primary** node generates events as long as any **secondary** nodes are present.
Selective synchronization restrictions are implemented on the **secondary** nodes,
not the **primary** node.
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### Git operations on unreplicated repositories
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/2562) in GitLab 12.10 for HTTP(S) and in GitLab 13.0 for SSH.
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Git clone, pull, and push operations over HTTP(S) and SSH are supported for repositories that
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exist on the **primary** node but not on **secondary** nodes. This situation can occur
when:
- Selective synchronization does not include the project attached to the repository.
- The repository is actively being replicated but has not completed yet.
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## Upgrading Geo
See the [updating the Geo nodes document ](updating_the_geo_nodes.md ).
## Troubleshooting
See the [troubleshooting document ](troubleshooting.md ).