How to run the Ceph Dashboard locally on Windows (WSL & Docker)

By Syed Ali Ul Hasan

Ceph is an open-source, software-defined storage solution designed to address the block, file, and object storage needs of modern enterprises. Its highly scalable architecture has made it the new norm for high-growth data lakes and object stores.

I first came across Ceph at an open-source conference and was immediately intrigued by it and wanted to contribute. If you're also looking to contribute, this quick guide covers how to set up the Ceph development environment on a Windows machine.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed and configured:

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) running Fedora 42.
Install Fedora on WSL
Docker (and Docker Compose). Download docker
Storage: At least 300 GB of free space on your system.

Step-by-Step Installation

Note: Make sure to use the WSL terminal

1. Clone the Repositories

Open your Fedora WSL terminal and navigate to your home directory (cd ~). First, clone the main Ceph repository. Using the --depth 1 and --single-branch flags will significantly reduce the amount of data transferred:

git clone --depth 1 --single-branch https://github.com/ceph/ceph.git

Next, clone the ceph-dev repository in the same home directory:

git clone https://github.com/rhcs-dashboard/ceph-dev.git

2. Configure the Environment

Navigate into the ceph-dev directory and set up your environment variables using the provided template:

cd ceph-dev
cp .env.example .env

Open the .env file in your preferred text editor and modify the CEPH_REPO_DIR variable to point to the directory where you cloned the main Ceph repo (e.g., CEPH_REPO_DIR=/home/<your_username>/ceph).

3. Build and Launch with Docker

Pull the necessary container images and launch the setup in detached mode:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

4. Monitor the Setup

The initialization will take a few minutes. You can track the progress by checking the logs:

docker compose logs -f ceph

Wait until the console prints: All done.

Accessing the Dashboard & Development Server

Once the setup is complete, you can access the running services locally:

Production Dashboard: https://127.0.0.1:11000 (Credentials: admin / admin)

Wait for a few more minutes until the console prints:

** Angular Live Development Server is listening on 0.0.0.0:4200 , open your browser at https://localhost:4200/ **.

Developing in VS Code: If you are using VS Code, open it within WSL, navigate to your ceph folder, and locate the dashboard frontend code at src/pybind/mgr/dashboard/frontend to start contributing!