---
title: Autoscale Indexers and Compactors
description: >-
  Configure Horizontal Pod Autoscalers for BYOC Logs indexer and compactor
  workloads.
breadcrumbs: Docs > BYOC Logs > Operate BYOC Logs > Autoscale Indexers and Compactors
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.datadoghq.com/llms.txt).

# Autoscale Indexers and Compactors

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com, us2.ddog-gov.com

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ({% placeholder "user-datadog-site-name" /%}).
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Overview{% #overview %}

The `datadog/cloudprem` Helm chart creates Horizontal Pod Autoscalers (HPAs) for BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) Logs indexers and standalone compactors when you enable them. HPAs are disabled by default, and each component is configured independently.

## Before you begin{% #before-you-begin %}

Before you enable autoscaling, you need:

- A BYOC Logs deployment installed with the `datadog/cloudprem` Helm chart.
- Chart version `0.4.6` or later for standalone compactor autoscaling.
- Kubernetes Metrics Server, or another metrics API implementation, installed in the cluster.
- Enough node capacity for the maximum number of indexer and compactor pods.
- CPU requests configured for autoscaled workloads.

CPU-based HPA calculations use the pod CPU request. Indexers get CPU requests from `indexer.podSize` or `indexer.resources.requests.cpu`. For standalone compactors, configure `compactor.resources.requests.cpu`.

## Enable indexer autoscaling{% #enable-indexer-autoscaling %}

To enable the indexer HPA, set `indexer.autoscaling.enabled` to `true`:

```yaml
indexer:
  autoscaling:
    enabled: true
```

When you enable indexer autoscaling, the HPA controls the number of indexer pods and ignores `indexer.replicaCount`.

Default indexer HPA settings:

| Setting                           | Default | Description                                        |
| --------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `indexer.autoscaling.minReplicas` | `2`     | Minimum number of indexer pods                     |
| `indexer.autoscaling.maxReplicas` | `10`    | Maximum number of indexer pods                     |
| CPU target                        | `70%`   | Average CPU utilization target across indexer pods |

## Enable compactor autoscaling{% #enable-compactor-autoscaling %}

To enable the compactor HPA, enable standalone compactors and set `compactor.autoscaling.enabled` to `true`:

```yaml
enableStandaloneCompactors: true

compactor:
  autoscaling:
    enabled: true
```

The chart creates the compactor HPA only when you set both `enableStandaloneCompactors` and `compactor.autoscaling.enabled` to `true`. When you enable compactor autoscaling, the HPA controls the number of compactor pods and ignores `compactor.replicaCount`.

Default compactor HPA settings:

| Setting                             | Default | Description                                          |
| ----------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `compactor.autoscaling.minReplicas` | `1`     | Minimum number of compactor pods                     |
| `compactor.autoscaling.maxReplicas` | `10`    | Maximum number of compactor pods                     |
| CPU target                          | `80%`   | Average CPU utilization target across compactor pods |

## Override the defaults{% #override-the-defaults %}

Set `minReplicas` and `maxReplicas` alongside `enabled` to size the scaling range for your workload. Use the [Cluster Sizing](https://docs.datadoghq.com/byoc-logs/operate/sizing.md) guide to pick a maximum that your node capacity supports:

```yaml
indexer:
  autoscaling:
    enabled: true
    minReplicas: 4
    maxReplicas: 20
```

## Apply the configuration{% #apply-the-configuration %}

Add the autoscaling values to your BYOC Logs values file, then upgrade your release:

```shell
helm upgrade <RELEASE_NAME> datadog/cloudprem \
  --namespace <NAMESPACE_NAME> \
  --values datadog-values.yaml
```

## Verify the HPAs{% #verify-the-hpas %}

List HPAs in the BYOC Logs namespace:

```shell
kubectl get hpa -n <NAMESPACE_NAME>
```

Describe an HPA to check metrics and recent scaling events:

```shell
kubectl describe hpa <RELEASE_NAME>-indexer -n <NAMESPACE_NAME>
kubectl describe hpa <RELEASE_NAME>-compactor -n <NAMESPACE_NAME>
```

`<RELEASE_NAME>-indexer` and `<RELEASE_NAME>-compactor` are the default HPA names created by the chart. If you set `nameOverride` or `fullnameOverride`, use the resulting names instead.

If `kubectl get hpa` shows `<unknown>` in the `TARGETS` column, the HPA cannot read CPU metrics. Check that the metrics API is running and that the target pods have CPU requests.

## Further reading{% #further-reading %}

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

- [Cluster Sizing](https://docs.datadoghq.com/byoc-logs/operate/sizing.md)
- [Monitor BYOC Logs](https://docs.datadoghq.com/byoc-logs/operate/monitoring.md)
- [CloudPrem Helm chart default values](https://github.com/DataDog/helm-charts/blob/main/charts/cloudprem/values.yaml)