Quickstarts for a number of different ways to install Redpanda

Quickstarts for docker, K8, mac and linux.
Broke out the production deployment to a separate page.
Added a FAQ.

Author: rkruze

docs/www/faq.md

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+---
+title: Frequently Asked Questions
+order: 0
+---
+# Frequently Asked Questions
+
+## Is Redpanda Fully Kafka API Compatible?
+
+We support all parts of the Kafka API except for the transactions API. We are
+working on adding this shortly and you can find the issue in our public
+github here, [Support the Kafka Transactions API](https://github.com/vectorizedio/redpanda/issues/445). 
+
+If you run into any issues while working with a Kafka tool, please let us know! [File an issue](https://github.com/vectorizedio/redpanda/issues/new)
+
+## Does Redpanda use Zookeeper?
+
+No, Redpanda is a modern streaming platform that has been built using C++ and
+Raft for consensus. Since we use Raft we have no need for an external consensus
+system like Zookeeper.
+
+## Can I run Redpanda directly on Windows or MacOS?
+
+Unfortunately, you can only run Redpanda directly on Linux. However, you can
+use Docker to run Redpanda on any system supported by Docker. Please see our
+[Quick Start Docker Guide](quick-start-docker.md) for more information.

docs/www/production-deployment.md

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+---
+title: Production Deployment
+order: 0
+---
+# Production Deployment
+
+This guide will take you through what is needed to setup a production cluster
+of Redpanda.
+
+### Requirements
+
+For the best performance the following are strongly recommended:
+
+- XFS for the data directory of Redpanda (/var/lib/redpanda/data)
+- A kernel that is at least 3.10.0-514, but a 4.18 or newer kernel is preferred
+- Local NVMe, RAID-0 when using multiple disks
+- 2GB of memory per core
+- The following ports need to be opened
+  - `33145` - Internal RPC Port
+  - `9092` - Kafka API Port
+  - `9644` - Prometheus & HTTP Admin port
+
+## Installation
+
+First we need to provision the hardware needed. This can be done [manually](#manual-installation) or with the provided Terraform deployment files found here: [https://github.com/vectorizedio/deployment-automation].
+
+First, install Terraform using the [Terraform Installation Tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/terraform/install-cli).
+Then clone the `deployment-automation` repo:
+
+```
+git clone git@github.com:vectorizedio/deployment-automation.git
+```
+
+Then change into the directory:
+
+```
+cd deployment-automation
+```
+
+From here you can follow the specific instructions for [AWS](#aws) or
+[GCP](#gcp)
+
+### AWS
+
+Within the `deployment-automation` folder change into the `aws` directory
+
+```
+cd aws
+```
+
+#### Step 1: Set AWS Credentials
+
+First we need to set the AWS secret and key. Terraform provide multiple ways
+to set this which is covered here: [https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs#environment-variables]
+
+#### Step 2: Init Terraform
+
+Before using Terraform to deploy the cluster we need to run the following:
+
+```
+terraform init
+```
+
+#### Step 3: Create the Cluster
+
+We now can run `terraform apply` to create the cluster. There are a number of
+configuration options which can be specified when creating the cluster:
+
+- `aws_region`: The AWS region to deploy the infrastructure on. Default: `us-west-2`.
+- `nodes`: The number of nodes to base the cluster on. Default: `1`.
+- `enable_monitoring`: Will create a prometheus/grafana instance to be used for monitoring the cluster. Default: `true`.
+- `instance_type`: The instance type which redpanda will be deployed on. Default: `i3.8xlarge`.
+- `prometheus_instance_type`: The instance type which prometheus and grafana will deployed on. Default: `c5.2xlarge`.
+- `public_key_path`: Provide the path to the public key of the keypair used to access the nodes. Default: `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub`
+- `distro`: Linux distribution to install (this settings affects the below variables). Default: `ubuntu-focal`
+- `distro_ami`: AWS AMI to use for each available distribution.
+These have to be changed with according to the chosen AWS region.
+- `distro_ssh_user`: User used to ssh into the created EC2 instances.
+
+The following is an example of creating a three node cluster using i3.large
+instances.
+
+```
+terraform apply -var="instance_type=i3.large" -var="nodes 3"
+```
+
+### GCP
+
+Within the `deployment-automation` folder change into the `gcp` directory
+
+```
+cd gcp
+```
+
+#### Step 1: Prerequisites
+
+You will need an existing subnet to deploy the VMs into. The subnet's attached
+firewall should allow inbound traffic on ports 22, 3000, 8888, 8889, 9090,
+9092, 9644 and 33145. This module adds the `rp-node` tag to the deployed VMs,
+which can be used as the target tag for the firewall rule.
+
+#### Step 2: Init Terraform
+
+Before using Terraform to deploy the cluster we need to run the following:
+
+```
+terraform init
+```
+
+#### Step 3: Create the Cluster
+
+We now can run `terraform apply` to create the cluster. There are a number of
+configuration options which can be specified when creating the cluster:
+
+- `region` (default: `us-west-1`): The region to deploy the infrastructure on.
+- `zone` (default: `a`): The region's zone to deploy the infrastructure on.
+- `subnet`: The name of an existing subnet to deploy the infrastructure on.
+- `nodes` (default: `1`): The number of nodes to base the cluster on. Keep in mind that one node is used as a monitoring node.
+- `disks` (default: `1`): The number of **local** disks to deploy on each machine
+- `image` (default: `ubuntu-os-cloud/ubuntu-1804-lts`): The OS image running on the VMs.
+- `machine_type` (default: `n2-standard-2`): The machine type.
+- `public_key_path`: Provide the path to the public key of the keypair used to access the nodes.
+- `ssh_user`: The ssh user. Must match the one in the public ssh key's comments.
+
+The following is an example of creating a three node cluster using the subnet
+named `redpanda-cluster-subnet`
+
+```
+terraform apply -var nodes=3 -var subnet=redpanda-cluster-subnet -var public_key_path=~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub -var ssh_user=$USER
+```
+
+## Install Redpanda
+
+Once the hardware has been provisioned. You can choose to either install
+Redpanda using our provided Ansible Playbooks or install Redpanda manually.
+
+- [Installation with Ansible](#Installation-with-Ansible)
+- [Manual Installation](#Manual-Installation)
+
+## Installation with Ansible
+
+### Requirements
+
+- Install Ansible - https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/installation_guide/intro_installation.html
+
+### Step 1: Clone the Github Repo
+
+First we need to clone the repo:
+
+```
+git clone git@github.com:vectorizedio/deployment-automation.git
+```
+
+Then change into the directory:
+
+```
+cd deployment-automation
+```
+
+You will want install the required roles needed by Ansible with the following
+command:
+
+```
+ansible-galaxy install -r ansible/requirements.yml
+```
+
+### Step 2: Configure the hosts.ini file
+
+In the deployment-automation directory you will find a file called `hosts.ini`.
+It will look something like:
+
+```
+[redpanda]
+ip ansible_user=ssh_user ansible_become=True private_ip=pip id=0
+ip ansible_user=ssh_user ansible_become=True private_ip=pip id=1
+
+[monitor]
+ip ansible_user=ssh_user ansible_become=True private_ip=pip id=1
+```
+
+Under the `[redpanda]` section, you will want to replace the following:
+
+- `ip` - the public ip address of the machine
+- `ansible_user` - the username for ansible to use to ssh to the machine
+- `private_ip` - the private ip address of the machine, could be the same as the public ip address
+- `id` - The node id of the Redpanda instance, this needs to be unique for each host
+
+The `[monitor]` section is if you wish to have Prometheus and Grafana installed
+on a give host. If you wish to not have this deployed then remove the
+`[monitor]` section.
+
+### Step 3: Run the Ansible Playbook
+
+You can now setup Redpanda on your selected nodes by running the following
+command:
+
+```
+ansible-playbook --private-key <your_private_key> -i hosts.ini -v ansible/playbooks/provision-node.yml
+```
+
+Once this completes you will have a fully running cluster.
+
+## Manual Installation
+
+### Step 1: Install the Binary
+
+On Fedora/RedHat Systems:
+
+```
+curl -1sLf 'https://packages.vectorized.io/nzc4ZYQK3WRGd9sy/redpanda/cfg/setup/bash.rpm.sh' | sudo -E bash && sudo yum install redpanda -y 
+```
+
+On Debian Systems:
+
+```
+curl -1sLf 'https://packages.vectorized.io/nzc4ZYQK3WRGd9sy/redpanda/cfg/setup/bash.deb.sh' | sudo -E bash && sudo apt install redpanda -y
+```
+
+### Step 2: Set Redpanda Production Mode
+
+By default Redpanda is installed in **Development** mode, to we next need to
+set Redpanda to run in **Production** mode. This is done with:
+
+```
+sudo rpk mode production
+```
+
+We then need to tune the hardware, which can be done by running the following
+on each node:
+
+```
+sudo rpk tune all
+```
+
+> **_Optional: Benchmark your SSD_**
+> 
+> On taller machines we recommend benchmarking your SSD. This can be done
+> with `rpk iotune`. You only need to run this once. For reference, a decent
+> local  NVMe SSD should yield around 1GB/s sustained writes.
+> `rpk iotune` will capture SSD wear and tear and give accurate measurements
+> of what your hardware is actually capable of delivering. It is recommended
+> you run this before benchmarking.
+>
+>If you are on AWS, GCP or Azure, creating a new instance and upgrading to
+>an image with a recent Linux Kernel version is often the easiest way to
+>work around bad devices.
+>
+>```
+>sudo rpk iotune # takes 10mins
+>```
+
+### Step 3: Configure and Start the Root Node
+
+Now that the software is installed we need to configure it. The first step is
+to setup the root node. The root node will start as a standalone node, and
+every other one will join it, forming a cluster along the way.
+
+For the root node we’ll choose 0 as its ID. --self tells the node which interface address to bind to. Usually you want that to be its private IP.
+
+```
+sudo rpk config bootstrap --id 0 --self <ip> && \
+sudo systemctl start redpanda-tuner redpanda
+```
+
+### Step 4: Configure and Start the Rest of the Nodes
+
+For every other node, we just have to choose a unique integer id for it and let
+it know where to reach the root node.
+
+```
+sudo rpk config bootstrap --id <unique id> \
+--self <private ip>                        \
+--ips <root node ip> &&                    \
+sudo systemctl start redpanda-tuner redpanda
+```
+
+### Step 5: Verify Installation
+
+You can verify that the cluster is up and running by checking the logs:
+
+```
+journalctl -u redpanda
+```
+
+You should also be able to create a topic with the following command:
+
+```
+rpk api topic create panda
+```