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10.2. Manual Registration

While Backend.AI GO handles local resources automatically, connecting to external resources, like a corporate Backend.AI Cluster or a colleague's high-performance workstation, requires manual registration. This ensures security and explicit control over where your data is sent.

Connecting to a Peer (Backend.AI GO)

Peer-to-peer connections between GO instances are managed in Settings > Nodes. The node that shares its models generates a one-time connection key, and the node that wants to use those models registers with that key.

  1. On the machine that will serve models (the sub node), open Settings > Nodes, enable Node Sharing, and generate a connection key. The key is shown as an aigo:// string and as a QR code, and it expires after the configured time.
  2. On the machine that will use the models (the head node), open Settings > Nodes > Connected Nodes, click Add Node, and paste the key or scan the QR code. Nodes on the same local network are also discovered automatically via mDNS; see Auto Discovery.
  3. Once registered, the node is health-checked automatically, its loaded models appear in the chat model selector grouped under the node name, and you can load or unload models on it remotely. See Remote Model Control and Distributed Routing.

The peer authenticates with a key issued during pairing that is limited to serving-session management, health checks, and inference; it cannot touch model files, settings, or logs on your machine.

Entries of type Backend.AI GO in the legacy Mesh tab (under API Settings) are kept for reference only and do not affect routing. Re-register those machines from Settings > Nodes.

Connecting to a Backend.AI Cluster

If your organization uses Backend.AI Enterprise, you can connect your GO client directly to the cluster.

Prerequisites

You need the following information from your cluster administrator:

  • Endpoint URL: The API address of the cluster (e.g., https://api.my-cluster.ai).
  • Access Key: Your public identifier.
  • Secret Key: Your private signing key (never share this).

Steps

  1. Open API Settings by clicking the gear icon in the sidebar.
  2. Select the Mesh tab.
  3. Scroll to the Backend.AI Clusters section.
  4. Click Add Cluster.
  5. Enter the details:
    • Name: A friendly name for this connection (e.g., "Company GPU Cluster").
    • Endpoint URL: The full URL provided by your admin.
    • Access Key: Paste your access key.
    • Secret Key: Paste your secret key.
  6. Click Save.

The system will immediately attempt to verify the connection. If successful, the status indicator will turn green, and models available on the cluster will start appearing in your model selection list.