Deploy the ibm-cp4d-analytics-engine-instance helm chart on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

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Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Deploying an instance of the IBM Cloud Pak for Data (CP4D) Analytics Engine on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) typically involves several steps:

1. Provisioning an AKS cluster, which acts as the container orchestration system to run your Helm chart.
2. Setting up Helm on your local machine or CI/CD system.
3. Adding any necessary Helm repositories that contain the IBM CP4D chart.
4. Deploying the Helm chart onto the AKS cluster.

In the following Pulumi TypeScript program, I will demonstrate how to provision an AKS cluster. Once you have your AKS cluster, you can use Helm to deploy your `ibm-cp4d-analytics-engine-instance` chart. Note that deploying Helm charts with the Pulumi Kubernetes provider is also possible, but manual Helm chart deployment provides more flexibility and is often the preferred approach when dealing with complicated deployments like IBM CP4D.

Before running the Pulumi program, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

- A Pulumi account and the Pulumi CLI installed on your machine.
- Azure CLI installed and configured with the appropriate credentials to interact with your Azure account.
- Install Node.js and npm to run Pulumi programs in TypeScript.

Below is a Pulumi TypeScript program that provisions an AKS cluster. This will be the environment where your Helm charts are deployed.

```typescript
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as azure from "@pulumi/azure";
import * as k8s from "@pulumi/kubernetes";

// Create an Azure Resource Group
const resourceGroup = new azure.core.ResourceGroup("my-resourcegroup", {
    location: "West US",
});

// Create an AKS cluster
const cluster = new azure.containerservice.KubernetesCluster("my-aks-cluster", {
    resourceGroupName: resourceGroup.name,
    agentPoolProfiles: [{
        name: "default",
        count: 2, // The number of worker nodes; can adjust as needed
        vmSize: "Standard_DS2_v2", // Instance size for the worker nodes
    }],
    dnsPrefix: `${pulumi.getStack()}-kube`, // DNS prefix should be unique.
    linuxProfile: {
        adminUsername: "aksuser",
        sshKey: {
            keyData: pulumi.output(sshPublicKey),
        },
    },
    servicePrincipal: {
        clientId: process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_ID,
        clientSecret: process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET,
    },
    // Enable RBAC on the cluster for security
    roleBasedAccessControl: { enabled: true },
});

// Export the kubeconfig to access the cluster
export const kubeconfig = cluster.kubeConfigRaw;

// Using the Pulumi Kubernetes provider to deploy an application would 
// go here, but since we are focusing on provisioning the cluster
// for Helm to deploy IBM CP4D, the Kubernetes provider isn't used here
```

In this program, you are:
- Creating an Azure resource group to contain the AKS cluster.
- Defining the AKS cluster configuration, including the worker node size and count. Adjust these according to your needs.
- Setting up an SSH key for the Linux profile in the AKS cluster.
- Setting up Azure Service Principal credentials for the AKS cluster to interact with other Azure services.
- Enabling RBAC for the AKS cluster for added security.

Please ensure to replace `process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_ID` and `process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET` with your actual Azure Service Principal credentials.

After provisioning the AKS cluster with Pulumi, you would typically proceed with deploying the Helm chart for IBM CP4D. Using the exported `kubeconfig`, you can configure your local `kubectl` or integrate it with your CI/CD system for Helm deployment.

Here's a high-level overview of the steps you would follow to deploy the Helm chart:
1. Install `kubectl` and configure it to use the `kubeconfig` obtained from the Pulumi program.
2. Install Helm if not already installed.
3. Add the IBM Helm repository (if available) and update the Helm chart repository.
4. Use Helm to deploy the `ibm-cp4d-analytics-engine-instance` chart to your AKS cluster.

Since the Pulumi program only configures the infrastructure, you'll need to run the appropriate Helm commands based on IBM's documentation.

Keep in mind that deploying IBM CP4D is a complex process and requires a thorough understanding of its prerequisites and configuration options. Always refer to IBM's official documentation for specific details on deploying their software.