Deploy the ibm-cpd-ds-instance helm chart on Rancher

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy an IBM Cloud Pak for Data (cpd) Decision Support instance using Helm on a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster, you'll need to perform several steps. Since you're new to this, I'll walk through the process step by step:

Prepare your Kubernetes cluster: Ensure you have a running Kubernetes cluster managed by Rancher. If you haven't already, set up a cluster in Rancher and obtain its kubeconfig, which Pulumi will use to communicate with your cluster.
Install and configure Pulumi: Install Pulumi on your local machine, set up a Pulumi account if you haven't, and log in using the Pulumi CLI. This step is essential for Pulumi to maintain your infrastructure's state.
Create a new Pulumi TypeScript project: Use the Pulumi CLI to start a new project. This project will contain the code for deploying your Helm chart on Rancher.
Define the Kubernetes and Helm resources: In your Pulumi program, you'll import the necessary Kubernetes and Rancher2 provider packages. Then, you will define a Helm Release resource representing your IBM cpd ds instance.

Here is a basic TypeScript program that defines a Helm chart deployment on a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster. Please ensure that you have the Helm chart details such as chart version, helm repository URL, and any values you want to override in the chart:

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as k8s from "@pulumi/kubernetes";
import * as rancher2 from "@pulumi/rancher2";

// Define configuration variables for Helm chart
// Ideally, these come from a config file or environment variables.
const chartName = "ibm-cpd-ds";
const chartVersion = "1.2.3"; // Replace with your chart's version
const helmRepoUrl = "https://charts.example.com/"; // Replace with your Helm repository URL
const releaseName = "my-cpd-ds-instance";
const namespace = "cpd-ds";

// Reference to your Rancher Kubernetes cluster
// Ensure that you have the cluster available in Rancher and retrieve its kubeconfig.
const clusterKubeconfig = "<YOUR_KUBECONFIG_CONTENTS>";

// Create a Pulumi Kubernetes provider instance using the kubeconfig from the Rancher cluster
const k8sProvider = new k8s.Provider("k8s-provider", {
    kubeconfig: clusterKubeconfig,
});

// Create a new Kubernetes namespace for your application
const ns = new k8s.core.v1.Namespace("namespace", {
    metadata: {
        name: namespace,
    },
}, { provider: k8sProvider });

// Define the Helm Release for the IBM cpd ds instance
const cpdDs = new k8s.helm.v3.Release(releaseName, {
    chart: chartName,
    version: chartVersion,
    repositoryOpts: { repo: helmRepoUrl },
    namespace: ns.metadata.name,
    // Specify any values you need for your Helm chart.
    values: {
        // Placeholder for values to configure the chart.
        // Example: key: "value"
    },
}, { provider: k8sProvider, dependsOn: ns });

// Export the CPD instance URL once it is ready
export const cpdDsUrl = pulumi.interpolate`http://<YOUR_CPD_DS_INSTANCE_URL>`;

Detailed Breakdown of Code Components:

@pulumi/pulumi, @pulumi/kubernetes, and @pulumi/rancher2: These are the main Pulumi packages that provide the classes and functions necessary to communicate with various Cloud APIs and manage resources.
chartName, chartVersion, helmRepoUrl, releaseName, and namespace: These are placeholders for the actual values specific to the Helm chart being deployed. You need to fill these in with the appropriate values for your instance.
clusterKubeconfig: The generated kubeconfig from Rancher that you must replace with your cluster's actual kubeconfig content.
k8s.Provider: This Pulumi resource is configured to work with our Kubernetes cluster, using the kubeconfig we obtained from Rancher.
k8s.core.v1.Namespace: Represents a Kubernetes namespace where our application will be deployed.
k8s.helm.v3.Release: This Pulumi resource abstracts a Helm chart release. We specify the chart name, version, and repository along with configuration values that the chart requires.

Note: You need to replace the placeholder values with the actual details from your Helm chart and Rancher deployment. The cpdDsUrl is a placeholder and should be set based on how your application is exposed, typically through a Kubernetes Service or Ingress.

After updating the placeholders with actual values, you can execute your Pulumi program using the following commands in your terminal:

pulumi up

This command starts the deployment process, and Pulumi will provide you with a preview of what resources will be created, modified, or deleted. If you agree with the changes, confirm the execution, and Pulumi will apply the changes to your Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster.

Through this process, you’ll learn how infrastructure as code can simplify and automate the deployment of complex applications. Remember to check the official Pulumi documentation for more details and customization options.