Using kubernetes k8s.keycloak.org with apps.emqx.io

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Keycloak is a widely used open-source Identity and Access Management solution, which you can deploy on a Kubernetes cluster. EMQX, on the other hand, is a highly scalable, real-time messaging broker that handles large volumes of messages in an IoT application. Integrating Keycloak with EMQX would typically involve setting up Keycloak for identity management and configuring EMQX to authenticate using the Keycloak server.

In this example, you'll learn how to use Pulumi to deploy Keycloak on a Kubernetes cluster and then set up EMQX expecting that it will use Keycloak for authentication. This guide assumes that you have a Kubernetes cluster already setup and `kubectl` configured to interact with it. You'll be writing this program in TypeScript, leveraging Pulumi's Kubernetes package to deploy resources.

First, you need to install the necessary Pulumi packages for Kubernetes and the Keycloak provider by running the following commands:

```bash
pulumi new kubernetes-typescript  # if starting a new Pulumi project
npm install @pulumi/kubernetes
npm install @pulumi/keycloak
```

Here is the main part of the Pulumi program:

```typescript
import * as k8s from '@pulumi/kubernetes';
import * as keycloak from '@pulumi/keycloak';

// Create a Keycloak namespace on your Kubernetes cluster
const namespace = new k8s.core.v1.Namespace('keycloak-ns', {
    metadata: {
        name: 'keycloak',
    }
});

// Deploy Keycloak using an existing Helm chart
const keycloakRelease = new k8s.helm.v3.Release('keycloak', {
    namespace: namespace.metadata.name,
    chart: 'keycloak',
    version: '15.0.2', // Use an appropriate version of the Keycloak Helm chart
    repositoryOpts: {
        repo: 'https://codecentric.github.io/helm-charts',
    },
    values: {
        // Set values to configure Keycloak appropriately
        // Example: setup admin user, persistence, replicas, etc.
    },
});

// Create a Kubernetes Deployment for EMQX
const emqxDeployment = new k8s.apps.v1.Deployment('emqx', {
    metadata: {
        namespace: namespace.metadata.name,
    },
    spec: {
        replicas: 1,
        selector: {
            matchLabels: {
                app: 'emqx',
            },
        },
        template: {
            metadata: {
                labels: {
                    app: 'emqx',
                },
            },
            spec: {
                containers: [
                    {
                        name: 'emqx',
                        image: 'emqx/emqx:latest', // Use an appropriate version of the EMQX Docker image
                        ports: [
                            {
                                name: 'mqtt',
                                containerPort: 1883,
                            },
                            // Expose other ports required by EMQX (e.g., for WebSockets, management API, etc.)
                        ],
                        env: [
                            // Set environment variables for EMQX to integrate with Keycloak
                            // For example, EMQX_AUTH__JWT__SECRET, EMQX_AUTH__JWT__PUBKEY
                        ],
                    },
                ],
            },
        },
    },
});

// Export any important information, such as URLs to access Keycloak and EMQX
export const keycloakUrl = keycloakRelease.status.apply(status => `http://${status}`);
```

In this program, we:

- Import the Pulumi Kubernetes and Keycloak libraries.
- Create a Kubernetes Namespace dedicated to Keycloak.
- Install Keycloak using Helm by referring to the required Helm Chart, and you can customize Keycloak by setting the appropriate values. You'll need to lookup the appropriate version of the Helm chart and adjust the `values` object to suit your deployment requirements. For example, you might want to set up the admin username and password, persistent storage options, and replica count.
- Deploy EMQX as a Kubernetes Deployment within the same namespace. You will have to set the environment variables for EMQX to point towards the Keycloak instance for authentication. The specifics of this will depend on how you've set up Keycloak and the authentication approach you're using.

This Pulumi program leverages the `@pulumi/kubernetes` package to create and manage Kubernetes resources like Namespaces and Deployments. However, real-world usage would demand significant configuration for both Keycloak and EMQX to work together, including matching up the authentication protocols and keys shared between the two. You'll need to refer to both Keycloak and EMQX's documentation to find the specifics on how to configure this integration.

This is a simplified illustration of how to get Keycloak and EMQX running in a Kubernetes environment using Pulumi. Your actual configuration, especially around security, should be much more detailed. Also, in production, consider factors such as load balancing, secrets management, and high availability.

Please note that this Pulumi program doesn't include the specifics of setting up Keycloak authentication for EMQX, as this would involve a detailed understanding of your specific authentication requirements, which typically involves setting up clients, roles, and scopes in Keycloak and configuring EMQX to use Keycloak as an OIDC provider. You would want to add additional configuration to both Keycloak and EMQX deployments to handle this integration, which could include configuring Keycloak clients, realms, and user federation.