Deploy the provider-hcloud helm chart on Rancher

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy a Helm chart on Rancher using the provider-hcloud (Hetzner Cloud), you will have to interact with Rancher's Kubernetes-based environment through Pulumi's `rancher2` provider. The `rancher2` provider allows for managing resources in a Rancher v2.x installation.

Here's a general walkthrough of the steps you’d follow to accomplish this, along with a Pulumi program in TypeScript to demonstrate how you can implement it:

1. **Set up the Pulumi toolchain**: Ensure you have Pulumi CLI installed and set up with the required cloud credentials.
2. **Install Node.js and Pulumi's TypeScript SDK**: If you haven't already, install Node.js and use `npm` to install the `@pulumi/pulumi` package.
3. **Set up Rancher2 Provider**: To work with Rancher2's resources, you'll need to set up the `rancher2` provider. The provider needs access to Rancher's API, which can be configured using the access key and secret key.
4. **Create a Kubernetes Cluster**: Use the `Cluster` resource to create a Kubernetes cluster in Rancher.
5. **Deploy Helm Chart**: Deploy the provider-hcloud Helm chart to the cluster. This is generally done using Kubernetes' `helm.v3.Chart` resource, but since we're working within a Rancher-managed cluster, you’d use Rancher's `App` resource.

Below is a Pulumi program in TypeScript that outlines these steps:

```typescript
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as rancher2 from "@pulumi/rancher2";

// Note: Configure your Pulumi program with Rancher access credentials.
// This could be done via the `config` system in Pulumi, environment variables, or directly in code.

// Initialize a Rancher2 provider instance with credentials to communicate with the Rancher instance
const rancherProvider = new rancher2.Provider("rancherProvider", {
    // Set your Rancher API endpoint and access credentials here
    apiURL: "https://your-rancher-api-endpoint",
    accessKey: "your-rancher-access-key",
    secretKey: "your-rancher-secret-key",
});

// Create a Kubernetes cluster in Rancher that you will deploy the provider-hcloud Helm chart to.
// Here you would specify the details such as node count, cluster version, and other cloud-specific settings.
const cluster = new rancher2.Cluster("hcloud-cluster", {
    // Specify the cluster configuration according to Hetzner Cloud's required parameters
    // and any specifics for your setup.
    name: "hcloud-cluster",
    // You need to specify the driver details specific to Hetzner Cloud
    rkeConfig: {
        // Your RKE config specific to the Hetzner Cloud goes here
    },
    // Additional configurations and details can go here
}, { provider: rancherProvider });

// Once your cluster is ready, you can deploy the provider-hcloud Helm chart.
// For a Helm chart deployment, Rancher uses its catalog Apps feature.
// Specify the Helm chart details, repository, and corresponding values for the chart.
const hcloudApp = new rancher2.App("hcloud-helm-app", {
    // Set reference to the created cluster ID
    clusterId: cluster.id,
    // Set target namespace for the Helm chart within the Kubernetes cluster
    namespaceId: "namespace-id", // replace with actual namespace_id
    // Provide the details for the chart you want to install
    catalogName: "catalog-name", // replace with the catalog name which lists provider-hcloud
    chartName: "provider-hcloud", // exact chart name for Hetzner Cloud integration
    valuesYaml: `# Your values file in YAML format`, // Configuration for your hcloud provider chart
    // Other configurations such as target version, etc. go here
}, { provider: rancherProvider, dependsOn: [cluster] });

// Export any necessary fields that you might need to access
export const clusterName = cluster.name;
export const appName = hcloudApp.name;
```

The code comments within the Pulumi program provide guidance on the configuration and steps required to create the cluster and deploy a Helm chart in Rancher.

Before running this code, make sure to replace placeholders such as `https://your-rancher-api-endpoint`, `your-rancher-access-key`, and other specifics with actual values from your Hetzner Cloud and Rancher setup. Also, adjust any resource properties to match those of your cloud provider’s specifications.

To execute the Pulumi code, navigate to the directory with the `Pulumi.yaml` and TypeScript files, then run `pulumi up`. This command will start the deployment process as described by your Pulumi code above.

Remember, deploying cloud resources requires appropriate permissions and may incur costs according to your cloud provider's pricing. Always review the execution plan, which Pulumi presents before the actual deployment, and ensure all configurations are correct and within your budget.