Deploy the python-redis helm chart on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

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Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy the `python-redis` Helm chart on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), we will go through a series of steps using Pulumi. First, we need to create an AKS cluster where our applications will be deployed. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies the process of implementing a Kubernetes cluster by removing the complexity of managing the underlying infrastructure, as Pulumi will handle it for us.

Once we have an AKS cluster, we will install and configure the Pulumi Kubernetes provider to deploy Helm charts. In this case, we will deploy the `python-redis` Helm chart, which typically consists of a Python application that uses Redis as its backend store. The `python-redis` Helm chart should be available in a Helm repository, which we can reference in our Pulumi code.

Here's a Pulumi program written in TypeScript that accomplishes the following:

1. **Create an AKS Cluster**: We'll start by creating an AKS cluster. For demo purposes, we'll use a minimal configuration. In a production scenario, you would need to consider aspects such as node size, number of nodes, networking, security, and others according to your requirements.

2. **Deploy the Helm chart**: We'll use Pulumi's Kubernetes provider to deploy the `python-redis` Helm chart on the AKS cluster we've created.

Remember, before running the following code, you should have the Azure CLI installed and configured with the correct credentials to create resources in your Azure subscription. You should also have Pulumi CLI installed and set up.

Now, let's look at the code:

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

// A new Azure resource group
const resourceGroupName = new azure.core.ResourceGroup("resourceGroup", {
    location: "West US",
}).name;

// Create an AKS cluster
const password = new random.RandomPassword("password", {
    length: 20,
    special: true,
});
const managedClusterName = "python-redis-cluster";

const k8sCluster = new azure.containerservice.KubernetesCluster(managedClusterName, {
    resourceGroupName: resourceGroupName,
    defaultNodePool: {
        name: "aksagentpool",
        nodeCount: 2,
        vmSize: "Standard_DS2_v2",
    },
    dnsPrefix: pulumi.interpolate`${managedClusterName}-dns`,
    servicePrincipal: {
        clientId: process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_ID,
        clientSecret: process.env.AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET,
    },
    linuxProfile: {
        adminUsername: "aksuser",
        sshKey: {
            keyData: sshPublicKey,
        },
    },
    kubernetesVersion: "1.21.2",
});

// Expose a K8s provider instance using the cluster's kubeconfig
const provider = new k8s.Provider("k8sProvider", {
    kubeconfig: k8sCluster.kubeConfigRaw,
});

// Deploy the Python-Redis Helm chart using Pulumi's Kubernetes provider
const pythonRedisChart = new k8s.helm.v3.Chart("python-redis", {
    chart: "python-redis",
    // You would need to specify the repo where the chart is hosted.
    // As this is a hypothetical example, replace the repo URL with the real URL where the chart is hosted.
    fetchOpts: {
        repo: "http://charts.example.com/",
    },
    values: {
        // The Helm chart values go here; refer to the chart's documentation for the available options.
        // This is also a hypothetical example; modify the values as per the Python-Redis Helm chart documentation.
        usePassword: false,
    },
}, { provider });

// Export the kubeconfig and cluster name
export const kubeConfig = k8sCluster.kubeConfigRaw;
export const clusterName = k8sCluster.name;
```

In the above program:

- We define a new resource group in Azure where all resources will reside.
- Next, we create an AKS cluster named `python-redis-cluster` with a predefined configuration.
- We then create an instance of the `kubernetes.Provider` to interact with our AKS cluster.
- Finally, using the `k8s.helm.v3.Chart` resource, we deploy the `python-redis` Helm chart to our AKS cluster.

Note that the Kubernetes cluster is configured to use a service principal for cluster operations and requires setting the environment variables `AZURE_CLIENT_ID` and `AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET` with your Azure credentials. The SSH public key (`sshPublicKey`) should also be provided.

Also, please ensure to replace `http://charts.example.com/` with the actual Helm chart repository URL and update the Helm chart values according to the `python-redis` chart's specifications.

After the deployment, we export the kubeconfig needed to manage the Kubernetes cluster with `kubectl` and other Kubernetes tools, as well as the cluster's name for reference.

To run this Pulumi program, you would navigate to the directory containing the program file, ensure you're logged in to Pulumi (`pulumi login`), and then execute `pulumi up`. This will instruct Pulumi to provision the resources defined in the code within your Azure subscription.