Deploy the unifi-video helm chart on Kubernetes

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy the UniFi Video Helm chart on a Kubernetes cluster using Pulumi, we'll leverage the `kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart` resource from the Pulumi Kubernetes provider. This resource is an abstraction that allows us to deploy Helm charts into a Kubernetes cluster.

Here's how you can define a Pulumi program in TypeScript to deploy the UniFi Video Helm chart:

1. Ensure you have a Kubernetes cluster already provisioned and your `kubeconfig` file points to it.
2. In the Pulumi program, we will create an instance of the `Chart` resource specifying the necessary properties such as `chart`, `version`, `values` etc.
3. We're assuming that the UniFi Video chart is publicly available from a known Helm Chart repository (typically this could be a chart hosted on a service like Helm Hub or an artifact repository).

Now let's write the TypeScript program for Pulumi:

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

// Define the UniFi Video Helm chart release using the `kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart` class.
const unifiVideoChart = new k8s.helm.v3.Chart("unifi-video", {
    // Specify the Helm Chart repository URL where the UniFi Video chart is located.
    // Replace the `repo` property with the actual repository URL.
    // The `chart` property must match the name of the chart in that repository.
    repo: "your-helm-chart-repo",
    chart: "unifi-video",
    // Specify the version of the chart (replace with the version you want to deploy).
    version: "specific-chart-version",
    // Override default configuration by specifying custom values.
    // Replace or extend the `values` property with the settings appropriate for your use case.
    values: {
        // Example: Setting a custom service type.
        service: {
            type: "LoadBalancer"
        },
        // Place other custom configuration as key-value pairs here.
    },
    // Define the namespace where you want to deploy the UniFi Video chart.
    // If not specified, it will default to the `default` namespace.
    namespace: "unifi-video-namespace",
}, {
    // Provide the provider if you want to deploy to a specific Kubernetes cluster
    // that's not configured as the default context in your kubeconfig.
    // provider: myK8sProvider,
});

// Export the endpoint where the UniFi Video service can be accessed.
// This is dependent on the service type and configuration of the chart.
// For LoadBalancer services, the external IP would be of interest.
export const unifiVideoEndpoint = unifiVideoChart.getResourceProperty("v1/Service", "unifi-video-service", "status").apply(status => {
    return status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip;
});
```

Explanation of the Pulumi program:

- Import the Kubernetes package to define resources for deployment.
- Create a Helm chart resource with `new k8s.helm.v3.Chart`.
- Set the Helm chart repository URL where Pulumi can locate the `unifi-video` Helm chart.
- Specify the version of the UniFi Video chart you want to deploy.
- Override default Helm values by specifying custom values in the `values` object.
- Specify a Kubernetes namespace to deploy the chart. You can create one in advance or let Pulumi create one if it doesn't exist.
- Optionally, specify a provider if the Kubernetes cluster you want to deploy to is not the current context in your kubeconfig.
- Export a Kubernetes service endpoint after deployment, which allows accessing the service from outside the cluster. The way you retrieve the external IP address depends on the type of Kubernetes service created by the chart.

To use this Pulumi program:

1. Ensure you have Pulumi and the required Kubernetes SDK installed.
2. Ensure your `kubeconfig` is set up correctly to access your Kubernetes cluster.
3. Set up a new Pulumi project and replace the placeholder values (such as chart repository URLs, chart versions, and values) with the actual configurations for your UniFi Video Helm chart.
4. Run `pulumi up` to execute the deployment.
5. After the deployment, the program will export the endpoint which you can use to access your UniFi Video service.