Deploy the mtls helm chart on Kubernetes

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Deploying a Helm chart with mTLS (mutual TLS) on a Kubernetes cluster using Pulumi involves several steps. Mutual TLS is a security feature that enables two parties to mutually authenticate each other using TLS, a commonly used protocol for securing network traffic.

To accomplish this, we will use Pulumi's Kubernetes provider which allows us to represent Helm charts as Pulumi resources. In this case, we will use the `kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart` resource, which is part of the Kubernetes provider's Helm module. The `Chart` resource is a high-level resource that can deploy a Helm chart into a Kubernetes cluster from a variety of sources such as a Helm repository, a local directory with chart files, etc.

Below is a TypeScript program that demonstrates how to deploy a Helm chart with mTLS enabled. This program assumes that you already have a Kubernetes cluster running and that Pulumi is configured with the correct access to deploy resources to this cluster.

Here's the detailed TypeScript program:

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

// The name 'mtls' here is arbitrary, and you can choose any name that is compliant
// with Kubernetes resource naming conventions. This name will be used as a handle
// to reference the Helm chart within our Pulumi program.
const mtlsChart = new k8s.helm.v3.Chart('mtls', {
    // Specify the chart repo URL where the mtls chart can be found.
    // This may change based on where your specific chart is hosted.
    repo: 'your-helm-chart-repo',

// The actual chart name within the repo.
    chart: 'mtls',

// You might want to specify the namespace in which to deploy the chart.
    namespace: 'default',

// Chart version to use. This would depend on the versions available in the repository.
    version: '1.0.0',

// Values to pass to the Helm chart. The settings will differ based on the mtls chart being used.
    // This is where you would plug in your mTLS configurations.
    values: {
        // These values are hypothetical and depend entirely on the structure of your Helm chart.
        // For a real deployment, consult the chart's documentation to see what values are expected.
        certManager: {
            enabled: true,
            // Certificate settings...
        },
        mtlsSecrets: {
            // Expected secrets for mTLS configuration...
        },
    },
    
    // It's a good practice to specify resource transformations if you need to manipulate
    // any of the Kubernetes resources that will be created with this Helm chart.
    transformations: [
        (resource) => {
            // For example, you might want to add annotations to all pods,
            // or modify labels, etc.
            if (resource.kind === 'Pod') {
                resource.metadata.annotations = {'example.com/annotation': 'value'};
            }
        },
    ],
});

// Export the chart's namespace and name which might be useful if
// you need to interface with the deployed resources using kubectl or other tools.
export const chartName = mtlsChart.metadata.apply(m => m.name);
export const chartNamespace = mtlsChart.metadata.apply(m => m.namespace);
```

In this program:

- We import the Pulumi Kubernetes package, which allows us to communicate with our Kubernetes cluster in a programmatic way.
- We instantiate a Helm chart with the `Chart` class from the `@pulumi/kubernetes/helm/v3` module.
- We specify several important parameters needed to locate and define our chart:
  
    - `repo`: This should be the URL of the repository where your Helm chart is hosted.
    - `chart`: The name of the chart within the repository.
    - `namespace`: The Kubernetes namespace into which you want the chart to be deployed.
    - `version`: The version of the chart you want to deploy.
    - `values`: These are the configuration values that will be applied to the chart, and they drive how the chart is deployed and behaves. In the context of mutual TLS, you will specify TLS-related configuration here according to the specification of the Helm chart you're using.
    - `transformations`: A Helm chart may create multiple Kubernetes resources. Pulumi transformations allow you to programmatically modify these resources at deployment time. For example, you can add annotations or labels to all resources or make other changes that suit your needs.

At the end of the Pulumi program, we export the name and namespace of the deployed chart. These exports can be useful for other parts of your infrastructure that may need to reference the Helm deployment.

Remember, before running this Pulumi program, you should ensure you’ve configured Pulumi with access to your Kubernetes cluster and that you have Helm charts available at the specified `repo` URL. Please refer to your Helm chart's documentation for specific `values` configurations required for mTLS setup.