Deploy the istio-sidecar helm chart on Kubernetes

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy the Istio sidecar using a Helm chart on Kubernetes using Pulumi, you'll be utilizing the `kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart` resource from the Pulumi Kubernetes provider. This resource allows you to deploy Helm charts in a Kubernetes cluster from a chart repository or from a local chart.

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes, which enables you to package, configure, and deploy applications and services onto Kubernetes clusters. Istio is a popular open-source service mesh that provides a uniform way to secure, connect, and monitor microservices.

Here’s what you need to do to deploy the Istio sidecar using a Helm chart:

1. Set up Pulumi with the appropriate credentials for your Kubernetes cluster.
2. Use the `kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart` resource to specify the Istio Helm chart and configure any necessary values (such as enabling the sidecar injector, if it is not enabled by default).
3. (Optional) Set a specific version of the Helm chart or override the default values with your own configuration.

Below is a Pulumi TypeScript program that deploys the Istio sidecar using a Helm chart:

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

// Instantiate a Kubernetes Helm Chart from the 'istio' repository
const istioSidecarChart = new k8s.helm.v3.Chart("istio-sidecar", {
    chart: "istio", // You might need to adjust the chart name based on the chart repository you are using
    version: "1.10.0", // Specify the version of the chart you want to deploy
    fetchOpts: {
        repo: "https://istio-release.storage.googleapis.com/charts", // The location of the Istio Helm repository
    },
    // Define values to configure the Istio chart, this is where you can enable and configure the sidecar injector
    values: {
        sidecarInjectorWebhook: {
            enabled: true,
        },
        // ... any additional custom values for your Istio configuration
    },
});

// Export the name of the chart deployed
export const chartName = istioSidecarChart.metadata.name;
```

A few important things to note:

- You need to replace `"istio"` with the actual name of the Istio Helm chart if it's named differently in the Helm repository you are using.
- Make sure to specify the correct version of the Helm chart that you want to deploy with `version: "1.10.0"`. Replace the version string with the version of your choice.
- The `fetchOpts.repo` property is the URL to the Helm chart repository where Istio charts are stored.
- Inside the `values` object, you can set various Istio configuration options. In this example, the sidecar injector webhook is explicitly enabled, but you might need to configure other settings based on your requirements and the version of the chart.

Don't forget to adjust the version of the Istio Helm chart and the repository URL to match the current available resources at your time of deployment. You will also need to have your Kubernetes cluster configured and accessible via your local `kubectl` context for Pulumi to interact with it.

Once you run this Pulumi program, it will use Helm to deploy Istio on your Kubernetes cluster, including the sidecar injector which is responsible for injecting the Istio sidecar proxy into your pods. Remember to consult the [official Istio documentation](https://istio.io/latest/docs/setup/install/helm/) for detailed information on chart values and configurations.