Chapter 5. Working with Helm charts

1. Download the Helm binary and add it to your path:

   # curl -L https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/helm/latest/helm-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/helm

2. Make the binary file executable:

   # chmod +x /usr/local/bin/helm

3. Check the installed version:

   $ helm version

   Example output

   version.BuildInfo{Version:"v3.0", GitCommit:"b31719aab7963acf4887a1c1e6d5e53378e34d93", GitTreeState:"clean", GoVersion:"go1.13.4"}

1. Download the latest .exe file and put in a directory of your preference.
2. Right click Start and click Control Panel.
3. Select System and Security and then click System.
4. From the menu on the left, select Advanced systems settings and click Environment Variables at the bottom.
5. Select Path from the Variable section and click Edit.
6. Click New and type the path to the folder with the .exe file into the field or click Browse and select the directory, and click OK.

1. Download the latest .exe file and put in a directory of your preference.
2. Click Search and type env or environment.
3. Select Edit environment variables for your account.
4. Select Path from the Variable section and click Edit.
5. Click New and type the path to the directory with the exe file into the field or click Browse and select the directory, and click OK.

1. Download the Helm binary and add it to your path:

   # curl -L https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/helm/latest/helm-darwin-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/helm

2. Make the binary file executable:

   # chmod +x /usr/local/bin/helm

3. Check the installed version:

   $ helm version

   Example output

   version.BuildInfo{Version:"v3.0", GitCommit:"b31719aab7963acf4887a1c1e6d5e53378e34d93", GitTreeState:"clean", GoVersion:"go1.13.4"}

Procedure

1. Create a new project:

   $ oc new-project mysql

2. Add a repository of Helm charts to your local Helm client:

   $ helm repo add stable https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com/

   Example output

   "stable" has been added to your repositories

3. Update the repository:

   $ helm repo update

4. Install an example MySQL chart:

   $ helm install example-mysql stable/mysql

5. Verify that the chart has installed successfully:

   $ helm list

   Example output

   NAME NAMESPACE REVISION UPDATED STATUS CHART APP VERSION
   example-mysql mysql 1 2019-12-05 15:06:51.379134163 -0500 EST deployed mysql-1.5.0 5.7.27

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the +Add view and select a project. Then click Helm Chart option to see all the Helm Charts in the Developer Catalog.
2. Select a chart and read the description, README, and other details about the chart.

3. Click Install Helm Chart.

   Figure 5.1. Helm charts in developer catalog

   

4. In the Install Helm Chart page:

   1. Enter a unique name for the release in the Release Name field.
   2. Select the required chart version from the Chart Version drop-down list.

   3. Configure your Helm chart by using the Form View or the YAML View.

      Note

      Where available, you can switch between the YAML View and Form View. The data is persisted when switching between the views.

   4. Click Install to create a Helm release. You will be redirected to the Topology view where the release is displayed. If the Helm chart has release notes, the chart is pre-selected and the right panel displays the release notes for that release.

Procedure

1. Create a new project:

   $ oc new-project nodejs-ex-k

2. Download an example Node.js chart that contains OpenShift Container Platform objects:

   $ git clone https://github.com/redhat-developer/redhat-helm-charts

3. Go to the directory with the sample chart:

   $ cd redhat-helm-charts/alpha/nodejs-ex-k/

4. Edit the Chart.yaml file and add a description of your chart:

   apiVersion: v2 1
   name: nodejs-ex-k 2
   description: A Helm chart for OpenShift 3
   icon: https://static.redhat.com/libs/redhat/brand-assets/latest/corp/logo.svg 4

   1

   The chart API version. It should be v2 for Helm charts that require at least Helm 3.

   2

   The name of your chart.

   3

   The description of your chart.

   4

   The URL to an image to be used as an icon.

5. Verify that the chart is formatted properly:

   $ helm lint

   Example output

   [INFO] Chart.yaml: icon is recommended
   
   1 chart(s) linted, 0 chart(s) failed

6. Navigate to the previous directory level:

   $ cd ..

7. Install the chart:

   $ helm install nodejs-chart nodejs-ex-k

8. Verify that the chart has installed successfully:

   $ helm list

   Example output

   NAME NAMESPACE REVISION UPDATED STATUS CHART APP VERSION
   nodejs-chart nodejs-ex-k 1 2019-12-05 15:06:51.379134163 -0500 EST deployed nodejs-0.1.0  1.16.0

Procedure

1. To add a new Helm Chart Repository, you must add the Helm Chart Repository custom resource (CR) to your cluster.

   Sample Helm Chart Repository CR

   apiVersion: helm.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: HelmChartRepository
   metadata:
     name: <name>
   spec:
    # optional name that might be used by console
    # name: <chart-display-name>
     connectionConfig:
       url: <helm-chart-repository-url>

   For example, to add an Azure sample chart repository, run:

   $ cat <<EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: helm.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: HelmChartRepository
   metadata:
     name: azure-sample-repo
   spec:
     name: azure-sample-repo
     connectionConfig:
       url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure-Samples/helm-charts/master/docs
   EOF

2. Navigate to the Developer Catalog in the web console to verify that the Helm charts from the chart repository are displayed.

   For example, use the Chart repositories filter to search for a Helm chart from the repository.

   Figure 5.2. Chart repositories filter

   
   Note

   If a cluster administrator removes all of the chart repositories, then you cannot view the Helm option in the +Add view, Developer Catalog, and left navigation panel.

1. In the openshift-config namespace, create a ConfigMap object with a custom CA certificate in PEM encoded format, and store it under the ca-bundle.crt key within the config map:

   $ oc create configmap helm-ca-cert \
   --from-file=ca-bundle.crt=/path/to/certs/ca.crt \
   -n openshift-config

2. In the openshift-config namespace, create a Secret object to add the client TLS configurations:

   $ oc create secret tls helm-tls-configs \
   --cert=/path/to/certs/client.crt \
   --key=/path/to/certs/client.key \
   -n openshift-config

   Note that the client certificate and key must be in PEM encoded format and stored under the keys tls.crt and tls.key, respectively.

3. Add the Helm repository as follows:

   $ cat <<EOF | oc apply -f -
   apiVersion: helm.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: HelmChartRepository
   metadata:
     name: <helm-repository>
   spec:
     name: <helm-repository>
     connectionConfig:
       url: <URL for the Helm repository>
       tlsConfig:
           name: helm-tls-configs
       ca:
   	name: helm-ca-cert
   EOF

   The ConfigMap and Secret are consumed in the HelmChartRepository CR using the tlsConfig and ca fields. These certificates are used to connect to the Helm repository URL.

4. By default, all authenticated users have access to all configured charts. However, for chart repositories where certificates are needed, you must provide users with read access to the helm-ca-cert config map and helm-tls-configs secret in the openshift-config namespace, as follows:

   $ cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
   apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
   kind: Role
   metadata:
     namespace: openshift-config
     name: helm-chartrepos-tls-conf-viewer
   rules:
   - apiGroups: [""]
     resources: ["configmaps"]
     resourceNames: ["helm-ca-cert"]
     verbs: ["get"]
   - apiGroups: [""]
     resources: ["secrets"]
     resourceNames: ["helm-tls-configs"]
     verbs: ["get"]
   ---
   kind: RoleBinding
   apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
   metadata:
     namespace: openshift-config
     name: helm-chartrepos-tls-conf-viewer
   subjects:
     - kind: Group
       apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
       name: 'system:authenticated'
   roleRef:
     apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
     kind: Role
     name: helm-chartrepos-tls-conf-viewer
   EOF

Procedure

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the +Add view and select a project.
2. From the Developer Catalog tile, select the Helm Chart option to see all the Helm charts in the Developer Catalog.

3. Use the filters to the left of the list of Helm charts to filter the required charts:

   • Use the Chart Repositories filter to filter charts provided by Red Hat Certification Charts or OpenShift Helm Charts.
   • Use the Source filter to filter charts sourced from Partners, Community, or Red Hat. Certified charts are indicated with the ( ) icon.

Procedure

1. In the Topology view, select the Helm release to see the side panel.
2. Click Actions Upgrade Helm Release.
3. In the Upgrade Helm Release page, select the Chart Version you want to upgrade to, and then click Upgrade to create another Helm release. The Helm Releases page displays the two revisions.

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the Helm view to see the Helm Releases in the namespace.
2. Click the Options menu adjoining the listed release, and select Rollback.
3. In the Rollback Helm Release page, select the Revision you want to rollback to and click Rollback.
4. In the Helm Releases page, click on the chart to see the details and resources for that release.

5. Go to the Revision History tab to see all the revisions for the chart.

   Figure 5.3. Helm revision history

   
6. If required, you can further use the Options menu adjoining a particular revision and select the revision to rollback to.

Procedure

1. In the Topology view, right-click the Helm release and select Uninstall Helm Release.
2. In the confirmation prompt, enter the name of the chart and click Uninstall.