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Chapter 3. Special Resource Operator
Learn about the Special Resource Operator (SRO) and how you can use it to build and manage driver containers for loading kernel modules and device drivers on nodes in an OpenShift Container Platform cluster.
The Special Resource Operator is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.
For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.
3.1. About the Special Resource Operator Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
The Special Resource Operator (SRO) helps you manage the deployment of kernel modules and drivers on an existing OpenShift Container Platform cluster. The SRO can be used for a case as simple as building and loading a single kernel module, or as complex as deploying the driver, device plugin, and monitoring stack for a hardware accelerator.
For loading kernel modules, the SRO is designed around the use of driver containers. Driver containers are increasingly being used in cloud-native environments, especially when run on pure container operating systems, to deliver hardware drivers to the host. Driver containers extend the kernel stack beyond the out-of-the-box software and hardware features of a specific kernel. Driver containers work on various container-capable Linux distributions. With driver containers, the host operating system stays clean and there is no clash between different library versions or binaries on the host.
3.2. Installing the Special Resource Operator Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
As a cluster administrator, you can install the Special Resource Operator (SRO) by using the OpenShift CLI or the web console.
3.2.1. Installing the Special Resource Operator by using the CLI Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
As a cluster administrator, you can install the Special Resource Operator (SRO) by using the OpenShift CLI.
Prerequisites
- You have a running OpenShift Container Platform cluster.
-
You installed the OpenShift CLI (
oc). -
You are logged into the OpenShift CLI as a user with
cluster-adminprivileges. - You installed the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator.
Procedure
Create a namespace for the Special Resource Operator:
Create the following
Namespacecustom resource (CR) that defines theopenshift-special-resource-operatornamespace, and then save the YAML in thesro-namespace.yamlfile:apiVersion: v1 kind: Namespace metadata: name: openshift-special-resource-operator
apiVersion: v1 kind: Namespace metadata: name: openshift-special-resource-operatorCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create the namespace by running the following command:
oc create -f sro-namespace.yaml
$ oc create -f sro-namespace.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Install the SRO in the namespace you created in the previous step:
Create the following
OperatorGroupCR and save the YAML in thesro-operatorgroup.yamlfile:Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create the operator group by running the following command:
oc create -f sro-operatorgroup.yaml
$ oc create -f sro-operatorgroup.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create the following
SubscriptionCR and save the YAML in thesro-sub.yamlfile:Example Subscription CR
Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create the subscription object by running the following command:
oc create -f sro-sub.yaml
$ oc create -f sro-sub.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Switch to the
openshift-special-resource-operatorproject:oc project openshift-special-resource-operator
$ oc project openshift-special-resource-operatorCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Verification
To verify that the Operator deployment is successful, run:
oc get pods
$ oc get podsCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE nfd-controller-manager-7f4c5f5778-4lvvk 2/2 Running 0 89s special-resource-controller-manager-6dbf7d4f6f-9kl8h 2/2 Running 0 81s
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE nfd-controller-manager-7f4c5f5778-4lvvk 2/2 Running 0 89s special-resource-controller-manager-6dbf7d4f6f-9kl8h 2/2 Running 0 81sCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow A successful deployment shows a
Runningstatus.
3.2.2. Installing the Special Resource Operator by using the web console Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
As a cluster administrator, you can install the Special Resource Operator (SRO) by using the OpenShift Container Platform web console.
Prerequisites
- You installed the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator.
Procedure
- Log in to the OpenShift Container Platform web console.
Create the required namespace for the Special Resource Operator:
-
Navigate to Administration
Namespaces and click Create Namespace. -
Enter
openshift-special-resource-operatorin the Name field and click Create.
-
Navigate to Administration
Install the Special Resource Operator:
-
In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click Operators
OperatorHub. - Choose Special Resource Operator from the list of available Operators, and then click Install.
- On the Install Operator page, select a specific namespace on the cluster, select the namespace created in the previous section, and then click Install.
-
In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click Operators
Verification
To verify that the Special Resource Operator installed successfully:
-
Navigate to the Operators
Installed Operators page. Ensure that Special Resource Operator is listed in the openshift-special-resource-operator project with a Status of InstallSucceeded.
NoteDuring installation, an Operator might display a Failed status. If the installation later succeeds with an InstallSucceeded message, you can ignore the Failed message.
If the Operator does not appear as installed, to troubleshoot further:
-
Navigate to the Operators
Installed Operators page and inspect the Operator Subscriptions and Install Plans tabs for any failure or errors under Status. -
Navigate to the Workloads
Pods page and check the logs for pods in the openshift-special-resource-operatorproject.
NoteThe Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator is a dependency of the Special Resource Operator (SRO). If the NFD Operator is not installed before installing the SRO, the Operator Lifecycle Manager will automatically install the NFD Operator. However, the required Node Feature Discovery operand will not be deployed automatically. The Node Feature Discovery Operator documentation provides details about how to deploy NFD by using the NFD Operator.
-
Navigate to the Operators
3.3. Using the Special Resource Operator Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
The Special Resource Operator (SRO) is used to manage the build and deployment of a driver container. The objects required to build and deploy the container can be defined in a Helm chart.
The example in this section uses the simple-kmod SpecialResource object to point to a ConfigMap object that is created to store the Helm charts.
3.3.1. Building and running the simple-kmod SpecialResource by using a config map Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
In this example, the simple-kmod kernel module is used to show how the SRO can manage a driver container which is defined in Helm chart templates stored in a config map.
Prerequisites
- You have a running OpenShift Container Platform cluster.
-
You set the Image Registry Operator state to
Managedfor your cluster. -
You installed the OpenShift CLI (
oc). -
You are logged into the OpenShift CLI as a user with
cluster-adminprivileges. - You installed the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator.
- You installed the Special Resource Operator.
-
You installed the Helm CLI (
helm).
Procedure
To create a simple-kmod
SpecialResourceobject, define an image stream and build config to build the image, and a service account, role, role binding, and daemon set to run the container. The service account, role, and role binding are required to run the daemon set with the privileged security context so that the kernel module can be loaded.Create a
templatesdirectory, and change into it:mkdir -p chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/templates
$ mkdir -p chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/templatesCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow cd chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/templates
$ cd chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/templatesCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Save this YAML template for the image stream and build config in the
templatesdirectory as0000-buildconfig.yaml:Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Save the following YAML template for the RBAC resources and daemon set in the
templatesdirectory as1000-driver-container.yaml:Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Change into the
chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1directory:cd ..
$ cd ..Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Save the following YAML for the chart as
Chart.yamlin thechart/simple-kmod-0.0.1directory:Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
From the
chartdirectory, create the chart using thehelm packagecommand:helm package simple-kmod-0.0.1/
$ helm package simple-kmod-0.0.1/Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
Successfully packaged chart and saved it to: /data/<username>/git/<github_username>/special-resource-operator/yaml-for-docs/chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz
Successfully packaged chart and saved it to: /data/<username>/git/<github_username>/special-resource-operator/yaml-for-docs/chart/simple-kmod-0.0.1/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgzCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create a config map to store the chart files:
Create a directory for the config map files:
mkdir cm
$ mkdir cmCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Copy the Helm chart into the
cmdirectory:cp simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz cm/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz
$ cp simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz cm/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgzCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create an index file specifying the Helm repo that contains the Helm chart:
helm repo index cm --url=cm://simple-kmod/simple-kmod-chart
$ helm repo index cm --url=cm://simple-kmod/simple-kmod-chartCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create a namespace for the objects defined in the Helm chart:
oc create namespace simple-kmod
$ oc create namespace simple-kmodCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Create the config map object:
oc create cm simple-kmod-chart --from-file=cm/index.yaml --from-file=cm/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz -n simple-kmod
$ oc create cm simple-kmod-chart --from-file=cm/index.yaml --from-file=cm/simple-kmod-0.0.1.tgz -n simple-kmodCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
Use the following
SpecialResourcemanifest to deploy the simple-kmod object using the Helm chart that you created in the config map. Save this YAML assimple-kmod-configmap.yaml:Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow From a command line, create the
SpecialResourcefile:oc create -f simple-kmod-configmap.yaml
$ oc create -f simple-kmod-configmap.yamlCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow The
simple-kmodresources are deployed in thesimple-kmodnamespace as specified in the object manifest. After a short time, the build pod for thesimple-kmoddriver container starts running. The build completes after a few minutes, and then the driver container pods start running.Use
oc get podscommand to display the status of the build pods:oc get pods -n simple-kmod
$ oc get pods -n simple-kmodCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE simple-kmod-driver-build-12813789169ac0ee-1-build 0/1 Completed 0 7m12s simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-mjsnh 1/1 Running 0 8m2s simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-qtkff 1/1 Running 0 8m2s
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE simple-kmod-driver-build-12813789169ac0ee-1-build 0/1 Completed 0 7m12s simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-mjsnh 1/1 Running 0 8m2s simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-qtkff 1/1 Running 0 8m2sCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Use the
oc logscommand, along with the build pod name obtained from theoc get podscommand above, to display the logs of the simple-kmod driver container image build:oc logs pod/simple-kmod-driver-build-12813789169ac0ee-1-build -n simple-kmod
$ oc logs pod/simple-kmod-driver-build-12813789169ac0ee-1-build -n simple-kmodCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow To verify that the simple-kmod kernel modules are loaded, execute the
lsmodcommand in one of the driver container pods that was returned from theoc get podscommand above:oc exec -n simple-kmod -it pod/simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-mjsnh -- lsmod | grep simple
$ oc exec -n simple-kmod -it pod/simple-kmod-driver-container-12813789169ac0ee-mjsnh -- lsmod | grep simpleCopy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow Example output
simple_procfs_kmod 16384 0 simple_kmod 16384 0
simple_procfs_kmod 16384 0 simple_kmod 16384 0Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow
If you want to remove the simple-kmod kernel module from the node, delete the simple-kmod SpecialResource API object using the oc delete command. The kernel module is unloaded when the driver container pod is deleted.