5.5. Allowing containers to consume API objects
The Downward API is a mechanism that allows containers to consume information about API objects without coupling to OpenShift Container Platform. Such information includes the pod’s name, namespace, and resource values. Containers can consume information from the downward API using environment variables or a volume plug-in.
5.5.1. Expose Pod information to Containers using the Downward API
The Downward API contains such information as the pod’s name, project, and resource values. Containers can consume information from the downward API using environment variables or a volume plug-in.
Fields within the pod are selected using the FieldRef
API type. FieldRef
has two fields:
Field | Description |
---|---|
| The path of the field to select, relative to the pod. |
|
The API version to interpret the |
Currently, the valid selectors in the v1 API include:
Selector | Description |
---|---|
| The pod’s name. This is supported in both environment variables and volumes. |
| The pod’s namespace.This is supported in both environment variables and volumes. |
| The pod’s labels. This is only supported in volumes and not in environment variables. |
| The pod’s annotations. This is only supported in volumes and not in environment variables. |
| The pod’s IP. This is only supported in environment variables and not volumes. |
The apiVersion
field, if not specified, defaults to the API version of the enclosing pod template.
5.5.2. Understanding how to consume container values using the downward API
You containers can consume API values using environment variables or a volume plug-in. Depending on the method you choose, containers can consume:
- Pod name
- Pod project/namespace
- Pod annotations
- Pod labels
Annotations and labels are available using only a volume plug-in.
5.5.2.1. Consuming container values using environment variables
When using a container’s environment variables, use the EnvVar
type’s valueFrom
field (of type EnvVarSource
) to specify that the variable’s value should come from a FieldRef
source instead of the literal value specified by the value
field.
Only constant attributes of the pod can be consumed this way, as environment variables cannot be updated once a process is started in a way that allows the process to be notified that the value of a variable has changed. The fields supported using environment variables are:
- Pod name
- Pod project/namespace
Procedure
To use environment variables
Create a
pod.yaml
file:apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: dapi-env-test-pod spec: containers: - name: env-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] env: - name: MY_POD_NAME valueFrom: fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.name - name: MY_POD_NAMESPACE valueFrom: fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.namespace restartPolicy: Never
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs for the
MY_POD_NAME
andMY_POD_NAMESPACE
values:$ oc logs -p dapi-env-test-pod
5.5.2.2. Consuming container values using a volume plug-in
You containers can consume API values using a volume plug-in.
Containers can consume:
- Pod name
- Pod project/namespace
- Pod annotations
- Pod labels
Procedure
To use the volume plug-in:
Create a
volume-pod.yaml
file:kind: Pod apiVersion: v1 metadata: labels: zone: us-east-coast cluster: downward-api-test-cluster1 rack: rack-123 name: dapi-volume-test-pod annotations: annotation1: "345" annotation2: "456" spec: containers: - name: volume-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: ["sh", "-c", "cat /tmp/etc/pod_labels /tmp/etc/pod_annotations"] volumeMounts: - name: podinfo mountPath: /tmp/etc readOnly: false volumes: - name: podinfo downwardAPI: defaultMode: 420 items: - fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.name path: pod_name - fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.namespace path: pod_namespace - fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.labels path: pod_labels - fieldRef: fieldPath: metadata.annotations path: pod_annotations restartPolicy: Never
Create the pod from the
volume-pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f volume-pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs and verify the presence of the configured fields:
$ oc logs -p dapi-volume-test-pod
Example output
cluster=downward-api-test-cluster1 rack=rack-123 zone=us-east-coast annotation1=345 annotation2=456 kubernetes.io/config.source=api
5.5.3. Understanding how to consume container resources using the Downward API
When creating pods, you can use the Downward API to inject information about computing resource requests and limits so that image and application authors can correctly create an image for specific environments.
You can do this using environment variable or a volume plug-in.
5.5.3.1. Consuming container resources using environment variables
When creating pods, you can use the Downward API to inject information about computing resource requests and limits using environment variables.
Procedure
To use environment variables:
When creating a pod configuration, specify environment variables that correspond to the contents of the
resources
field in thespec.container
field:.... spec: containers: - name: test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox:1.24 command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] resources: requests: memory: "32Mi" cpu: "125m" limits: memory: "64Mi" cpu: "250m" env: - name: MY_CPU_REQUEST valueFrom: resourceFieldRef: resource: requests.cpu - name: MY_CPU_LIMIT valueFrom: resourceFieldRef: resource: limits.cpu - name: MY_MEM_REQUEST valueFrom: resourceFieldRef: resource: requests.memory - name: MY_MEM_LIMIT valueFrom: resourceFieldRef: resource: limits.memory ....
If the resource limits are not included in the container configuration, the downward API defaults to the node’s CPU and memory allocatable values.
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
5.5.3.2. Consuming container resources using a volume plug-in
When creating pods, you can use the Downward API to inject information about computing resource requests and limits using a volume plug-in.
Procedure
To use the Volume Plug-in:
When creating a pod configuration, use the
spec.volumes.downwardAPI.items
field to describe the desired resources that correspond to thespec.resources
field:.... spec: containers: - name: client-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox:1.24 command: ["sh", "-c", "while true; do echo; if [[ -e /etc/cpu_limit ]]; then cat /etc/cpu_limit; fi; if [[ -e /etc/cpu_request ]]; then cat /etc/cpu_request; fi; if [[ -e /etc/mem_limit ]]; then cat /etc/mem_limit; fi; if [[ -e /etc/mem_request ]]; then cat /etc/mem_request; fi; sleep 5; done"] resources: requests: memory: "32Mi" cpu: "125m" limits: memory: "64Mi" cpu: "250m" volumeMounts: - name: podinfo mountPath: /etc readOnly: false volumes: - name: podinfo downwardAPI: items: - path: "cpu_limit" resourceFieldRef: containerName: client-container resource: limits.cpu - path: "cpu_request" resourceFieldRef: containerName: client-container resource: requests.cpu - path: "mem_limit" resourceFieldRef: containerName: client-container resource: limits.memory - path: "mem_request" resourceFieldRef: containerName: client-container resource: requests.memory ....
If the resource limits are not included in the container configuration, the Downward API defaults to the node’s CPU and memory allocatable values.
Create the pod from the
volume-pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f volume-pod.yaml
5.5.4. Consuming secrets using the Downward API
When creating pods, you can use the downward API to inject secrets so image and application authors can create an image for specific environments.
Procedure
Create a
secret.yaml
file:apiVersion: v1 kind: Secret metadata: name: mysecret data: password: cGFzc3dvcmQ= username: ZGV2ZWxvcGVy type: kubernetes.io/basic-auth
Create a
Secret
object from thesecret.yaml
file:$ oc create -f secret.yaml
Create a
pod.yaml
file that references theusername
field from the aboveSecret
object:apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: dapi-env-test-pod spec: containers: - name: env-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] env: - name: MY_SECRET_USERNAME valueFrom: secretKeyRef: name: mysecret key: username restartPolicy: Never
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs for the
MY_SECRET_USERNAME
value:$ oc logs -p dapi-env-test-pod
5.5.5. Consuming configuration maps using the Downward API
When creating pods, you can use the Downward API to inject configuration map values so image and application authors can create an image for specific environments.
Procedure
Create a
configmap.yaml
file:apiVersion: v1 kind: ConfigMap metadata: name: myconfigmap data: mykey: myvalue
Create a
ConfigMap
object from theconfigmap.yaml
file:$ oc create -f configmap.yaml
Create a
pod.yaml
file that references the aboveConfigMap
object:apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: dapi-env-test-pod spec: containers: - name: env-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] env: - name: MY_CONFIGMAP_VALUE valueFrom: configMapKeyRef: name: myconfigmap key: mykey restartPolicy: Always
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs for the
MY_CONFIGMAP_VALUE
value:$ oc logs -p dapi-env-test-pod
5.5.6. Referencing environment variables
When creating pods, you can reference the value of a previously defined environment variable by using the $()
syntax. If the environment variable reference can not be resolved, the value will be left as the provided string.
Procedure
Create a
pod.yaml
file that references an existingenvironment variable
:apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: dapi-env-test-pod spec: containers: - name: env-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] env: - name: MY_EXISTING_ENV value: my_value - name: MY_ENV_VAR_REF_ENV value: $(MY_EXISTING_ENV) restartPolicy: Never
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs for the
MY_ENV_VAR_REF_ENV
value:$ oc logs -p dapi-env-test-pod
5.5.7. Escaping environment variable references
When creating a pod, you can escape an environment variable reference by using a double dollar sign. The value will then be set to a single dollar sign version of the provided value.
Procedure
Create a
pod.yaml
file that references an existingenvironment variable
:apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: dapi-env-test-pod spec: containers: - name: env-test-container image: gcr.io/google_containers/busybox command: [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "env" ] env: - name: MY_NEW_ENV value: $$(SOME_OTHER_ENV) restartPolicy: Never
Create the pod from the
pod.yaml
file:$ oc create -f pod.yaml
Check the container’s logs for the
MY_NEW_ENV
value:$ oc logs -p dapi-env-test-pod