Using env variable inside yaml deployment file in Kubernetes - kubernetes

How do I use env variable defined inside deployment? For example, In yaml file dow below I try to use env CONT_NAME for setting container name, but it does not succeed. Could you help please with it, how to do it?
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: $CONT_NAME
image: nginx:1.7.9
env:
- name: CONT_NAME
value: nginx
ports:
- containerPort: 80

You can't use variables to set values inside deployment natively. If you want to do that you have to process the file before executing the kubectl, take a look at this post. The best option to do this which it's focused on parametrize and standardize deployments is to use Helm

In those situations I just replace the $CONT_NAME in the yaml with the correct value right before applying the yaml.
sed -ie "s/\$COUNT_NAME/$COUNT_NAME/g" yourYamlFile.yaml

If your using fluxcd, it has the ability to do variable interpolation link

Related

Docker Desktop error converting YAML to JSON while trying to deploy the voting app

I am using Docker Desktop to run the voting app, I am following the tutorial the link in the command line is deprecated :
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docker/docker-birthday/master/resources/kubernetes-docker-desktop/vote.yaml
So I tried to use the link from this repo :
kubectl apply -f https://github.com/dockersamples/docker-fifth-birthday/blob/master/kubernetes-desktop/kube-deployment.yml
But this error keeps on popping :
error: error parsing https://github.com/dockersamples/docker-fifth-birthday/blob/master/kubernetes-desktop/kube-deployment.yml: error converting YAML to JSON: YAML: line 92: mapping values are not allowed in this context
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: result
labels:
app: result
spec:
type: LoadBalancer
ports:
what am I doing wrong?
I tried to do a get the file to my local to execute but got the same error as 92 line using wget https://github.com/dockersamples/docker-fifth-birthday/blob/master/kubernetes-desktop/kube-deployment.yml. However, I tried just did a copy/paste of the content and it creates services fine but there are 2 issues with the project.
the apiversion in deployment is apps/v1beta it needs to be apps/v1 as per documentation. https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/deployment/
There are places where the selectors have not been mentioned in the deployments which is why the deployments are not getting created, you might need to fix it. To elaborate, the selectors in the deployments(spec section) have to match the labels of the service (metadata). Below is a working version of service/deployment from the project mentioned.
On why you would do that? every deployment will run a set of pods,it will Maintain a set of identical pods, ensuring that they have the correct config and that the right number and to access these you will expose a service. these services will look up the deployment based on these labels.
If you are looking for learning material, you can check the official documentation below.
https://kubernetes.io/docs/tutorials/kubernetes-basics/deploy-app/deploy-interactive/
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
labels:
app: redis
name: redis
spec:
clusterIP: None
ports:
- name: redis
port: 6379
targetPort: 6379
selector:
app: redis
---
apiVersion: apps/v1beta1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: redis
labels:
app: redis
spec:
selector:
matchLabels:
app: redis
replicas: 1
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: redis
spec:
containers:
- name: redis
image: redis:alpine
ports:
- containerPort: 6379
name: redis

How to use dynamic/variable image tag in a Kubernetes deployment?

In our project, which also uses Kustomize, our base deployment.yaml file looks like this:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: nginx
image: nginx:IMAGE_TAG # <------------------------------
ports:
- containerPort: 80
Then we use sed to replace IMAGE_TAG with the version of the image we want to deploy.
Is there a more sophisticated way to do this, rather than editing the text yaml file using sed?
There is a specific transformer for this called the images transformer.
You can keep your deployment as it is, with or without tag:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: nginx
image: nginx
ports:
- containerPort: 80
and then in your kustomization file:
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization
resources:
- deployment.yaml
images:
- name: nginx
newTag: MYNEWTAG
Do keep in mind that this will replace the tag of all the nginx images of all the resources included in your kustomization file. If you need to run multiple versions of nginx you can replace the image name in your deployment by a placeholder and have different entries in the transformer.
It is possible to use an image tag from an environment variable, without having to edit files for each different tag. This is useful if your image tag needs to vary without changing version-controlled files.
Standard kubectl is enough for this purpose. In short, use a configMapGenerator with data populated from environment variables. Then add replacements that refer to this ConfigMap data to replace relevant image tags.
Example
Continuing with your example deployment.yaml, you could have a kustomization.yaml file in the same folder that looks like so:
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization
# Generate a ConfigMap based on the environment variables in the file `.env`.
configMapGenerator:
- name: my-config-map
envs:
- .env
replacements:
- source:
# Replace any matches by the value of environment variable `MY_IMAGE_TAG`.
kind: ConfigMap
name: my-config-map
fieldPath: data.MY_IMAGE_TAG
targets:
- select:
# In each Deployment resource …
kind: Deployment
fieldPaths:
# … match the image of container `nginx` …
- spec.template.spec.containers.[name=nginx].image
options:
# … but replace only the second part (image tag) when split by ":".
delimiter: ":"
index: 1
resources:
- deployment.yaml
In the same folder, you need a file .env with the environment variable name only (note: just the name, no value assigned):
MY_IMAGE_TAG
Now MY_IMAGE_TAG from the local environment is integrated as the image tag when running kubectl kustomize, kubectl apply --kustomize, etc.
Demo:
MY_IMAGE_TAG=foobar kubectl kustomize .
This prints the generated image tag, which is foobar as desired:
# …
spec:
# …
template:
# …
spec:
containers:
- image: nginx:foobar
name: nginx
ports:
- containerPort: 80
Alternatives
Keep the following in mind from the configMapGenerator documentation:
Note: It's recommended to use the local environment variable population functionality sparingly - an overlay with a patch is often more maintainable. Setting values from the environment may be useful when they cannot easily be predicted, such as a git SHA.
If you are simply looking to share a fixed image tag between multiple files, see the already suggested images transformer.
#evolutics answer is probably "proper" way to do it but if you are customizing only image tag every deployment you could consider putting $IMAGE_TAG variable in deployment.yaml and using envsubst command.
Example:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: nginx
image: nginx:$IMAGE_TAG
ports:
- containerPort: 80
IMAGE_TAG=my_image_tag envsubst '${IMAGE_TAG}' < deployment.yaml > final_deployment.yaml

how to use "kubectl apply -f <file.yaml> --force=true" making an impact over a deployed container EXEC console?

I am trying to redeploy the exact same existing image, but after changing a secret in the Azure Vault. Since it is the same image that's why kubectl apply doesn't deploy it. I tried to make the deploy happen by adding a --force=true option. Now the deploy took place and the new secret value is visible in the dashboard config map, but not in the API container kubectl exec console prompt in the environment.
Below is one of the 3 deploy manifest (YAML file) for the service:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: tube-api-deployment
namespace: tube
spec:
selector:
matchLabels:
app: tube-api-app
replicas: 3
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: tube-api-app
spec:
containers:
- name: tube-api
image: ReplaceImageName
ports:
- name: tube-api
containerPort: 80
envFrom:
- configMapRef:
name: tube-config-map
imagePullSecrets:
- name: ReplaceRegistrySecret
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: api-service
namespace: tube
spec:
ports:
- name: api-k8s-port
protocol: TCP
port: 8082
targetPort: 3000
selector:
app: tube-api-app
I think it is not happening because when we update a ConfigMap, the files in all the volumes referencing it are updated. It’s then up to the pod container process to detect that they’ve been changed and reload them. Currently, there is no built-in way to signal an application when a new version of a ConfigMap is deployed. It is up to the application (or some helper script) to look for the config files to change and reload them.

How to kubernetes "kubectl apply" does not update existing deployments

I have a .NET-core web application. This is deployed to an Azure Container Registry. I deploy this to my Azure Kubernetes Service using
kubectl apply -f testdeployment.yaml
with the yaml-file below
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: myweb
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
app: myweb
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: myweb
spec:
containers:
- name: myweb
image: mycontainerregistry.azurecr.io/myweb:latest
ports:
- containerPort: 80
imagePullSecrets:
- name: my-registry-key
This works splendid, but when I change some code, push new code to container and run the
kubectl apply -f testdeployment
again, the AKS/website does not get updated, until I remove the deployment with
kubectl remove deployment myweb
What should I do to make it overwrite whatever is deployed? I would like to add something in my yaml-file. (Im trying to use this for continuous delivery in Azure DevOps).
I believe what you are looking for is imagePullPolicy. The default is ifNotPresent which means that the latest version will not be pulled.
https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/containers/images/
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: myweb
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
app: myweb
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: myweb
spec:
containers:
- name: myweb
image: mycontainerregistry.azurecr.io/myweb
imagePullPolicy: Always
ports:
- containerPort: 80
imagePullSecrets:
- name: my-registry-key
To ensure that the pod is recreated, rather run:
kubectl delete -f testdeployment && kubectl apply -f testdeployment
kubectl does not see any changes in your deployment yaml file, so it will not make any changes. That's one of the problems using the latest tag.
Tag your image to some incremental version or build number and replace latest with that tag in your CI pipeline (for example with envsubst or similar). This way kubectl knows the image has changed. And you also know what version of the image is running. The latest tag could be any image version.
Simplified example for Azure DevOps:
# <snippet>
image: mycontainerregistry.azurecr.io/myweb:${TAG}
# </snippet>
Pipeline YAML:
stages:
- stage: Build
jobs:
- job: Build
variables:
- name: TAG
value: $(Build.BuildId)
steps:
- script: |
envsubst '${TAG}' < deployment-template.yaml > deployment.yaml
displayName: Replace Environment Variables
Alternatively you could also use another tool like Replace Tokens (different syntax: #{TAG}#).
First delete the deployment config file by running below command on the relative path of the deployment file.
kubectl delete -f .\deployment-file-name.yaml
earlier I used to get
deployment.apps/deployment-file-name unchanged
meaning the deployment file remains cached.
It happens while you're fixing some errors / typos on the deployment YAML & the config got cached once the error got cleared.
Only a kubectl delete -f .\deployment-file-name.yaml could remove the cache.
Later you can do the deployment by
kubectl apply -f .\deployment-file-name.yaml
Sample yaml file as follows :
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: deployment-file-name
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
app: myservicename
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: platformservice
spec:
containers:
- name: platformservice
image: /platformservice:latest

How to dynamically populate values into Kubernetes yaml files

I would like to pass in some of the values in kubernetes yaml files during runtime like reading from config/properties file.
what is the best way to do that?
In the below example, I do not want to hardcode the port value, instead read the port number from config file.
Ex:
logstash.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
name: test
namespace: test
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
app: test
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: test
spec:
containers:
- name: test
image: logstash
ports:
- containerPort: 33044 (looking to read this port from config file)
env:
- name: INPUT_PORT
value: "5044"
config.yaml
logstash_port: 33044
This sounds like a perfect use case for Helm (www.helm.sh).
Helm Charts helps you define, install, and upgrade Kubernetes applications. You can use a pre-defined chart (like Nginx, etc) or create your own chart.
Charts are structured like:
mychart/
Chart.yaml
values.yaml
charts/
templates/
...
In the templates folder, you can include your ReplicationController files (and any others). In the values.yaml file you can specify any variables you wish to share amongst the templates (like port numbers, file paths, etc).
The values file can be as simple or complex as you require. An example of a values file:
myTestService:
containerPort: 33044
image: "logstash"
You can then reference these values in your template file using:
apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
name: test
namespace: test
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
app: test
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: test
spec:
containers:
- name: test
image: logstash
ports:
- containerPort: {{ .Values.myTestService.containerPort }}
env:
- name: INPUT_PORT
value: "5044"
Once finished you can compile into Helm chart using helm package mychart. To deploy to your Kubernetes cluster you can use helm install mychart-VERSION.tgz. That will then deploy your chart to the cluster. The version number is set within the Chart.yaml file.
You can use Kubernetes ConfigMaps for this. ConfigMaps are introduced to include external configuration files such as property files.
First create a ConfigMap artifact out of your property like follows:
kubectl create configmap my-config --from-file=db.properties
Then in your Deployment yaml you can provide it as a volume binding or environment variables
Volume binding :
apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
name: test
labels:
app: test
spec:
containers:
- name: test
image: test
ports:
- containerPort: 33044
volumeMounts:
- name: config-volume
mountPath: /etc/creds <mount path>
volumes:
- name: config-volume
configMap:
name: my-config
Here under mountPath you need to provide the location of your container where your property file should resides. And underconfigMap name you should define the name of your configMap you created.
Environment variables way :
apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
name: test
labels:
app: test
spec:
containers:
- name: test
image: test
ports:
- containerPort: 33044
env:
- name: DB_PROPERTIES
valueFrom:
configMapKeyRef:
name: my-config
items:
- key: <propert name>
path: <path/to/property>
Here under the configMapKeyRef section under name you should define your config map name you created. e.g. my-config. Under the items you should define the key(s) of your property file and path to each of the key, Kubernetes will automatically resolve the value of the property internally.
You can find more about ConfigMap here.
https://kubernetes-v1-4.github.io/docs/user-guide/configmap/
There are some parameters you can't change once a pod is created. containerPort is one of them.
You can add a new container to a pod though. And open a new port.
The parameters you CAN change, you can do it either by dynamically creating or modifying the original deployment (say with sed) and running kubectl replace -f FILE command, or through kubectl edit DEPLOYMENT command; which automatically applies the changes.