Helm Charts

Helm Charts are packages of pre-configured Kubernetes resources that help you define, install, and upgrade Kubernetes applications. You can integrate Helm Charts with DuploCloud to deploy applications onto the Kubernetes clusters you've created in DuploCloud. For Helm Charts general guidance and best practices, see the Helm Charts Info page in the DuploCloud Extras section.

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have a Kubernetes cluster set up in DuploCloud.

• Install Helm on your local machine or a machine with access to your Kubernetes cluster.

Creating Helm Charts

Identify the Helm charts you want to use for deploying your applications or services.

You can use community-maintained charts from public repositories like Artifact Hub, or you can create your own custom charts tailored to your specific needs.

To create custom Helm charts, modify the values.yaml or create custom templates as necessary. This might involve configuring resource limits, environment variables, or other settings specific to your deployment.

You can also modify Helm Chart values using the node selector. This is the most common method. For example, to deploy a chart into the duploservices-mytenant Tenant using the node selector, give:

nodeSelector:
  tenantname: duploservices-mytenant

To specify which hosts the chart should run on using the node selector with allocation tags, give:

nodeSelector:
  tenantname: duploservices-mytenant
  allocationtags: mychart

Adding Helm Repositories in DuploCloud

1. From the DuploCloud Portal, navigate to Kubernetes -> Helm.

2. Select the Repository tab, and click Add. The Add Helm Repository pane displays.

1. In the Name field, enter the repository name.

2. In the Interval field, select the interval (the frequency with which the tool should check for changes in the repository and reconcile those changes in the Kubernetes cluster).

3. In the Repository URL field, enter the repository URL.

4. Click Create. The Helm repository is added.

Managing Helm Repositories

Once you've added a Helm repository, you can view its details, update its configuration, or delete from directly in the DuploCloud Portal.

1. Navigate to Kubernetes → Helm.

2. Select the Repository tab.

3. Click the menu icon () in the row of the repository you want to manage.

4. Choose one of the following actions:

Deploying a Helm Release

Deploy a Kubernetes cluster using a Helm Chart from the DuploCloud Platform.

1. From the DuploCloud Portal, navigate to Kubernetes → Helm.

2. Select the Release tab, and click Add. The Add Helm Release page displays

1. In the Name field, enter a unique name for this Helm release (e.g., nginx-release).

2. In the Release Name field, enter the name to identify the application deployment in Kubernetes (e.g., nginx-release).

3. In the Interval (MM: SS) box, set the time interval for periodic reconciliation of the release (e.g., 02:00).

4. In the Chart Name field, specify the name of the Helm chart to use (e.g., nginx).

5. In the Version field, specify the specific version of the Helm chart to deploy (e.g., 15.1.0).

6. From the Reconcile Strategy list box, select how Helm ensures the deployment stays consistent (e.g., Chart Version).

7. From the Source Type list box, choose where the Helm chart is stored (e.g., HelmRepository).

8. From the Source Name list box, select the name of the Helm repository or source.

9. In the Interval (MM: SS) box, select the frequency with which the tool should check for changes in the repository and reconcile those changes in the Kubernetes cluster.

10. In the Values field, add any custom configuration values in YAML format to override the defaults (e.g., replica count or enabling a service account).

11. Click Add. The Helm release is deployed. To check the release status, navigate to Kubernetes -> Helm, and select the Release tab.

Viewing Helm Deployments

Navigate to the Services page (Kubernetes → Services) to view a list of all deployed services, including those created using Helm Charts. Use this view to confirm that the service has deployed without errors and all components are running as expected.

• Helm-deployed services are displayed in read-only mode. This means:

  • You can view details (e.g., replicas, resource allocation, logs) to confirm that the service is functioning as expected.

  • However, you cannot modify the service directly in DuploCloud. Any changes to the service must be made by updating the Helm chart and redeploying it.

Click on the name of the Service in the NAME column to view details.