Spinnaker Operator

Overview

Spinnaker Operator is a Kubernetes operator for Spinnaker that makes it easier to install, deploy, and upgrade any version of Spinnaker through a workflow that you are already familiar with. There are two flavors of the Spinnaker Operator:

  • The open source Spinnaker Operator that installs open source Spinnaker.
  • The proprietary Armory Spinnaker Operator that installs Armory Spinnaker. This version comes with additional enterprise features.

After you install Spinnaker Operator, you can use kubectl to manage the lifecycle of your deployment.

Operator has two distinct modes you can install and use:

  • Basic: Operator in basic mode installs Spinnaker into a single namespace without ValidatingAdmissionWebhook for doing preflight checks.
  • Cluster: Operator in cluster mode installs Spinnaker across namespaces with ValidatingAdmissionWebhook for doing preflight checks. This mode requires a ClusterRole.

If you want to get started quickly, install Operator and Spinnaker by running the following commands:

# Pick a release from https://github.com/armory-io/spinnaker-operator/releases
mkdir -p spinnaker-operator && cd spinnaker-operator
bash -c 'curl -L https://github.com/armory-io/spinnaker-operator/releases/latest/download/manifests.tgz | tar -xz'

# Install or update CRDs cluster wide
kubectl apply -f deploy/crds/

# Install Operator in namespace spinnaker-operator. If you want a different namespace, see the below documentaiton.
kubectl create ns spinnaker-operator
kubectl -n spinnaker-operator apply -f deploy/operator/cluster

# Install Spinnaker in the "spinnaker" namespace
kubectl create ns spinnaker
kubectl -n spinnaker apply -f deploy/spinnaker/basic

# Watch the install progress and check out the pods being created too!
kubectl -n spinnaker get spinsvc spinnaker -w

The rest of this page describes how to modify some of the default configurations within Operator to suit your needs.

Benefits of Operator

  • Stop using Halyard commands: just kubectl apply your Spinnaker configuration. This includes support for local files.
  • Expose Spinnaker to the outside world (with LoadBalancer). You can still disable that behavior if you prefer to manage ingresses and load balancers yourself.
  • Deploy any version of Spinnaker. Operator is not tied to a particular version of Spinnaker.
  • Keep secrets separate from your config. Store your config in git and have an easy Gitops workflow.
  • Validate your configuration before applying it (with webhook validation).
  • Store Spinnaker secrets in Kubernetes secrets.
  • Patch versions, accounts or any setting with kustomize.
  • Monitor the health of Spinnaker via kubectl.
  • Define Kubernetes accounts in SpinnakerAccount objects and store kubeconfig inline, in Kubernetes secrets, in s3, or GCS (Experimental).

Operator Requirements

Before you start, ensure the following requirements are met:

  • Your Kubernetes cluster runs version 1.13 or later.
  • You have admission controllers enabled in Kubernetes (-enable-admission-plugins).
  • You have ValidatingAdmissionWebhook enabled in the kube-apiserver. Alternatively, you can pass the --disable-admission-controller parameter to the to the deployment.yaml file that deploys the operator.
  • You have admin rights to install the Custom Resource Definition (CRD) for Operator.

Accounts CRD (Experimental)

Operator introduces a new CRD for Spinnaker accounts. SpinnakerAccount is defined in an object - separate from the main Spinnaker config - so its creation and maintenance can easily be automated.

To read more about this CRD, see SpinnakerAccount.

Install Operator

Download the Operator Manifests

Download CRDs and example manifests from the latest stable release.

# For a stable release (https://github.com/armory-io/spinnaker-operator/releases)
mkdir -p spinnaker-operator && cd spinnaker-operator
bash -c 'curl -L https://github.com/armory-io/spinnaker-operator/releases/latest/download/manifests.tgz | tar -xz'

For both Basic and Cluster modes, you must download and apply the SpinnakerService CRD. Note that you must have admin rights to install the CRD.

kubectl apply -f deploy/crds/

Note: To install OSS Spinnaker, use https://github.com/armory/spinnaker-operator instead.

Installing Operator in Basic Mode

To install Operator in basic mode, run:

kubectl apply -n <op_namespace> -f deploy/operator/basic

<op_namespace> is the namespace where you want the operator to live. To monitor installation, run the following command:

# Watch the install progress. Check out the pods being created too!
kubectl -n spinnaker get spinsvc spinnaker -w

After installation, you can verify that the Operator is running with the following command:

kubectl -n <op_namespace> get pods

The command returns output similar to the following if the pod for the Operator is running:

NAMESPACE                             READY         STATUS       RESTARTS      AGE
spinnaker-operator-7cd659654b-4vktl   2/2           Running      0             6s

Installing Operator in Cluster Mode

To install Operator for cluster mode, perform the following steps:

  1. Decide which namespace you want Operator to live in and then create the namespace. Armory recommends spinnaker-operator.

  2. If you want to use a namespace other than spinnaker-operator, edit deploy/operator/cluster/role_binding.yaml:

    kind: ClusterRoleBinding
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: spinnaker-operator-binding
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: spinnaker-operator
  namespace: spinnaker-operator # Edit this value if you want Operator to live in a different namespace.
roleRef:
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: spinnaker-operator-role
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

    Then, save the changes to role_binding.yaml.

  3. Run the following command:

    $ kubectl apply -n <op_namespace> -f deploy/operator/cluster

    <op_namespace> is the namespace where you want the operator to live. By default, this namespace is spinnaker-operator, so you would run the following command:

    $ kubectl apply -n spinnaker-operator -f deploy/operator/cluster

After installation, you can verify that the Operator is running with the following command:

kubectl -n <op_namespace> get pods

The command returns output similar to the following if the pod for the Operator is running:

NAMESPACE                                READY         STATUS       RESTARTS      AGE
spinnaker-operator-7cd659654b-4vktl      2/2           Running      0             6s

Installing Spinnaker Using Operator

Once you install the CRDs and Operator, check out the examples in deploy/spinnaker/. To use the examples, change the parameters you need (especially the persistentStorage section). To install a basic version of Spinnaker with Operator, run the following command:

$ kubectl create ns <spinnaker-namespace>
$ kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> apply -f deploy/spinnaker/basic/SpinnakerService.yml

In the examples, the spinnaker-namespace parameter refers to the namespace where you want to install Spinnaker. It is likely different from Operator’s namespace.

Important: You must edit deploy/spinnaker/basic/SpinnakerService.yml to point to persistent storage, such as an S3 bucket. Other attributes can also be changed. For example, if you change the value of the version field to 2.16.0, Operator installs version 2.16.0.

A detailed description of the SpinnakerService CRD is here.

Install Spinnaker with Operator and Kustomize

Operator supports Kustomize, a templating engine for Kubernetes. Using Kustomize along with Operator helps you create consistent, repeatable deployments of Spinnaker.

  1. Edit deploy/spinnaker/kustomize/kustomization.yml.

  2. Run the following commands:

    kubectl create ns <spinnaker-namespace>
kustomize build deploy/spinnaker/kustomize | kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> apply -f -

    <spinnaker-namespace> is the namespace where you want to deploy Spinnaker.

Upgrading Spinnaker Using Operator

To upgrade an existing Spinnaker deployment using the Operator, perform the following steps:

  1. Change the version field in /deploy/spinnaker/basic/SpinnakerService.yml file to the target version for the upgrade.

  2. Apply the updated manifest:

    kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> apply -f deploy/spinnaker/basic/SpinnakerService.yml

    Replace <spinnaker-namespace> with the namespace for the existing Spinnaker deployment.

    You can view the upgraded services starting up with the following command:

    kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> describe spinsvc spinnaker

  3. Verify the upgraded version of Spinnaker:

    kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> get spinsvc

    The command returns information similar to the following:

    NAME         VERSION
spinnaker    2.15.3

    VERSION should reflect the target version for your upgrade.

    Once the upgrade is complete, you can view information related to your Spinnaker deployment with the following command:

    kubectl -n <spinnaker-namespace> get svc

    The command returns information about the running Spinnaker services.

Managing Spinnaker Using Operator

Operator allows you to use kubectl to manager you Spinnaker deployment.

Listing Spinnaker Instances

kubectl get spinnakerservice --all-namespaces

The short name spinsvc is also available.

Describing Spinnaker Instances

kubectl -n <namespace> describe spinnakerservice spinnaker

Deleting Spinnaker Instances

kubectl -n <namespace> delete spinnakerservice spinnaker

Migrating from Halyard to Operator

If you have a current Spinnaker instance installed with Halyard, use this guide to migrate existing configuration to Operator.

The migration process from Halyard to Operator can be completed in 7 steps:

  1. To get started, install Spinnaker Operator.

  2. Export Spinnaker configuration.

    Copy the desired profile’s content from the config file

    For example, if you want to migrate the default hal profile, use the following SpinnakerService manifest structure:

    currentDeployment: default
deploymentConfigurations:
- name: default
  <CONTENT>

    Add <CONTENT> in the spec.spinnakerConfig.config section in the SpinnakerService manifest as follows:

    spec:
  spinnakerConfig:
    config:
      <<CONTENT>>

    Note: config is under ~/.hal

    More details on SpinnakerService Options on .spec.spinnakerConfig.config section.

  3. Export Spinnaker profiles.

    If you have configured Spinnaker profiles, you will need to migrate these profiles to the SpinnakerService manifest.

    First, identify the current profiles under ~/.hal/default/profiles

    For each file, create an entry under spec.spinnakerConfig.profiles

    For example, you have the following profile:

    $ ls -a ~/.hal/default/profiles | sort
echo-local.yml

    Create a new entry with the name of the file without -local.yaml as follows:

    spec:
  spinnakerConfig:
    profiles:
      echo:
        <CONTENT>

    More details on SpinnakerService Options on .spec.spinnakerConfig.profiles section

  4. Export Spinnaker settings.

    If you configured Spinnaker settings, you need to migrate these settings to the SpinnakerService manifest also.

    First, identify the current settings under ~/.hal/default/service-settings

    For each file, create an entry under spec.spinnakerConfig.service-settings

    For example, you have the following settings:

    $ ls -a ~/.hal/default/service-settings | sort
echo.yml

    Create a new entry with the name of the file without .yaml as follows:

    spec:
  spinnakerConfig:
    service-settings:
      echo:
        <CONTENT>

    More details on SpinnakerService Options on .spec.spinnakerConfig.service-settings section

  5. Export local file references.

    If you have references to local files in any part of the config, like kubeconfigFile, service account json files or others, you need to migrate these files to the SpinnakerService manifest.

    For each file, create an entry under spec.spinnakerConfig.files

    For example, you have a Kubernetes account configured like this:

    kubernetes:
  enabled: true
  accounts:
  - name: prod
    requiredGroupMembership: []
    providerVersion: V2
    permissions: {}
    dockerRegistries: []
    configureImagePullSecrets: true
    cacheThreads: 1
    namespaces: []
    omitNamespaces: []
    kinds: []
    omitKinds: []
    customResources: []
    cachingPolicies: []
    oAuthScopes: []
    onlySpinnakerManaged: false
    kubeconfigFile: /home/spinnaker/.hal/secrets/kubeconfig-prod
  primaryAccount: prod

    The kubeconfigFile field is a reference to a physical file on the machine running Halyard. You need to create a new entry in files section like this:

    spec:
  spinnakerConfig:
    files:
      kubeconfig-prod: |
        <CONTENT>

    Then replace the file path in the config to match the key in the files section:

    kubernetes:
  enabled: true
  accounts:
  - name: prod
    requiredGroupMembership: []
    providerVersion: V2
    permissions: {}
    dockerRegistries: []
    configureImagePullSecrets: true
    cacheThreads: 1
    namespaces: []
    omitNamespaces: []
    kinds: []
    omitKinds: []
    customResources: []
    cachingPolicies: []
    oAuthScopes: []
    onlySpinnakerManaged: false
    kubeconfigFile: kubeconfig-prod  # File name must match "files" key
  primaryAccount: prod

    More details on SpinnakerService Options on .spec.spinnakerConfig.files section

  6. Export Packer template files (if used).

    If you are using custom Packer templates for baking images, you need to migrate these files to the SpinnakerService manifest.

    First, identify the current templates under ~/.hal/default/profiles/rosco/packer

    For each file, reate an entry under spec.spinnakerConfig.files

    For example, you have the following example-packer-config file:

    $ tree -v ~/.hal/default/profiles
├── echo-local.yml
└── rosco
    └── packer
        └── example-packer-config.json

2 directories, 2 files

    You need to create a new entry with the name of the file following these instructions:

    • For each file, list the folder name starting with profiles, followed by double underscores (__) and at the very end the name of the file.
    spec:
  spinnakerConfig:
    files:
      profiles__rosco__packer__example-packer-config.json: |
        <CONTENT>

    More details on SpinnakerService Options on .spec.spinnakerConfig.files section

  7. Validate your Spinnaker configuration if you plan to run the Operator in cluster mode.

    kubectl -n <namespace> apply -f <spinnaker service manifest> --server-dry-run

    The validation service throws an error when something is wrong with your manifest.

  8. Apply your SpinnakerService:

    kubectl -n <namespace> apply -f <spinnaker service>

Custom Halyard Configuration

To override Halyard’s configuration, create a ConfigMap with the configuration changes you need. For example, if using secrets management with Vault, Halyard and Operator containers will need your Vault configuration:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: halyard-custom-config
data:
  halyard-local.yml: |
    secrets:
      vault:
        enabled: true
        url: <URL of vault server>
        path: <cluster path>
        role: <k8s role>
        authMethod: KUBERNETES

You can then mount it in the operator deployment and make it available to the Halyard and Operator containers:

apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: spinnaker-operator
  ...
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: spinnaker-operator
        ...
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /opt/spinnaker/config/halyard.yml
          name: halconfig-volume
          subPath: halyard-local.yml
      - name: halyard
        ...
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /opt/spinnaker/config/halyard-local.yml
          name: halconfig-volume
          subPath: halyard-local.yml
      volumes:
      - configMap:
          defaultMode: 420
          name: halyard-custom-config
        name: halconfig-volume

Uninstalling operator

Uninstalling the operator involves deleting its deployment and SpinnakerService CRD. When you delete the CRD, any Spinnaker installation created by Operator will also be deleted. This occurs because the CRD is set as the owner of the Spinnaker resources, so they get garbage collected.

There are two ways in which you can remove this ownership relationship. so that Spinnaker is not deleted when deleting the operator: replacing Operator with Halyard or removing Operator ownership of Spinnaker resources.

Replacing Operator with Halyard

First, export Spinnaker configuration settings to a format that Halyard understands:

  1. From the SpinnakerService manifest, copy the contents of spec.spinnakerConfig.config to its own file named config, and save it with the following structure:

    currentDeployment: default
deploymentConfigurations:
- name: default
  <<CONTENT HERE>>
  2. For each entry in spec.spinnakerConfig.profiles, copy it to its own file inside a profiles folder with a <entry-name>-local.yml name.
  3. For each entry in spec.spinnakerConfig.service-settings, copy it to its own file inside a service-settings folder with a <entry-name>.yml name.
  4. For each entry in spec.spinnakerConfig.files, copy it to its own file inside a directory structure following the name of the entry with double underscores (__) replaced by a path separator. For example, an entry named profiles__rosco__packer__example-packer-config.json results inthe file profiles/rosco/packer/example-packer-config.json.

When finished, you have the following directory tree:

config
default/
  profiles/
  service-settings/

After that, move these files to your Halyard home directory and deploy Spinnaker with the hal deploy apply command.

Finally, delete Operator and their CRDs from the Kubernetes cluster.

kubectl delete -n <namespace> -f deploy/operator/<installation type>
kubectl delete -f deploy/crds/

Removing Operator Ownership from Spinnaker Resources

Run the following script to remove ownership of Spinnaker resources, where NAMESPACE is the namespace where Spinnaker is installed:

NAMESPACE=
for rtype in deployment service
do
    for r in $(kubectl -n $NAMESPACE get $rtype --selector=app=spin -o jsonpath='{.items[*].metadata.name}')
    do
        kubectl -n $NAMESPACE patch $rtype $r --type json -p='[{"op": "remove", "path": "/metadata/ownerReferences"}]'
    done
done

After the script completes, delete the operator and their CRDs from the Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl delete -n <namespace> -f deploy/operator/<installation type>
kubectl delete -f deploy/crds/