7. Helm - Package Manager of K8s

Helm

Used to package YAML files and distribute them in public and private repositories.

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Helm Charts

• Bundle of YAML Files

• Create your own Helm Charts with Helm

• Push to Helm Repository

• Download and use existing ones

• It is also used as Templating Engine

  • Defome a common blueprint

  • Dynamic values are replaced by placeholders

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  • Practical for CI/CD

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Repositories

Using Cli

helm search <keyword>

Public Repositories

1. Artifacts Hib

Private Repositories

These are shared in organization

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Helm Charts Structure

Release Management

• Helm Version 2 comes in two parts

  1. Client (helm CLI)

  2. Server (Tiller)

     • Client sends request to Tiller

     • Tiller must be inside K8 Cluster

• Upon create or change deployment, tiller stores copy of configuration for future reference

• Keep tracks of all chart executions

• Changes are applied to existing deployment instead of creating new one

• Rollbacks are also handled

• Downsides

  • Tiller has too much power inside K8 i,e CRUD

  • Makes it a security issue

  • Tiller is removed in Helm Version 3 which solves the security concern

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