Deploy OpenStack¶

Check list before deployment¶

At this point we assume all the prerequisites listed below are met:

Kubernetes cluster is up and running.
kubectl and helm command line tools are installed and configured to access the cluster.
The OpenStack-Helm repositories are enabled, OpenStack-Helm plugin is installed and necessary environment variables are set.
The openstack namespace is created.
Ingress controller is deployed in the openstack namespace.
MetalLB is deployed and configured. The service of type LoadBalancer is created and DNS is configured to resolve the Openstack endpoint names to the IP address of the service.
Ceph is deployed and enabled for using by OpenStack-Helm.

Environment variables¶

First let’s set environment variables that are later used in the subsequent sections:

export OPENSTACK_RELEASE=2024.1
# Features enabled for the deployment. This is used to look up values overrides.
export FEATURES="${OPENSTACK_RELEASE} ubuntu_jammy"
# Directory where values overrides are looked up or downloaded to.
export OVERRIDES_DIR=$(pwd)/overrides

Get values overrides¶

OpenStack-Helm provides values overrides for predefined feature sets and various OpenStack/platform versions. The overrides are stored in the OpenStack-Helm git repositories and OpenStack-Helm plugin provides a command to look them up locally and download (optional) if not found.

Please read the help:

helm osh get-values-overrides --help

For example, if you pass the feature set 2024.1 ubuntu_jammy it will try to look up the following files:

2024.1.yaml
ubuntu_jammy.yaml
2024.1-ubuntu_jammy.yaml

Let’s download the values overrides for the feature set defined above:

INFRA_OVERRIDES_URL=https://opendev.org/openstack/openstack-helm-infra/raw/branch/master/values_overrides
for chart in rabbitmq mariadb memcached openvswitch libvirt; do
    helm osh get-values-overrides -d -u ${INFRA_OVERRIDES_URL} -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c ${chart} ${FEATURES}
done

OVERRIDES_URL=https://opendev.org/openstack/openstack-helm/raw/branch/master/values_overrides
for chart in keystone heat glance cinder placement nova neutron horizon; do
    helm osh get-values-overrides -d -u ${OVERRIDES_URL} -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c ${chart} ${FEATURES}
done

Now you can inspect the downloaded files in the ${OVERRIDES_DIR} directory and adjust them if needed.

OpenStack backend¶

OpenStack is a cloud computing platform that consists of a variety of services, and many of these services rely on backend services like RabbitMQ, MariaDB, and Memcached for their proper functioning. These backend services play crucial role in OpenStack architecture.

RabbitMQ¶

RabbitMQ is a message broker that is often used in OpenStack to handle messaging between different components and services. It helps in managing communication and coordination between various parts of the OpenStack infrastructure. Services like Nova (compute), Neutron (networking), and Cinder (block storage) use RabbitMQ to exchange messages and ensure proper orchestration.

Use the following script to deploy RabbitMQ service:

helm upgrade --install rabbitmq openstack-helm-infra/rabbitmq \
    --namespace=openstack \
    --set pod.replicas.server=1 \
    --timeout=600s \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c rabbitmq ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

MariaDB¶

Database services like MariaDB are used as a backend database for majority of OpenStack projects. These databases store critical information such as user credentials, service configurations, and data related to instances, networks, and volumes. Services like Keystone (identity), Nova, Glance (image), and Cinder rely on MariaDB for data storage.

helm upgrade --install mariadb openstack-helm-infra/mariadb \
    --namespace=openstack \
    --set pod.replicas.server=1 \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c mariadb ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Memcached¶

Memcached is a distributed memory object caching system that is often used in OpenStack to improve performance. OpenStack services cache frequently accessed data in Memcached, which helps in faster data retrieval and reduces the load on the database backend.

helm upgrade --install memcached openstack-helm-infra/memcached \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c memcached ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

OpenStack¶

Now we are ready for the deployment of OpenStack components. Some of them are mandatory while others are optional.

Keystone¶

OpenStack Keystone is the identity and authentication service for the OpenStack cloud computing platform. It serves as the central point of authentication and authorization, managing user identities, roles, and access to OpenStack resources. Keystone ensures secure and controlled access to various OpenStack services, making it an integral component for user management and security in OpenStack deployments.

This is a mandatory component of any OpenStack cluster.

To deploy the Keystone service run the following:

helm upgrade --install keystone openstack-helm/keystone \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c keystone ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Heat¶

OpenStack Heat is an orchestration service that provides templates and automation for deploying and managing cloud resources. It enables users to define infrastructure as code, making it easier to create and manage complex environments in OpenStack through templates and automation scripts.

Here are the commands for the deployment of Heat service.

helm upgrade --install heat openstack-helm/heat \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c heat ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Glance¶

OpenStack Glance is the image service component of OpenStack. It manages and catalogs virtual machine images, such as operating system images and snapshots, making them available for use in OpenStack compute instances.

This is a mandatory component.

The Glance deployment commands are as follows:

tee ${OVERRIDES_DIR}/glance/values_overrides/glance_pvc_storage.yaml <<EOF
storage: pvc
volume:
  class_name: general
  size: 10Gi
EOF

helm upgrade --install glance openstack-helm/glance \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c glance glance_pvc_storage ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Note

In the above we prepare a values override file for glance chart which makes it use a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) for storing images. We put the values in the ${OVERRIDES_DIR}/glance/values_overrides/glance_pvc_storage.yaml so the OpenStack-Helm plugin can pick it up if we pass the feature glance_pvc_storage to it.

Cinder¶

OpenStack Cinder is the block storage service component of the OpenStack cloud computing platform. It manages and provides persistent block storage to virtual machines, enabling users to attach and detach persistent storage volumes to their VMs as needed.

To deploy the OpenStack Cinder use the following

helm upgrade --install cinder openstack-helm/cinder \
    --namespace=openstack \
    --timeout=600s \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c cinder ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Compute kit backend: Openvswitch and Libvirt¶

OpenStack-Helm recommends using OpenvSwitch as the networking backend for the OpenStack cloud. OpenvSwitch is a software-based, open-source networking solution that provides virtual switching capabilities.

To deploy the OpenvSwitch service use the following:

helm upgrade --install openvswitch openstack-helm-infra/openvswitch \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c openvswitch ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Libvirt is a toolkit that provides a common API for managing virtual machines. It is used in OpenStack to interact with hypervisors like KVM, QEMU, and Xen.

Let’s deploy the Libvirt service using the following command:

helm upgrade --install libvirt openstack-helm-infra/libvirt \
    --namespace=openstack \
    --set conf.ceph.enabled=true \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c libvirt ${FEATURES})

Note

Here we don’t need to run helm osh wait-for-pods because the Libvirt pods depend on Neutron OpenvSwitch agent pods which are not yet deployed.

Compute kit: Placement, Nova, Neutron¶

OpenStack Placement is a service that helps manage and allocate resources in an OpenStack cloud environment. It helps Nova (compute) find and allocate the right resources (CPU, memory, etc.) for virtual machine instances.

helm upgrade --install placement openstack-helm/placement \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c placement ${FEATURES})

OpenStack Nova is the compute service responsible for managing and orchestrating virtual machines in an OpenStack cloud. It provisions and schedules instances, handles their lifecycle, and interacts with underlying hypervisors.

helm upgrade --install nova openstack-helm/nova \
    --namespace=openstack \
    --set bootstrap.wait_for_computes.enabled=true \
    --set conf.ceph.enabled=true \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c nova ${FEATURES})

OpenStack Neutron is the networking service that provides network connectivity and enables users to create and manage network resources for their virtual machines and other services.

PROVIDER_INTERFACE=<provider_interface_name>
tee ${OVERRIDES_DIR}/neutron/values_overrides/neutron_simple.yaml << EOF
conf:
  neutron:
    DEFAULT:
      l3_ha: False
      max_l3_agents_per_router: 1
  # <provider_interface_name> will be attached to the br-ex bridge.
  # The IP assigned to the interface will be moved to the bridge.
  auto_bridge_add:
    br-ex: ${PROVIDER_INTERFACE}
  plugins:
    ml2_conf:
      ml2_type_flat:
        flat_networks: public
    openvswitch_agent:
      ovs:
        bridge_mappings: public:br-ex
EOF

helm upgrade --install neutron openstack-helm/neutron \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c neutron neutron_simple ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Horizon¶

OpenStack Horizon is the web application that is intended to provide a graphic user interface to Openstack services.

Let’s deploy it:

helm upgrade --install horizon openstack-helm/horizon \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c horizon ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

OpenStack client¶

Installing the OpenStack client on the developer’s machine is a vital step. The easiest way to install the OpenStack client is to create a Python virtual environment and install the client using pip.

python3 -m venv ~/openstack-client
source ~/openstack-client/bin/activate
pip install python-openstackclient

Now let’s prepare the OpenStack client configuration file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/openstack
tee ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml << EOF
clouds:
  openstack_helm:
    region_name: RegionOne
    identity_api_version: 3
    auth:
      username: 'admin'
      password: 'password'
      project_name: 'admin'
      project_domain_name: 'default'
      user_domain_name: 'default'
      auth_url: 'http://keystone.openstack.svc.cluster.local/v3'

That is it! Now you can use the OpenStack client. Try to run this:

openstack --os-cloud openstack_helm endpoint list

Note

In some cases it is more convenient to use the OpenStack client inside a Docker container. OpenStack-Helm provides the openstackhelm/openstack-client image. The below is an example of how to use it.

docker run -it --rm --network host \
    -v ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml:/etc/openstack/clouds.yaml \
    -e OS_CLOUD=openstack_helm \
    docker.io/openstackhelm/openstack-client:${OPENSTACK_RELEASE} \
    openstack endpoint list

Remember that the container file system is ephemeral and is destroyed when you stop the container. So if you would like to use the Openstack client capabilities interfacing with the file system then you have to mount a directory from the host file system where necessary files are located. For example, this is useful when you create a key pair and save the private key in a file which is then used for ssh access to VMs. Or it could be Heat templates which you prepare in advance and then use with Openstack client.

For convenience, you can create an executable entry point that runs the Openstack client in a Docker container. See for example setup-client.sh.

Other Openstack components (optional)¶

Barbican¶

OpenStack Barbican is a component within the OpenStack ecosystem that provides secure storage, provisioning, and management of secrets, such as encryption keys, certificates, and passwords.

If you want other OpenStack services to use Barbican for secret management, you’ll need to reconfigure those services to integrate with Barbican. Each OpenStack service has its own configuration settings that need to be updated.

helm upgrade --install barbican openstack-helm/barbican \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c barbican ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

Tacker¶

Tacker is an OpenStack service for NFV Orchestration with a general purpose VNF Manager to deploy and operate Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) and Network Services on an NFV Platform. It is based on ETSI MANO Architectural Framework and provides OpenStack’s NFV Orchestration API.

Note

Barbican must be installed before Tacker, as it is a necessary component for Tacker’s installation.

To deploy the OpenStack Tacker, use the following:

helm upgrade --install tacker openstack-helm/tacker \
    --namespace=openstack \
    $(helm osh get-values-overrides -p ${OVERRIDES_DIR} -c tacker ${FEATURES})

helm osh wait-for-pods openstack

For comprehensive instructions on installing Tacker using Openstack Helm, please refer Install Tacker via Openstack Helm.

Deploy OpenStack

Deploy OpenStack¶

Check list before deployment¶

Environment variables¶

Get values overrides¶

OpenStack backend¶

RabbitMQ¶

MariaDB¶

Memcached¶

OpenStack¶

Keystone¶

Heat¶

Glance¶

Cinder¶

Compute kit backend: Openvswitch and Libvirt¶

Compute kit: Placement, Nova, Neutron¶

Horizon¶

OpenStack client¶

Other Openstack components (optional)¶

Barbican¶

Tacker¶

openstack-helm 0.1.1.dev4274

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