The document is an introductory guide to Helm charts, covering their purpose as a package manager for Kubernetes applications. It explains key concepts including Helm charts, releases, and basic commands, alongside engineering principles involved in using Helm. Additionally, it outlines practical steps for installing and managing applications using Helm within a Kubernetes cluster.

1. Helm Charts 101
‫ا‬‫ﻹ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ع‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺤ‬‫ﺜ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺚ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻄ‬‫ﺒ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻘ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ت‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻰ‬‫ﻛ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺰ‬
By: @abdennour - SRE
At: 21/01/1442 – 09/09/2020

2. > whoami
- @abdennour
- Starting with k8s on AWS at 2017
- Teaching SRE topics ( Ansible Course, k8s, .. etc)

3. > helm -n agenda list
- Problematic - ‫ا‬‫ﻹ‬‫ﺷ‬‫ﻜ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬
- Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ا‬‫ﻷ‬‫ر‬‫ﺿ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
- Concepts: Helm vs Chart vs Release – ‫ﻣ‬‫ﻔ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻢ‬
- High Level Architecture – ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺼ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻢ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻜ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻲ‬
- Helm Basic commands – ‫أ‬‫و‬‫ا‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﻔ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺬ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
- Deal with Community Charts - +1000 charts – ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻌ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﻞ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﻊ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ا‬‫ت‬
- Implement your own Chart - ‫ا‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﻦ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ر‬‫ت‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺨ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﻚ‬
- Demo ( distributed ) - ‫ﺗ‬‫ﻄ‬‫ﺒ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻖ‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻲ‬

4. ‫ا‬‫ﻹ‬‫ﺷ‬‫ﻜ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬
Problematic

5. Problematic ‫ا‬‫ﻹ‬‫ﺷ‬‫ﻜ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬-
● Your App = Not Only image
● App = Image + YAML files
● A lot of YAML files
● ‫ﻓ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺿ‬‫ﻰ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﻞ‬
● Hard Coded Manifests
● Repeating Your Self
● ‫ﺻ‬‫ﻌ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺮ‬‫و‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ز‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻊ‬
● Hard Distribution
● No versioning
App 1 App 2
nodeJs + Postgres Go + Postgres

6. Problematic
● Just Deploying YAML
● No Business Domain
● No Boundries
● <K get pods>
● <K get PVC>
● No <k get apps>
● What about namespaces
● No package Manager for
k8s apps
Pods
Services
App X
ConfigMap

7. ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
Engineering Behind Helm

8. Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ھ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
● Release Engineering – ‫ھ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻹ‬‫ط‬‫ﻼ‬‫ق‬
● Software Engineering – ‫ھ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺒ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺠ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ت‬
● Reliability Engineering – ‫ھ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﺛ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ﻗ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺔ‬

9. ‫ﺳ‬‫ﺆ‬‫ا‬‫ل‬-‫ﺟ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ا‬‫ب‬
‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫و‬‫ﻣ‬‫د‬‫ﯾ‬‫ر‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺣ‬‫ز‬‫م‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ط‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻘ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ت‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻧ‬‫و‬‫د‬‫؟‬
What’s the Package Manager for NodeJS Apps?

10. ‫ﺳ‬‫ﺆ‬‫ا‬‫ل‬-‫ﺟ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ا‬‫ب‬
2.‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻲ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻐ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺣ‬‫ز‬‫م‬‫ﺗ‬‫ط‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻘ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ت‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺟ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻓ‬‫ﺎ‬‫؟‬
What’s the package format of Java apps ?

11. ● Release Engineering
● Software Engineering
● Reliability Engineering
Yaml Code
Package
Manager
Package a Software
Easily install Dependencies
Track of what software installed
Upgrade installed software
Manage versions
....
Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬

12. ● Release Engineering
● Software Engineering
● Reliability Engineering Code
Deployment Env.
Artifact
Package
Build & Deploy
Build
&
push
Pull&
deploy
Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
V1.3
V1.4

13. ‫ﺳ‬‫ﺆ‬‫ا‬‫ل‬-‫ﺟ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ا‬‫ب‬
3.‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻲ‬‫ﺻ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻐ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺣ‬‫ز‬‫م‬‫ﺗ‬‫ط‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﻘ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ت‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻛ‬‫و‬‫ﺑ‬‫ر‬‫ﻧ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ز‬‫؟‬
What’s the package format of K8s apps ?

14. ● Release Engineering
● Software Engineering
● Reliability Engineering
Event - RELENG 2014
Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬

15. ● Release Engineering
● Software Engineering
● Reliability Engineering
- DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself
- Reusability
- Modularity
- Clean Code
- Design Patterns
- ….
Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬

16. ● Release Engineering
● Software Engineering
● Reliability Engineering
- Codify ALL and ALL Operations
- Why ? Code Don’t Lie == Reliability
- Code vs Adhoc Scripting
Engineering Behind Helm - ‫ھ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ـ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺔ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬
- Codify ALL and ALL Operations
- Why ? Code Don’t Lie == Reliability
- Code vs Adhoc Scripting:
● Code is controlled by version control system
● Code is elegant, readable, maintainable
● Code is tested & quality gates must be passed.
● Code means Code-Review is enabled thru pull-
requests, then, risks/bugs are mitigated
● Code means you can continuously integrate your
Changes thru CI/CD pipeline.

17. ‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫؟‬
What’s Helm ?

18. What’s Helm ? ‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫؟‬-
- Package Manager for k8s Apps
- Manage the lifecycle of any
application deployed on k8s cluster
- Engine to calculate the final YAML Code
from YAML templates + Params (values)

19. What’s Helm Chart ? ‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻮ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫؟‬-
- The package Format is called “Chart”
or “Helm Chart”
- A chart is a collection of files that
describe a related set of k8s resources.
- Repository of Charts is called
“Chartmuseum”

20. What’s Helm Release ?
- Helm Chart is deployed with
customizing default Values.
- Each deployment of Helm Chart is called
Helm Release

21. ‫ﻛ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻒ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻐ‬‫ﻞ‬‫؟‬
How Helm Chart Work ?

22. How Does Helm Work ? – ‫ﻛ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻒ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻐ‬‫ﻞ‬
- Chart Templates ( i.e : chart/templates/deployment.yaml )
- Chart Default Values
Final YAML Manifest

23. How Does Helm Work ? – ‫ﻛ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﻒ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻐ‬‫ﻞ‬
- Chart Templates ( i.e : chart/templates/deployment.yaml )
- Chart Default Values - Release Values ( My values)
Final YAML Manifest
Final Values

24. ‫ا‬‫ﺳ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺨ‬‫ﺪ‬‫م‬‫ﺣ‬‫ﺰ‬‫م‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﮭ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻌ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺔ‬‫؟‬
Deal with Community Helm Charts

25. Prerequisites - Deal with Community Helm Charts
- Having a Kubernetes Cluster
- Download/install Helm CLI locally https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/

26. Steps to install Chart on Kubernetes Cluster
Identify Repository
of Chart
(museum)
• Stable
• Incubator
• …
• hub.helm.sh
Inspect
Values/Docs of
Chart
• Values.yaml
• README.MD
Prepare Your
Values for the
Release
• Prod.values.y
aml
• Staging.values
.yaml
Install The Chart
with specific
version & values
• helm install my-
release repo/chart
–version v1.2 -f
my.values.yaml

27. Hands-on – Install Jenkins with Helm Chart
helm install jenkinsci/jenkins --version 2.6.2

28. Hands-on – Install Nexus Sonatype with Helm Chart
helm install sonatype/nexus-repository-manager --version 27.0.0

29. ‫ﻣ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﺨ‬‫ﺺ‬‫أ‬‫و‬‫ا‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ھ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻢ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﻔ‬‫ﯿ‬‫ﺬ‬‫ﯾ‬‫ﺔ‬
Common Helm Commands

30. Helm Commands
helm install jenkins-staging jenkinsci/jenkins --version 2.6.2
Helm Install
helm install RELEASE REPO/CHART_NAME [--version … –f .. –n .. ]
helm upgrade jenkins-staging jenkinsci/jenkins --version 2.6.2
Helm Upgrade
helm upgrade RELEASE REPO/CHART_NAME [--version … –f .. –n .. ]
helm delete jenkins-staging
Helm Delete
helm delete RELEASE
helm template jenkinsci/jenkins --version 2.6.2
Helm Template
helm template RELEASE REPO/CHART_NAME [--version … –f .. –n .. ]

31. Helm Commands For Repo
helm repo add stable https://kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com
Helm repo add
helm repo add REPO REPO_ENDPOINT
helm repo update
Helm repo
update
helm repo update
helm repo list
Helm repo list
Helm repo list
Helm search repo elasticsearch
Helm search
Helm search [repo|hub] CHART

32. Build Your Charts

33. Steps to Implement Own Helm Chart
Scaffold a Chart
Directory
• helm create
Put your Yaml
Manifests in
Templates
Directory
• cp *.yaml my-
chart/template
s/
Externalize Values
with a consistent
design
• My-
chart/values.y
aml
Use Your Chart
• helm install my-
release ./my-chart -f
other.values.yaml

34. ‫ﺷ‬‫ﻜ‬‫ﺮ‬‫ا‬‫ﻋ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﻰ‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺸ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ر‬‫ﻛ‬‫ﺔ‬‫و‬‫ا‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﻤ‬‫ﺘ‬‫ﺎ‬‫ﺑ‬‫ﻌ‬‫ﺔ‬
happy helming