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Part 1: Create

This is Part 1 of a multi-part exercise that will focus on creating and sharing a blueprint across projects within an organization.

What Will You Do

In part 1, you will:

  • Create a new project in your organization
  • Create a cluster blueprint
  • Share the blueprint across projects
  • Apply the blueprint to a cluster

Step 1: Create Project

In this step, we will create a new project which will serve as a logically isolated "operating environment" (sub tenant). To learn more, see Project.

Note

Creating a project requires "Org Admin" privileges.

We will create a project named "central". This project will be used to house the source blueprint we will create in an upcoming step. Then we will share this blueprint with another project.

Select a method from the tabs below.

  • Create a new project called "central"

New Project

  • Switch context to the "central" project by clicking on the project in the web console

You can create a project using RCTL. See CLI Setup to install the RCTL CLI.

  • Create a project.yaml file. The project name is "central" in the following example.
apiVersion: system.k8smgmt.io/v3
kind: Project
metadata:
  description: getstarted_project
  name: central
spec:
  default: false

  • Run ./rctl apply -f project.yaml to create the project.

  • Run ./rctl config set project central to set the project.

  • Run ./rctl config show to see the current RCTL configuration. Make sure central appears for project.

While it is possible to create a project using Terraform, a key benefit of using Terraform is creating multiple things at once.

Go to Step 2 to create a project and a blueprint.

Step 2: Create Blueprint

In this step, we will create a custom blueprint based off the "minimal" blueprint.

Select a method from the tabs below.

  • Navigate to the previously created "central" project in your Org
  • Select Infrastructure -> Blueprints
  • Click "New Blueprint"
  • Enter a name for the blueprint
  • Select "Custom Blueprint" for the Type
  • Click "Save"

New Blueprint

Next, create a blueprint version for this custom blueprint.

  • Enter the "Version Name"
  • Select the minimal blueprint as the base blueprint
  • Click "Save Changes"

New Blueprint

New Blueprint

You can create a blueprint using RCTL.

  • Create a blueprint.yaml file. Use the following example.
apiVersion: infra.k8smgmt.io/v3
kind: Blueprint
metadata:
  name: test-blueprint
  project: central

  • Run ./rctl apply -f blueprint.yaml --v3 to create the blueprint.

  • Run ./rctl get blueprints --v3 to see a list of blueprints in the project.

You can create a project and a blueprint using Terraform. See Install Terraform to install Terraform.

  • Download the Getting Started package and extract it.
  • Edit the config.json file. You can use a text editor. The path to the config file: /getstarted/terraform/blueprints/artifacts/credentials.
  • Add your console API key, API secret, and Project ID to the config.json file.
  • Open the Terminal and navigate to the blueprints folder in the getstarted package. The path: /getstarted/terraform/blueprints.
  • Run terraform init to initialize the directory containing the Terraform configuration files, preparing the directory for use with Terraform.
  • Run terraform validate to validate the configuration files in the directory, without accessing any remote services.
  • Run terraform apply to create the project and blueprint. Enter yes when prompted.

Step 3: Share Blueprint

In this step, we will share the previously created custom blueprint with the project where your cluster is located.

A shared blueprint cannot be deleted. Disable sharing first, then delete the blueprint.

Select a method from the tabs below.

  • Navigate to the previously created "central" project in your Org
  • Select Infrastructure -> Blueprints
  • Click the "Manage Sharing" icon near the previously created blueprint

Share Blueprint

  • Select "Specific Projects"
  • Select the project where your cluster is located
  • Click "Save"

Share Blueprint

You will now see the blueprint is shared across projects.

Share Blueprint

You can share a blueprint using RCTL. Enable sharing and include the project names to share the blueprint with.

  • Update the blueprint.yaml file to match the example below. 
apiVersion: infra.k8smgmt.io/v3
kind: Blueprint
metadata:
  name: v1
  project: central
spec:
  base:
    name: default
    version: 1.21.0
  defaultAddons:
    enableIngress: true
    enableMonitoring: true
  sharing:
    enabled: true
    projects:
    - name: testproject
  type: custom
  version: "1"

  • Run ./rctl apply -f blueprint.yaml --v3 to update the blueprint.

  • Run ./rctl get blueprints --v3 to see a list of blueprints in the project.

You can share the blueprint using Terraform. Enable sharing and include the project names to share the blueprint with.

  • Edit the main.tf file in the blueprints folder. The path to the file: /getstarted/terraform/blueprints/modules/blueprints.
  • For sharing.enabled, change the setting to true.
  • For sharing.projects.name, change the setting to a project with a cluster.
  • Save the changes to the main.tf file.
  • Open the Terminal and navigate to the blueprints folder in the getstarted package. The path: /getstarted/terraform/blueprints.
  • Run terraform apply to update the blueprint. Enter yes when prompted.

Step 4: Apply Blueprint

In this step, we will apply the blueprint to the existing cluster in the downstream project.

Select a method from the tabs below.

  • Navigate to the project in your Org where the cluster is located.
  • Select Infrastructure -> Clusters
  • Click the gear icon on the cluster card
  • Select "Update Blueprint"
  • Select the previously created and shared blueprint
  • Select the blueprint version
  • Click "Save and Publish"

Apply Blueprint

The blueprint will begin to be applied to the cluster.

Apply Blueprint

The blueprint is now applied to the cluster.

Apply Blueprint

When using RCTL, apply a blueprint using the update cluster command.

  • Run ./rctl config set project <project_name>. Change to the name of the project with the cluster to apply the blueprint to.
  • Run ./rctl update cluster <cluster_name> -b test-blueprint. Change to the name of the cluster to apply the blueprint to.

When using Terraform, apply a blueprint by updating the Terraform TFVARS file for the cluster. This exercise uses an existing cluster. See Amazon EKS Cluster Lifecycle or Azure AKS Cluster Lifecycle for exercises on creating a cluster.

  • Edit the terraform.tfvars file for the cluster.
  • Change the blueprint_name and blueprint_version to match the shared blueprint.
  • Save the TFVARS file.
  • In the Terminal, navigate to the folder containing the Terraform files for the cluster.
  • Run terraform apply to apply the changes to the cluster. The shared blueprint is applied to the cluster.

Recap

Congratulations! At this point, you have successfully created, shared and applied a custom cluster blueprint across projects.