HELM Deployment Guide⚓

This guide provides comprehensive instructions for deploying the Locust Kubernetes Operator using its official Helm chart.

Quick Start⚓

For experienced users, here are the essential commands to get the operator running in the default namespace:

helm repo add locust-k8s-operator https://abdelrhmanhamouda.github.io/locust-k8s-operator/
helm repo update
helm install locust-operator locust-k8s-operator/locust-k8s-operator

Installation⚓

Prerequisites⚓

A running Kubernetes cluster (e.g., Minikube, GKE, EKS, AKS).
Helm 3 installed on your local machine.

Step 1: Add the Helm Repository⚓

First, add the Locust Kubernetes Operator Helm repository to your local Helm client:

helm repo add locust-k8s-operator https://abdelrhmanhamouda.github.io/locust-k8s-operator/

Next, update your local chart repository cache to ensure you have the latest version:

helm repo update

Step 2: Install the Chart⚓

You can install the chart with a release name of your choice (e.g., locust-operator).

Default Installation:

To install the chart with the default configuration into the currently active namespace, run:

helm install locust-operator locust-k8s-operator/locust-k8s-operator

Installation with a Custom Values File:

For more advanced configurations, it's best to use a custom values.yaml file. Create a file named my-values.yaml and add your overrides:

# my-values.yaml
replicaCount: 2

config:
  loadGenerationPods:
    resource:
      cpuLimit: "2000m"
      memLimit: "2048Mi"

Then, install the chart, specifying your custom values file and a target namespace:

helm install locust-operator locust-k8s-operator/locust-k8s-operator \
  --namespace locust-system \
  --create-namespace \
  -f my-values.yaml

Verifying the Installation⚓

After installation, you can verify that the operator is running correctly by checking the pods in the target namespace:

kubectl get pods -n locust-system

You should see a pod with a name similar to locust-operator-b5c9f4f7-xxxxx in the Running state.

To view the operator's logs, run:

kubectl logs -f -n locust-system -l app.kubernetes.io/name=locust-k8s-operator

Configuration⚓

The following tables list the configurable parameters of the Locust Operator Helm chart and their default values.

General Configuration⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`appPort`	The port that the operator will listen on.	`8080`

Deployment Settings⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`replicaCount`	Number of replicas for the operator deployment.	`1`
`image.repository`	The repository of the Docker image.	`lotest/locust-k8s-operator`
`image.pullPolicy`	The image pull policy.	`IfNotPresent`
`image.tag`	Overrides the default image tag (defaults to the chart's `appVersion`).	`""`

Kubernetes Resources⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`k8s.customResourceDefinition.deploy`	Specifies whether to deploy the `LocustTest` CRD.	`true`
`k8s.clusterRole.enabled`	Deploy with a cluster-wide role (`true`) or a namespaced role (`false`).	`true`
`serviceAccount.create`	Specifies whether a service account should be created.	`true`
`serviceAccount.name`	The name of the service account to use. If not set, a name is generated.	`""`
`resources`	Resource requests and limits for the operator pod.	`{}`

Operator Configuration⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`config.loadGenerationJobs.ttlSecondsAfterFinished`	Time-to-live in seconds for finished load generation jobs. Set to `""` to disable.	`""`

Load Generation Pods⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.cpuRequest`	CPU resource request for load generation pods.	`250m`
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.memRequest`	Memory resource request for load generation pods.	`128Mi`
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.ephemeralRequest`	Ephemeral storage request for load generation pods.	`30M`
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.cpuLimit`	CPU resource limit for load generation pods. Set to `""` to unbind.	`1000m`
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.memLimit`	Memory resource limit for load generation pods. Set to `""` to unbind.	`1024Mi`
`config.loadGenerationPods.resource.ephemeralLimit`	Ephemeral storage limit for load generation pods. Set to `""` to unbind.	`50M`
`config.loadGenerationPods.affinity.enableCrInjection`	Enable Custom Resource injection for affinity settings.	`true`
`config.loadGenerationPods.taintTolerations.enableCrInjection`	Enable Custom Resource injection for taint tolerations.	`true`

Metrics Exporter⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`config.loadGenerationPods.metricsExporter.image`	Metrics Exporter Docker image.	`containersol/locust_exporter:v0.5.0`
`config.loadGenerationPods.metricsExporter.port`	Metrics Exporter port.	`9646`
`config.loadGenerationPods.metricsExporter.pullPolicy`	Image pull policy for the metrics exporter.	`IfNotPresent`

Pod Scheduling⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`nodeSelector`	Node selector for scheduling the operator pod.	`{}`
`tolerations`	Tolerations for scheduling the operator pod.	`[]`
`affinity`	Affinity rules for scheduling the operator pod.	`{}`

Liveness and Readiness Probes⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`livenessProbe.initialDelaySeconds`	Initial delay for the liveness probe.	`10`
`livenessProbe.periodSeconds`	How often to perform the liveness probe.	`20`
`livenessProbe.timeoutSeconds`	When the liveness probe times out.	`10`
`livenessProbe.failureThreshold`	When to give up on the liveness probe.	`1`
`readinessProbe.initialDelaySeconds`	Initial delay for the readiness probe.	`30`
`readinessProbe.periodSeconds`	How often to perform the readiness probe.	`20`
`readinessProbe.timeoutSeconds`	When the readiness probe times out.	`10`
`readinessProbe.failureThreshold`	When to give up on the readiness probe.	`1`

Advanced Configuration⚓

The following sections cover advanced configuration options. For a complete list of parameters, refer to the values.yaml file in the chart.

Kafka Configuration⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`config.loadGenerationPods.kafka.bootstrapServers`	Kafka bootstrap servers.	`localhost:9092`
`config.loadGenerationPods.kafka.acl.enabled`	Enable ACL settings for Kafka.	`false`
`config.loadGenerationPods.kafka.sasl.mechanism`	SASL mechanism for authentication.	`SCRAM-SHA-512`

Micronaut Metrics⚓

Parameter	Description	Default
`micronaut.metrics.enabled`	Enable/disable all Micronaut metrics.	`true`
`micronaut.metrics.export.prometheus.step`	The step size (duration) for Prometheus metrics export.	`PT30S`

Upgrading the Chart⚓

To upgrade an existing release to a new version, use the helm upgrade command:

helm upgrade locust-operator locust-k8s-operator/locust-k8s-operator -f my-values.yaml

Uninstalling the Chart⚓

To uninstall and delete the locust-operator deployment, run:

helm uninstall locust-operator

This command will remove all the Kubernetes components associated with the chart and delete the release.

Next Steps⚓

Once the operator is installed, you're ready to start running performance tests! Head over to the Getting Started guide to learn how to deploy your first LocustTest.