Kustomize with Nirmata

Kustomize allows management of variation and customization for resource manifests from a single base definition (for more information, visit: https://kustomize.io). This allows developers to build single manifest file for their applications and customize the application configuration based on the environment it is being deployed in.

As part of its workflow, Nirmata supports and extends the kustomize capability in the followings ways:

1. Fixed Kustomization - Customize an application for specific namespace with “Fixed Kustomization”. In this case, fixed configuration updates, specific to the application can be created as part of the application in the Nirmata catalog.
2. Target Based Kustomization - With target based kustomization, multiple configurations to the base manifest file can be specified and selected based on the target application namespace or cluster. Nirmata will automatically match the target labels, and overlay the appropriate configuration specific to that namespace or cluster to the base manifest file.

Configure Fixed Kustomization

For fixed kustomization for an application, when creating a Git application, click the kustomize button, which will open kustomize options menu. Here, pick kustomization file (syntax - kustomization.yaml) that you would use for customizing configuration for the base manifest file.

Target Based Kustomization

Nirmata supports both namespaces (environments in Nirmata) and clusters as targets for customizing manifest configurations. The cluster based kustomization is useful for managing cluster level services such as add-ons, across a fleet of clusters. Environment based kustomizations allow deploying an application across multiple namespaces with necessary custom configurations specific to those namespaces. The namespaces may exist on the same cluster or across multiple clusters. As long as the name and labels match, the configuration can be customized based on the target.

Environments as Kustomization Targets

For environment (namespace on a cluster) based target kustomization, refer to sample kustomization files and directory structure shown here . It is important to note that the kustomize file should have the name “kustomize-patches.yaml”.

The directory structure is shown below -

Here is an example of kustomize-patches.yaml file for environments:

environmentPatches:
- target:
     kind: Environment
     name: environment-1
     labelSelector:
         env: "env01"
  kustomizePatch: ./environment-1/
- target:
     kind: Environment
     labelSelector:
         env: "env02"
  kustomizePatch: ./environment-2/
- target:
     kind: Environment
     name: environment-3
  kustomizePatch: ./environment-3/

Here is a sample kustomization file for individual environment:

resources:
- ../ghost.yaml
patchesStrategicMerge:
- |-
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
      name: ghost
      labels:
        nirmata.io/deployment.name: "ghost"
        nirmata.io/component: "ghost"
    spec:
      replicas: 2     

Clusters as Kustomization Targets

For cluster based target kustomization, refer to sample kustomition file and directory structure shown here . Again, the kustomization file for clusters should have the name “kustomize-patches.yaml”.

The directory structure looks as shown below:

Here is an example of kustomize-patches.yaml file:

clusterPatches:
- target:
     kind: Cluster
     labelSelector:
         cluster-name: "cluster-001"
  kustomizePatch: ./cluster-001/
- target:
     kind: Cluster
     name: cluster-002
  kustomizePatch: ./cluster-002/
- target:
     kind: Cluster
     name: cluster-003
     labelSelector:
         cluster-type: eks 

Below is sample kustomization file for individual cluster:

resources:
- ../base/
patchesStrategicMerge:
- |-
    apiVersion: apps/v1
    kind: Deployment
    metadata:
      name: frontend
      labels:
        app.kubernetes.io/name: guestbook
        app.kubernetes.io/component: frontend
    spec:
      selector:
        matchLabels:
          app.kubernetes.io/name: guestbook
          app.kubernetes.io/component: frontend
      replicas: 1
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            app.kubernetes.io/name: guestbook
            app.kubernetes.io/component: frontend
        spec:
          containers:
          - name: guestbook
            resources:
              requests:
                cpu: 10m
                memory: 10Mi
              limits:
                cpu: 510m
                memory: 510Mi