charts/bitnami/kong

Kong

Kong is a scalable, open source API layer (aka API gateway or API middleware) that runs in front of any RESTful API. Extra functionalities beyond the core platform are extended through plugins. Kong is built on top of reliable technologies like NGINX and provides an easy-to-use RESTful API to operate and configure the system.

TL;DR

  helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
  helm install my-release bitnami/kong

Introduction

This chart bootstraps a kong deployment on a Kubernetes cluster using the Helm package manager. It also includes the kong-ingress-controller container for managing Ingress resources using Kong.

Bitnami charts can be used with Kubeapps for deployment and management of Helm Charts in clusters.

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes 1.12+
• Helm 2.12+ or Helm 3.0-beta3+
• PV provisioner support in the underlying infrastructure

Installing the Chart

To install the chart with the release name my-release:

  helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
  helm install my-release bitnami/kong

These commands deploy kong on the Kubernetes cluster in the default configuration. The Parameters section lists the parameters that can be configured during installation.

Tip

: List all releases using helm list

Uninstalling the Chart

To uninstall/delete the my-release deployment:

  helm delete my-release

Parameters

The following tables list the configurable parameters of the kong chart and their default values per section/component:

Global Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
global.imageRegistry	Global Docker image registry	nil
global.imagePullSecrets	Global Docker registry secret names as an array	[] (does not add image pull secrets to deployed pods)
global.storageClass	Global storage class for dynamic provisioning	nil

Common Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
nameOverride	String to partially override kong.fullname template with a string (will prepend the release name)	nil
fullnameOverride	String to fully override kong.fullname template with a string	nil
clusterDomain	Kubernetes cluster domain	cluster.local

Deployment Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
image.registry	kong image registry	docker.io
image.repository	kong image name	bitnami/kong
image.tag	kong image tag	{TAG_NAME}
image.pullPolicy	kong image pull policy	IfNotPresent
image.pullSecrets	Specify docker-registry secret names as an array	[] (does not add image pull secrets to deployed pods)
replicaCount	Number of replicas of the kong Pod	2
updateStrategy	Update strategy for deployment	{type: "RollingUpdate"}
schedulerName	Alternative scheduler	nil
database	Select which database backend Kong will use. Can be 'postgresql' or 'cassandra'	postgresql
containerSecurityContext	Container security podSecurityContext	{ runAsUser: 1001, runAsNonRoot: true}
podSecurityContext	Pod security context	{}
nodeSelector	Node labels for pod assignment	{}
tolerations	Tolerations for pod assignment	[]
affinity	Affinity for pod assignment	{}
podAnnotations	Pod annotations	{}
podLabels	Pod labels	{}
sidecars	Attach additional containers to the pod (evaluated as a template)	nil
initContainers	Add additional init containers to the pod (evaluated as a template)	nil
pdb.enabled	Deploy a pdb object for the Kong pod	false
pdb.maxUnavailable	Maximum unavailable Kong replicas (expressed in percentage)	50%
autoscaling.enabled	Deploy a HorizontalPodAutoscaler object for the Kong deployment	false
autoscaling.apiVersion	API Version of the HPA object (for compatibility with Openshift)	v1beta1
autoscaling.minReplicas	Minimum number of replicas to scale back	2
autoscaling.maxReplicas	Maximum number of replicas to scale out	2
autoscaling.metrics	Metrics to use when deciding to scale the deployment (evaluated as a template)	Check values.yaml
extraVolumes	Array of extra volumes to be added to the Kong deployment deployment (evaluated as template). Requires setting extraVolumeMounts	nil
kong.livenessProbe	Liveness probe (kong container)	Check values.yaml
kong.readinessProbe	Readiness probe (kong container)	Check values.yaml
kong.lifecycleHooks	Lifecycle hooks (kong container)	Check deployment.yaml
kong.customLivenessProbe	Override default liveness probe (kong container)	nil
kong.customReadinessProbe	Override default readiness probe (kong container)	nil
kong.resources	Configure resource requests and limits (kong container)	nil
kong.extraVolumeMounts	Array of extra volume mounts to be added to the Kong Container (evaluated as template). Normally used with extraVolumes.	nil
ingressController.livenessProbe	Liveness probe (kong ingress controller container)	Check values.yaml
ingressController.readinessProbe	Readiness probe (kong ingress controller container)	Check values.yaml
ingressController.customLivenessProbe	Override default liveness probe (kong ingress controller container)	nil
ingressController.customReadinessProbe	Override default readiness probe (kong ingress controller container)	nil
ingressController.resources	Configure resource requests and limits (kong ingress controller container)	nil
ingressController.extraVolumeMounts	Array of extra volume mounts to be added to the Kong Ingress Controller container (evaluated as template). Normally used with extraVolumes.	nil
migration.resources	Configure resource requests and limits (migration container)	nil
migration.extraVolumeMounts	Array of extra volume mounts to be added to the Kong Container (evaluated as template). Normally used with extraVolumes.	nil
extraDeploy	Array of extra objects to deploy with the release (evaluated as a template).	nil

Traffic Exposure Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
service.type	Kubernetes Service type	ClusterIP
service.exposeAdmin	Add the Kong Admin ports to the service	false
service.proxyHttpPort	kong proxy HTTP service port port	80
service.proxyHttpsPort	kong proxy HTTPS service port port	443
service.adminHttpPort	kong admin HTTPS service port (only if service.exposeAdmin=true)	8001
service.adminHttpsPort	kong admin HTTPS service port (only if service.exposeAdmin=true)	8443
service.proxyHttpNodePort	Port to bind to for NodePort service type (proxy HTTP)	nil
service.proxyHttpsNodePort	Port to bind to for NodePort service type (proxy HTTPS)	nil
service.adminHttpNodePort	Port to bind to for NodePort service type (admin HTTP)	nil
service.aminHttpsNodePort	Port to bind to for NodePort service type (proxy HTTP)	nil
service.annotations	Annotations for kong service	{}
service.loadBalancerIP	loadBalancerIP if kong service type is LoadBalancer	nil
ingress.enabled	Enable the use of the ingress controller to access the web UI	false
ingress.certManager	Add annotations for cert-manager	false
ingress.annotations	Annotations for the kong Ingress	{}
ingress.hosts[0].name	Hostname to your kong installation	kong.local
ingress.hosts[0].paths	Path within the url structure	["/"]
ingress.hosts[0].tls	Utilize TLS backend in ingress	false
ingress.hosts[0].tlsHosts	Array of TLS hosts for ingress record (defaults to ingress.hosts[0].name if nil)	nil
ingress.hosts[0].servicePort	Which service port inside the kong service to redirect	nil
ingress.hosts[0].tlsSecret	TLS Secret (certificates)	kong.local-tls

Kong Container Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
kong.extraEnvVars	Array containing extra env vars to configure Kong	nil
kong.extraEnvVarsCM	ConfigMap containing extra env vars to configure Kong	nil
kong.extraEnvVarsSecret	Secret containing extra env vars to configure Kong (in case of sensitive data)	nil
kong.command	Override default container command (useful when using custom images)	nil
kong.args	Override default container args (useful when using custom images)	nil
kong.initScriptsCM	ConfigMap containing /docker-entrypoint-initdb.d scripts to be executed at initialization time (evaluated as a template)	nil
kong.initScriptsSecret	Secret containing /docker-entrypoint-initdb.d scripts to be executed at initialization time (that contain sensitive data). Evaluated as a template.	nil

Kong Migration job Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
migration.image.registry	Override Kong migration job image registry (Kong image if not set)	nil
migration.image.repository	Override Kong migration job image name (Kong image if not set)	nil
migration.image.tag	Override Kong migration job image tag (Kong image if not set)	nil
migration.extraEnvVars	Array containing extra env vars to configure the Kong migration job	nil
migration.extraEnvVarsCM	ConfigMap containing extra env vars to configure the Kong migration job	nil
migration.extraEnvVarsSecret	Secret containing extra env vars to configure the Kong migration job (in case of sensitive data)	nil
migration.command	Override default container command (useful when using custom images)	nil
migration.args	Override default container args (useful when using custom images)	nil
migration.annotations	Add annotations to the job	helm.sh/hook: post-install, post-upgrade, helm.sh/hook-delete-policy: before-hook-creation,hook-succeeded

Kong Ingress Controller Container Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
ingressController.enabled	Enable/disable the Kong Ingress Controller	true
ingressController.image.registry	Kong Ingress Controller image registry	docker.io
ingressController.image.repository	Kong Ingress Controller image name	bitnami/kong
ingressController.image.tag	Kong Ingress Controller image tag	{TAG_NAME}
ingressController.image.pullPolicy	kong ingress controller image pull policy	IfNotPresent
ingressController.image.pullSecrets	Specify docker-registry secret names as an array	[] (does not add image pull secrets to deployed pods)
ingressController.proxyReadyTimeout	Maximum time (in seconds) to wait for the Kong container to be ready	300
ingressController.extraEnvVars	Array containing extra env vars to configure Kong	nil
ingressController.extraEnvVarsCM	ConfigMap containing extra env vars to configure Kong Ingress Controller	nil
ingressController.extraEnvVarsSecret	Secret containing extra env vars to configure Kong Ingress Controller (in case of sensitive data)	nil
ingressController.rbac.create	Create the necessary Service Accounts, Roles and Rolebindings for the Ingress Controller to work	true
ingressController.rbac.existingServiceAccount	Use an existing service account for all the RBAC operations	nil
ingressController.installCRDs	Install CustomResourceDefinitions (use --skip-crds on Helm 3)	true
ingressController.customResourceDeletePolicy	Add custom CRD resource delete policy (for Helm 2 support)	nil
ingressController.rbac.existingServiceAccount	Use an existing service account for all the RBAC operations	nil
ingressController.ingressClass	Name of the class to register Kong Ingress Controller (useful when having other Ingress Controllers in the cluster)	nil
ingressController.command	Override default container command (useful when using custom images)	nil
ingressController.args	Override default container args (useful when using custom images)	nil

PostgreSQL Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
postgresql.enabled	Deploy the PostgreSQL sub-chart	true
postgresql.usePasswordFile	Mount the PostgreSQL secret as a file	no
postgresql.existingSecret	Use an existing secret file with the PostgreSQL password (can be used with the bundled chart or with an existing installation)	nil
postgresql.postgresqlDatabase	Database name to be used by Kong	kong
postgresql.postgresqlUsername	Username to be created by the PostgreSQL bundled chart	kong
postgresql.external.host	Host of an external PostgreSQL installation	nil
postgresql.external.user	Username of the external PostgreSQL installation	nil
postgresql.external.password	Password of the external PostgreSQL installation	nil

Cassandra Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
cassandra.enabled	Deploy the Cassandra sub-chart	false
cassandra.usePasswordFile	Mount the Cassandra secret as a file	no
cassandra.existingSecret	Use an existing secret file with the Cassandra password (can be used with the bundled chart or with an existing installation)	nil
cassandra.dbUser.user	Username to be created by the cassandra bundled chart	kong
cassandra.external.hosts	Hosts of an external cassandra installation	nil
cassandra.external.port	Port of an external cassandra installation	nil
cassandra.external.user	Username of the external cassandra installation	nil
cassandra.external.password	Password of the external cassandra installation	nil

Metrics Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
metrics.enabled	Enable the export of Prometheus metrics	false
metrics.service.type	Type of the Prometheus metrics service	ClusterIP file
metrics.service.port	Port of the Prometheus metrics service	9119
metrics.service.annotations	Port for Prometheus metrics service	9119
metrics.service.annotations	Annotations for Prometheus metrics service	Check values.yaml file
metrics.serviceMonitor.enabled	if true, creates a Prometheus Operator ServiceMonitor (also requires metrics.enabled to be true)	false
metrics.serviceMonitor.namespace	Namespace in which Prometheus is running	nil
metrics.serviceMonitor.serviceAccount	Service account used by Prometheus	nil
metrics.serviceMonitor.rbac.create	if true, creates a Role and Role binding for Prometheus so it can reach kong's namespace	true
metrics.serviceMonitor.interval	Interval at which metrics should be scraped.	nil (Prometheus Operator default value)
metrics.serviceMonitor.scrapeTimeout	Timeout after which the scrape is ended	nil (Prometheus Operator default value)
metrics.serviceMonitor.selector	Prometheus instance selector labels	nil

Specify each parameter using the --set key=value[,key=value] argument to helm install. For example,

  helm install my-release \
  --set service.exposeAdmin=true bitnami/kong

The above command exposes the Kong admin ports inside the Kong service.

Alternatively, a YAML file that specifies the values for the parameters can be provided while installing the chart. For example,

  helm install my-release -f values.yaml bitnami/kong

Tip

: You can use the default values.yaml

Configuration and installation details

Rolling VS Immutable tags

It is strongly recommended to use immutable tags in a production environment. This ensures your deployment does not change automatically if the same tag is updated with a different image.

Bitnami will release a new chart updating its containers if a new version of the main container, significant changes, or critical vulnerabilities exist.

Production configuration

This chart includes a values-production.yaml file where you can find some parameters oriented to production configuration in comparison to the regular values.yaml. You can use this file instead of the default one.

• Enable exposing Prometheus metrics:

- metrics.enabled: false
+ metrics.enabled: true

• Enable Pod Disruption Budget:

- pdb.enabled: false
+ pdb.enabled: true

• Increase number of replicas to 4:

- replicaCount: 2
+ replicaCount: 4

• Enable exposing Prometheus metrics:

- metrics.enabled: false
+ metrics.enabled: true

Database backend

The Bitnami Kong chart allows setting two database backends: PostgreSQL or Cassandra. For each option, there are two extra possibilites: deploy a sub-chart with the database installation or use an existing one. The list below details the different options (replace the placeholders specified between UNDERSCORES):

• Deploy the PostgreSQL sub-chart (default)

  helm install my-release bitnami/kong

• Use an external PostgreSQL database

  helm install my-release bitnami/kong \
    --set postgresql.enabled=false \
    --set postgresql.external.host=_HOST_OF_YOUR_POSTGRESQL_INSTALLATION_ \
    --set postgresql.external.password=_PASSWORD_OF_YOUR_POSTGRESQL_INSTALLATION_ \
    --set postgresql.external.user=_USER_OF_YOUR_POSTGRESQL_INSTALLATION_

• Deploy the Cassandra sub-chart

  helm install my-release bitnami/kong \
    --set database=cassandra \
    --set postgresql.enabled=false \
    --set cassandra.enabled=true

• Use an existing Cassandra installation

  helm install my-release bitnami/kong \
    --set database=cassandra \
    --set postgresql.enabled=false \
    --set cassandra.enabled=false \
    --set cassandra.external.hosts[0]=_CONTACT_POINT_0_OF_YOUR_CASSANDRA_CLUSTER_ \
    --set cassandra.external.hosts[1]=_CONTACT_POINT_1_OF_YOUR_CASSANDRA_CLUSTER_ \
    ...
    --set cassandra.external.user=_USER_OF_YOUR_CASSANDRA_INSTALLATION_ \
    --set cassandra.external.password=_PASSWORD_OF_YOUR_CASSANDRA_INSTALLATION_

Sidecars and Init Containers

If you have a need for additional containers to run within the same pod as Kong (e.g. an additional metrics or logging exporter), you can do so via the sidecars config parameter. Simply define your container according to the Kubernetes container spec.

sidecars:
  - name: your-image-name
    image: your-image
    imagePullPolicy: Always
    ports:
      - name: portname
       containerPort: 1234

Similarly, you can add extra init containers using the initContainers parameter.

initContainers:
  - name: your-image-name
    image: your-image
    imagePullPolicy: Always
    ports:
      - name: portname
        containerPort: 1234

Adding extra environment variables

In case you want to add extra environment variables (useful for advanced operations like custom init scripts), you can use the kong.extraEnvVars property.

kong:
  extraEnvVars:
    - name: KONG_LOG_LEVEL
      value: error

Alternatively, you can use a ConfigMap or a Secret with the environment variables. To do so, use the kong.extraEnvVarsCM or the kong.extraEnvVarsSecret values.

The Kong Ingress Controller and the Kong Migration job also allow this kind of configuration via the ingressController.extraEnvVars, ingressController.extraEnvVarsCM, ingressController.extraEnvVarsSecret, migration.extraEnvVars, migration.extraEnvVarsCM and migration.extraEnvVarsSecret values.

Using custom init scripts

For advanced operations, the Bitnami Kong charts allows using custom init scripts that will be mounted in /docker-entrypoint.init-db. You can use a ConfigMap or a Secret (in case of sensitive data) for mounting these extra scripts. Then use the kong.initScriptsCM and kong.initScriptsSecret values.

elasticsearch.hosts[0]=elasticsearch-host
elasticsearch.port=9200
initScriptsCM=special-scripts
initScriptsSecret=special-scripts-sensitive

Deploying extra resources

There are cases where you may want to deploy extra objects, such as KongPlugins, KongConsumers, amongst others. For covering this case, the chart allows adding the full specification of other objects using the extraDeploy parameter. The following example would activate a plugin at deployment time.

## Extra objects to deploy (value evaluated as a template)
##
extraDeploy: |-
  - apiVersion: configuration.konghq.com/v1
    kind: KongPlugin
    metadata:
      name: {{ include "kong.fullname" . }}-plugin-correlation
      namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
      labels: {{- include "kong.labels" . | nindent 6 }}
    config:
      header_name: my-request-id
    plugin: correlation-id

Upgrade

It's necessary to specify the existing passwords while performing a upgrade to ensure the secrets are not updated with invalid randomly generated passwords. Remember to specify the existing values of the postgresql.postgresqlPassword or cassandra.password parameters when upgrading the chart:

$ helm upgrade my-release bitnami/kong \
    --set database=postgresql
    --set postgresql.enabled=true
    --set
    --set postgresql.postgresqlPassword=[POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD]

Note: you need to substitute the placeholders [POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD] with the values obtained from instructions in the installation notes.