Install

There are three parts to StormForge Optimize: the redskyctl command line tool and StormForge Optimize Controller which runs in your cluster, and the API (for those using the StormForge Optimize Platform).

Installing the StormForge Optimize Tool

Binary Releases

Download the latest binary directly for macOS or Linux.

Using cURL

To download the latest release for Linux run:

curl -L https://app.stormforge.io/downloads/redskyctl-linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar x
sudo mv redskyctl /usr/local/bin/

or for macOS run:

curl -L https://app.stormforge.io/downloads/redskyctl-darwin-amd64.tar.gz | tar x
sudo mv redskyctl /usr/local/bin/

Using Homebrew

For macOS users, you can install redskyctl using Homebrew:

brew install redskyops/tap/redskyctl

Installing the StormForge Optimize Controller

The StormForge Optimize Controller runs inside your Kubernetes cluster. It can configured to talk to a API for automatic tuning of your application parameters.

Easy Install

To perform an easy install, simply run redskyctl init. This will run a pod in your cluster to generate the necessary installation manifests.

Using redskyctl init is safe for multiple invocations; in fact re-running it with a new version of redskyctl is also the easiest way to upgrade your in cluster components or configuration.

Helm Install

If you cannot use redskyctl to install, a basic Helm chart exists. To install using Helm, add the StormForge repository and install the redskyops chart:

helm repo add redsky https://redskyops.dev/charts/
helm repo update
helm install --namespace redsky-system --name redsky redsky/redskyops

The latest release of the Helm chart may not reference the latest application version, use the redskyTag value to override the application version.

API Installation

To configure the API (e.g. when using the StormForge Optimize platform), you must provide connection parameters through the StormForge Optimize configuration.

Connection Details

To authorize the Red Sky Controller running in your cluster, you must first prepare the necessary credentials on your workstation (i.e. where you run the redskyctl program from). This can be done using a web-based form:

redskyctl login

Alternatively, you can get a one-time use code to enter into a browser from another device:

redskyctl login --url

At anytime you can check to see that you can communicate with the API:

redskyctl ping

Applying Configuration

To apply the StormForge Optimize configuration to the current cluster, first view your existing configuration to verify it is correct:

redskyctl config view

This will display the contents of your ~/.config/redsky/config file plus any default values or environment variables that have been set.

Your configuration is applied (either created or updated) to the cluster through the redskyctl authorize-cluster command. Additionally, the redskyctl init command will automatically perform authorization if your connection details are available. If your configuration was valid when you last ran init, there is no need to re-apply your configuration.

Once you have verified the configuration, you can ensure your Red Sky Controller deployment is up-to-date:

redskyctl init

Alternately, you can store your configuration in the redsky-manager secret of the redsky-system namespace. You can also view this secret to verify the effective configuration values.

Helm Values

If you are installing the StormForge Optimize Controller in your cluster using Helm, you can run redskyctl authorize-cluster --helm-values to produce a values.yaml file with the necessary extra configuration.

Upgrading, Uninstalling, and other Advanced Topics

Upgrading the StormForge Optimize Controller

The preferred way to upgrade the StormForge Optimize Controller is to install the latest version of redskyctl locally and run redskyctl init. Use redskyctl version to check the current version numbers.

In some cases there may be incompatibilities between versions requiring an uninstall prior to the installation of the new version: please consult the release notes for the version you are installing.

Uninstalling the StormForge Optimize Controller

To remove the StormForge Optimize Controller completely from your cluster, run redskyctl reset.

IMPORTANT Running the reset command will also remove all of the StormForge Optimize data. Ensure you have backed up any information in the cluster prior to running this command.

Advanced Installation

Controller installation involves generating manifests and applying them to your cluster using kubectl. If you have specific security requirements, or if the default RBAC configuration for the easy install is too permissive for your environment, or if you just want to inspect the manifests prior to installation, you can obtain the raw StormForge Optimize Controller manifests using the redskyctl command:

redskyctl generate install

redskyctl generate controller-rbac

RBAC Requirements

The StormForge Optimize Controller uses Kubernetes jobs to implement trial runs along with custom resources describing the experiment and trial. The StormForge Optimize Controller needs full permission to manipulate these resources. Additionally, the StormForge Optimize Controller must be able to list core pods, services, and namespaces.

The exact permissions required for a particular version can be found by inspecting the output of the redskyctl generate ... commands.


Last modified December 7, 2020: feat: Controller 1.9 release (7465342)