Deploying Complex Applications

We have used Kubernetes tools to deploy simple containers and services. Also necessary was to have a canonical location for software. Helm is similar to a package manager like yum or apt, with a chart being similar to a package, in that it has the binaries , as well as the installation and removal scripts.

A typical containerized application will have several manifests. Manifests for deployments, services, and configMaps. You will probably also create some secrets, Ingress, and other objects. Each of these will need a manifest.

With Helm, you can package all those manifests and make them available as a single tarball. You can put the tarball in a repository, search that repository, discover an application, and then, with a single command, deploy and start the entire application, one or more times.

The tarballs can be collected in a repository for sharing. You can connect to multiple repositories of applications, including those provided by vendors.

You will also be able to upgrade or roll back an application easily from the command line.