An Introduction to Helm
What is Helm
Where Helm Came From - Deis Workflow is in the Past
helm was the product of a company called Deis
had a platform-as-a-service called Workflow where you deploy a 12-factor application that you could run on top of Kubernetes
Deis needed a way to store stuff (such as mysql, postgres) and install that into your Kubernetes cluster
this is why Helm was created
Helm - the Package Manager for Kubernetes
What is a package manager?
tooling that enables someone who has knowledge of an application and a platform to package up an application so that someone else who has neither extensive knowledge of the application or the way it needs to be run on the platform can use it
An apt example
this is a simple apt update
apt update knowledge about packages, install it, and it works
Ubuntu doesn't know about postgres
you have to add knowledge, add certificates, get knowledge about the package from postgres, update, add repository, then install
With Helm
add bitnami chart repo and then install mariadb from bitnami chart repo
Is Helm Trustworthy?
"Helm can be recommended for public deployment" - First Helm Security Audit Report
helm started in October 2015
has passed a million downloads per month
uses semantic versioning
v{{major}}.{{minor}}.{{patch}}
has a 1-year support window
offers release candidates
more release candidates come out than releases
releases are signed
supports Mac, Linux, and Windows
How to Use Helm
Helm Charts
helm packages are referred to as charts - deployable units for Kubernetes-bound applications
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