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This version of the documentation is archived and no longer supported. To learn how to upgrade your version of MongoDB Kubernetes Operator, refer to the upgrade documentation.

Install the MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator

Supported with Cloud Manager and Ops Manager 4.0

You can use Kubernetes Operator to deploy MongoDB instances with Ops Manager version 4.0 or later and Cloud Manager. At any place in this guide that says Ops Manager, you can substitute Cloud Manager.

MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator allows you to deploy MongoDB deployment items with Kubernetes and Ops Manager. This Operator uses Kubernetes and Ops Manager API methods to deploy standalone, replica set, and sharded cluster deployments that Ops Manager manages.

Note

This tutorial presumes some knowledge of Kubernetes, but does link to relevant Kubernetes documentation where possible. If you are unfamiliar with Kubernetes, please review that documentation first.

Prerequisites

Ops Manager Prerequisites

To install the MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator, you must:

  1. Have or generate a Programmatic API Key.

  2. Grant this new Programmatic API Key the Project Owner role.

  3. Add the IP or CIDR block of any hosts that serve the Kubernetes Operator to the API Whitelist.

  4. (Optional). Have or create an Ops Manager Organization.

    Note

    Unlike earlier Kubernetes Operator versions, use the Operator to create your Ops Manager project. The Operator adds additional metadata to Projects that it creates to help manage the deployments.

Kubernetes Prerequisites

  1. Have a Kubernetes solution available to use.

    If you need a Kubernetes solution, see the Kubernetes documentation on picking the right solution.

  2. Clone the MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator repository.

    git clone https://github.com/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-kubernetes.git
    

    Note

    You can use Helm to install the Kubernetes Operator. To learn how to install Helm, see its documentation on GitHub

  3. Create a namespace for your Kubernetes deployment. By default, The Kubernetes Operator uses the mongodb namespace. To simplify your installation, consider creating a namespace labeled mongodb using the following kubectl command:

    kubectl create namespace mongodb
    

    If you do not want to use the mongodb namespace, you can label your namespace anything you like:

    kubectl create namespace <namespaceName>
    

Considerations

Kubernetes Compatibility

MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator is compatible with Kubernetes v1.11 or later.

Docker Container Details

MongoDB builds the container images from the latest builds of the following operating systems:

If you get your Kubernetes Operator from… …the Container uses
quay.io or GitHub Ubuntu 16.04
OpenShift Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

MongoDB, Inc. updates all packages on these images before releasing them every three weeks.

Only One Operator per Namespace

The MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator can only exist in one namespace. Your deployment can have:

  • One cluster-wide Kubernetes Operator or
  • Multiple Kubernetes Operators in their own namespaces

Do not try to deploy more than one Kubernetes Operator in the same namespace as another Operator. Multiple Operators cannot coordinate with one another within the same namespace.

Install the MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator

Use the same namespace throughout

The following examples assume that you created a namespace using the default Kubernetes Operator namespace of mongodb. If you specified a different label for your namespace when you created it, change all values for metadata.namespace to that namespace.

To change the label for the namespace for the following deployment to production, edit all values for metadata.namespace in mongodb-enterprise.yaml:

##---
# Source: mongodb-enterprise-operator/templates/serviceaccount.yaml
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
  namespace: production
##---
# Source: mongodb-enterprise-operator/templates/operator.yaml
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
  namespace: production

---
# Example truncated
---
...
  1. Change to the directory in which you cloned the repository.

  2. Install the CustomResourceDefinitions for MongoDB deployments using the following kubectl command:

    kubectl apply -f crds.yaml
    
  3. If you use OpenShift as your Kubernetes orchestrator, you need to allow OpenShift to manage the Security Context for the Kubernetes Operator.

    Change the MANAGED_SECURITY_CONTEXT value as described in the next step.

  4. You can edit the Operator YAML file to further customize your Operator before installing it.

    1. Open your mongodb-enterprise.yaml in your preferred text editor.

    2. You may need to add one or more of the following options:

      Environment Variable When to Use
      OPERATOR_ENV

      Label for the Operator’s deployment environment. The env value affects default timeouts and the format and level of logging.

      If OPERATOR_ENV is Log Level is set to Log Format is set to
      dev debug text
      prod info json

      Accepted values are: dev, prod.

      Default value is: prod.

      You can set the following pair of values:

      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.name: OPERATOR_ENV
      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.value: prod
      

      Example

      spec:
        template:
          spec:
            serviceAccountName: mongodb-enterprise-operator
            containers:
            - name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
              image: <operatorVersionUrl>
              imagePullPolicy: <policyChoice>
              env:
              - name: OPERATOR_ENV
                value: prod
      
      WATCH_NAMESPACE

      Namespace that the Operator watches for MongoDB Kubernetes resource changes. If this namespace differs from the default, ensure that the Operator’s ServiceAccount can access that different namespace.

      * means all namespaces and requires the ClusterRole assigned to the mongodb-enterprise-operator ServiceAccount which is the ServiceAccount used to run the Kubernetes Operator.

      Default value is: <metadata.namespace>.

      One Namespace or All Namespaces

      If you need to watch more than one namespace, set the value of WATCH_NAMESPACE to * (all). This environment variable can watch one namespace or all namespaces.

      You can set the following pair of values:

      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.name: WATCH_NAMESPACE
      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.value: "<testNamespace>"
      

      Example

      spec:
        template:
          spec:
            serviceAccountName: mongodb-enterprise-operator
            containers:
            - name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
              image: <operatorVersionUrl>
              imagePullPolicy: <policyChoice>
              env:
              - name: WATCH_NAMESPACE
                value: "<testNamespace>"
      
      MANAGED_SECURITY_CONTEXT

      If you use OpenShift as your Kubernetes orchestrator, set this to 'true' to allow OpenShift to manage the Security Context for the Kubernetes Operator.

      Accepted values are: 'true', 'false'.

      Default value is: 'false'.

      You can set the following pair of values:

      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.name: MANAGED_SECURITY_CONTEXT
      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.value: 'true'
      

      Example

      spec:
        template:
          spec:
            serviceAccountName: mongodb-enterprise-operator
            containers:
            - name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
              image: <operatorVersionUrl>
              imagePullPolicy: <policyChoice>
              env:
              - name: MANAGED_SECURITY_CONTEXT
                value: 'true'
      
      POD_WAIT_SEC

      Time in seconds that the Operator waits for StatefulSets to start when MongoDB Kubernetes resources are being created or updated before retrying.

      Default values depend upon OPERATOR_ENV:

      If OPERATOR_ENV is POD_WAIT_SEC is set to
      dev 3
      prod 5

      You can set the following pair of values:

      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.name: POD_WAIT_SEC
      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.value: 4
      

      Example

      spec:
        template:
          spec:
            serviceAccountName: mongodb-enterprise-operator
            containers:
            - name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
              image: <operatorVersionUrl>
              imagePullPolicy: <policyChoice>
              env:
              - name: POD_WAIT_SEC
                value: 4
              - name: POD_WAIT_RETRIES
                value: 30
      
      POD_WAIT_RETRIES

      Maximum number of retries that the Operator attempts when waiting for StatefulSets to start after MongoDB Kubernetes resources are created or updated.

      Default values depend upon OPERATOR_ENV:

      If OPERATOR_ENV is POD_WAIT_RETRIES is set to
      dev 60
      prod 180

      You can set the following pair of values:

      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.name: POD_WAIT_RETRIES
      spec.template.spec.containers.name.env.value: 30
      

      Example

      spec:
        template:
          spec:
            serviceAccountName: mongodb-enterprise-operator
            containers:
            - name: mongodb-enterprise-operator
              image: <operatorVersionUrl>
              imagePullPolicy: <policyChoice>
              env:
              - name: POD_WAIT_SEC
                value: 4
              - name: POD_WAIT_RETRIES
                value: 30
      
  5. Install the Kubernetes Operator using the following kubectl command:

    kubectl apply -f mongodb-enterprise.yaml
    

To troubleshoot your Kubernetes Operator, see Review Logs from the Kubernetes Operator.

Important

If you need to remove the Kubernetes Operator or the namespace, you first must remove MongoDB resources.

If you have not already installed Helm, follow the instructions on GitHub to install it.

  1. Change to the directory in which you cloned the repository.

  2. Install the Kubernetes Operator using the following helm command:

    helm template helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

    You can customize your Chart before installing it by using the --set option. For this Chart, you may need to add one or more of the following options:

    --set option When to Use
    namespace

    To use a different namespace, you need to specify that namespace.

    Default value is: mongodb.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set namespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.env

    Label for the Operator’s deployment environment. The env value affects default timeouts and the format and level of logging.

    If operator.env is Log Level is set to Log Format is set to
    dev debug text
    prod info json

    Accepted values are: dev, prod.

    Default value is: prod.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.watchNamespace

    Namespace that the Operator watches for MongoDB Kubernetes resource changes. If this namespace differs from the default, ensure that the Operator’s ServiceAccount can access that different namespace.

    * means all namespaces and requires the ClusterRole assigned to the mongodb-enterprise-operator ServiceAccount which is the ServiceAccount used to run the Kubernetes Operator.

    Default value is: <metadata.namespace>.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set operator.watchNamespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    managedSecurityContext

    If you use OpenShift as your Kubernetes orchestrator, set this to true to allow OpenShift to manage the Security Context for the Kubernetes Operator.

    Accepted values are: true, false.

    Default value is: false.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set managedSecurityContext=false \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podWaitSeconds

    Time in seconds that the Operator waits for StatefulSets to start when MongoDB Kubernetes resources are being created or updated before retrying.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podWaitSeconds is set to
    dev 3
    prod 5

    Example

    helm template \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podSetWaitRetries

    Maximum number of retries that the Operator attempts when waiting for StatefulSets to start after MongoDB Kubernetes resources are created or updated.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podSetWaitRetries is set to
    dev 60
    prod 180

    Example

    helm template
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      --set operator.podSetWaitRetries=20 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

To troubleshoot your Kubernetes Operator, see Review Logs from the Kubernetes Operator.

Important

If you need to remove the Kubernetes Operator or the namespace, you first must remove MongoDB resources.

Before continuing, install Helm following the instructions on GitHub

To install the Kubernetes Operator on a host not connected to the Internet, you have two options, you can download the Kubernetes Operator files from either:

  1. Connect to the Internet.

  2. Use docker to request the files.

    docker pull quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-operator:0.1; \
    docker pull quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-database:0.1
    
  3. Disconnect from the Internet.

  4. Install the Kubernetes Operator with modified pull policy values using the following helm command:

    helm template --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

    You can further customize your Chart before installing it by using the --set option. For this Chart, you may need to add one or more of the following options:

    --set option When to Use
    namespace

    To use a different namespace, you need to specify that namespace.

    Default value is: mongodb.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set namespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.env

    Label for the Operator’s deployment environment. The env value affects default timeouts and the format and level of logging.

    If operator.env is Log Level is set to Log Format is set to
    dev debug text
    prod info json

    Accepted values are: dev, prod.

    Default value is: prod.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.watchNamespace

    Namespace that the Operator watches for MongoDB Kubernetes resource changes. If this namespace differs from the default, ensure that the Operator’s ServiceAccount can access that different namespace.

    * means all namespaces and requires the ClusterRole assigned to the mongodb-enterprise-operator ServiceAccount which is the ServiceAccount used to run the Kubernetes Operator.

    Default value is: <metadata.namespace>.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.watchNamespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    managedSecurityContext

    If you use OpenShift as your Kubernetes orchestrator, set this to true to allow OpenShift to manage the Security Context for the Kubernetes Operator.

    Accepted values are: true, false.

    Default value is: false.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set managedSecurityContext=false \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podWaitSeconds

    Time in seconds that the Operator waits for StatefulSets to start when MongoDB Kubernetes resources are being created or updated before retrying.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podWaitSeconds is set to
    dev 3
    prod 5

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podSetWaitRetries

    Maximum number of retries that the Operator attempts when waiting for StatefulSets to start after MongoDB Kubernetes resources are created or updated.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podSetWaitRetries is set to
    dev 60
    prod 180

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      --set operator.podSetWaitRetries=20 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

To troubleshoot your Kubernetes Operator, see Review Logs from the Kubernetes Operator.

Important

If you need to remove the Kubernetes Operator or the namespace, you first must remove MongoDB resources.

  1. Use docker to request the files on a host connected to the Internet.

    docker pull quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-operator:0.1; \
    docker pull quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-database:0.1
    
  2. Save the Operator files to transferrable files.

    docker save quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-operator:0.1 -o mongodb-enterprise-operator.tar; \
    docker save quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-database:0.1 -o mongodb-enterprise-database.tar
    
  3. Copy these .tar files to the host running the Kubernetes docker daemon.

  4. Import the .tar files into docker.

    docker import mongodb-enterprise-operator.tar quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-operator:0.1; \
    docker import mongodb-enterprise-database.tar quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-database:0.1
    
  5. Install the Kubernetes Operator with modified pull policy values using the following helm command:

    helm template --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

    You can further customize your Chart before installing it by using the --set option. For this Chart, you may need to add one or more of the following options:

    --set option When to Use
    namespace

    To use a different namespace, you need to specify that namespace.

    Default value is: mongodb.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set namespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.env

    Label for the Operator’s deployment environment. The env value affects default timeouts and the format and level of logging.

    If operator.env is Log Level is set to Log Format is set to
    dev debug text
    prod info json

    Accepted values are: dev, prod.

    Default value is: prod.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.watchNamespace

    Namespace that the Operator watches for MongoDB Kubernetes resource changes. If this namespace differs from the default, ensure that the Operator’s ServiceAccount can access that different namespace.

    * means all namespaces and requires the ClusterRole assigned to the mongodb-enterprise-operator ServiceAccount which is the ServiceAccount used to run the Kubernetes Operator.

    Default value is: <metadata.namespace>.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.watchNamespace=<testNamespace> \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    managedSecurityContext

    If you use OpenShift as your Kubernetes orchestrator, set this to true to allow OpenShift to manage the Security Context for the Kubernetes Operator.

    Accepted values are: true, false.

    Default value is: false.

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set managedSecurityContext=false \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podWaitSeconds

    Time in seconds that the Operator waits for StatefulSets to start when MongoDB Kubernetes resources are being created or updated before retrying.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podWaitSeconds is set to
    dev 3
    prod 5

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    
    operator.podSetWaitRetries

    Maximum number of retries that the Operator attempts when waiting for StatefulSets to start after MongoDB Kubernetes resources are created or updated.

    Default values depend upon operator.env:

    If operator.env is operator.podSetWaitRetries is set to
    dev 60
    prod 180

    Example

    helm template \
      --set registry.pullPolicy=IfNotPresent \
      --set operator.env=dev \
      --set operator.podWaitSeconds=10 \
      --set operator.podSetWaitRetries=20 \
      helm_chart > operator.yaml
    kubectl apply -f operator.yaml
    

To troubleshoot your Kubernetes Operator, see Review Logs from the Kubernetes Operator.

Important

If you need to remove the Kubernetes Operator or the namespace, you first must remove MongoDB resources.

Verify the Installation

To verify that the Kubernetes Operator installed correctly, run the following command and verify the output:

kubectl describe deployments mongodb-enterprise-operator -n <namespace>

By default, deployments exist in the mongodb namespace. If the following error message appears, ensure you use the correct namespace:

Error from server (NotFound): deployments.apps "mongodb-enterprise-operator" not found

Next Steps

After installing the MongoDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator, you need to: