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Lab 10.1 - Installing and Using Helm Charts

Lab Objectives​

By the end of this lab, you will be able to:

  • Install Helm.
  • Add Helm repositories.
  • Search for available Charts.
  • Install a Helm Chart.
  • Manage Helm releases.

Estimated Duration​

45-60 minutes

Prerequisites​

  • kubectl installed and configured.
  • Local Kubernetes cluster running.
  • Knowledge of Helm (Chapter 10.1).

Part 1: Installing Helm​

Step 1.1: Install Helm​

On Linux/Mac:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

On Windows (with Chocolatey):

choco install kubernetes-helm

Verify the installation:

helm version

Part 2: Configuring Repositories​

Step 2.1: Add the Stable Helm Repository​

Add the official repository:

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
helm repo update

Step 2.2: List Repositories​

helm repo list

Part 3: Searching for Charts​

Step 3.1: Search for Charts​

Search for available Charts:

# Search for nginx
helm search repo nginx

# Search for mysql
helm search repo mysql

# Search for wordpress
helm search repo wordpress

Part 4: Installing a Chart​

Step 4.1: Install NGINX​

Install the NGINX Chart:

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx

Verify the installation:

helm list
kubectl get pods
kubectl get services

Step 4.2: Verify Created Resources​

# View all created objects
kubectl get all -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=my-nginx

Part 5: Managing Releases​

Step 5.1: List Releases​

helm list
helm list --all-namespaces

Step 5.2: View Release Details​

helm status my-nginx

Step 5.3: View Used Values​

helm get values my-nginx

Part 6: Updating and Deleting​

Step 6.1: Update a Release​

helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx --set service.type=NodePort

Step 6.2: Delete a Release​

helm uninstall my-nginx

Verify that resources are deleted:

kubectl get all -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=my-nginx

Lab Summary​

In this lab, you installed Helm, configured repositories, searched for and installed Charts, and managed Helm releases.

Next Steps​

The next lab will show you how to customize a Chart with values.yaml.

Lab 10.2: Customization with values.yaml

Lab created on: December 2024