Camel K operator installation

Camel K allows us to run Camel integrations directly on a Kubernetes cluster. To use it, you need to be connected to a cloud environment or to a local cluster created for development purposes (ie, Minikube or Kind).

The first step is to install and run the Camel K operator. You can do it via any of the following methodologies:

Installation via Kustomize

Kustomize provides a declarative approach to the configuration customization of a Camel-K installation. Kustomize works either with a standalone executable or as a built-in to kubectl. The /install directory provides a series of base and overlays configuration that you can use. You can create your own overlays or customize the one available in the repository to accommodate your need.

$ kubectl create ns camel-k
$ kubectl apply -k github.com/apache/camel-k/install/overlays/all-namespaces?ref=v2.10.0 --server-side

You can specify as ref parameter the version you’re willing to install (ie, v2.10.0). The command above will install a descoped (global) operator in the camel-k namespace. This is the suggested configuration in order to manage Integrations in all namespaces.

Installation via Helm Hub

Camel K is available in Helm Hub:

$ helm repo add camel-k https://apache.github.io/camel-k/charts/
$ helm install camel-k camel-k/camel-k -n camel-k

More instructions on the Camel K Helm page.

Installation via Operator Hub

Camel K is also available in Operator Hub. You will need the OLM framework to be properly installed in your cluster. More instructions on the Camel K Operator Hub page.

$ kubectl create -f https://operatorhub.io/install/camel-k.yaml

You can edit the Subscription custom resource, setting the channel you want to use. From Camel K version 2 onward, we’re going to provide an installation channel for each major version we’re releasing (ie, stable-v2). This will simplify the upgrade process if you choose to perform an automatic upgrade.

Some Kubernetes clusters such as Openshift may let you to perform the same operation from a GUI as well. Refer to the cluster instruction to learn how to perform such action from user interface.

Installation topology

When you decide to install the operator, you can decide to install the following topology:

  • Global operator: a single global operator watching all namespaces.

  • Own namespace operator: a namespaces operator watching its own namespace only.

  • Single namespace operator: an operator installed in a namespace and watching another namespace.

  • Multi namespace operator: an operator installed in a namespace and watching multiple namespaces.

The namespace(s) to watch is configured via WATCH_NAMESPACE variable in the operator Deployment resource. You can provide an empty value (watch all namespaces), a single value (watch either the own namespace or any other namespace) or a comma separated value (watching as many namespaces as provided).

It’s important to notice that when running the single or multiple namespace operator, you will need to provide the RBACs which are expected by the operator to run properly. For such a configuration you can take as a reference the Kustomize examples available in /install/overlays/single-namespace/ and /install/overlays/multi-namespace/. The last topology is probably the most secure as it will avoid the operator to access to any resource outside those namespaces for which you’ve provided the proper security rules.

OLM only allows own and global installation mode.

Setup the operator configuration

Each installation method have its proper way to setup configuration. A common one is the creation of a Configmap named camel-k-operator-configmap-configuration and a Secret named camel-k-operator-secret-configuration in the same namespace where the operator is installed. If available, the operator will read the environment variable from these resources.

Setup the container registry

The only configuration you may want to change is the container registry which the operator need to use in order to store the container images used to run the Camel applications built. The default installation expects a container registry available in the kube-system namespace exposed by a Service named registry (this is the location where development environment Minikube install the registry via minikube addons enable registry).

Have a further look at the production ready registry configuration documentation.

Verify that the operator is up and running

In order to verify that the operator is up and running, you should be able to see a Camel K operator Pod running in the namespace used, for example:

kubectl get pods -n camel-k
NAME                                READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
camel-k-operator-5b686db99f-c2k2s   1/1     Running   0          3m46s

Run some integration

Once you’ve completed any of the above installation procedure, you’ll be ready to run some integrations.

Special clusters requirements

Camel K installation is usually straightforward, but for certain cluster types you need to apply specific configuration settings before installing it. You need customized instructions for the following cluster types:

Fine Tuning

Camel K installation can be configured with certain special settings available for experienced users. You can manage resources such as limiting memory and CPU, provide a policy for Pod scheduling and Toleration. Please have a look at Camel K fine tuning to learn more about advanced configuration.

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