Docker and Helm

Docker is an open source tool that creates, deploys, and runs applications by using containers. Install Docker by following the instructions in docker.com. You can follow this runbook by using any Docker edition, including the community edition.

Helm is a package manager that helps you to find, share, and use software that is built for Kubernetes. Helm streamlines the installation and management of Kubernetes applications, and is the equivalent of the apt, yum, or homebrew utilities for Kubernetes.

Helm uses a packaging format called Chart. A chart is a collection of files that describe a related set of Kubernetes resources. A single chart might be used to deploy something simple, like a memcached pod, or a complex deployment, like a full web app stack with HTTP servers, databases, and caches. Charts are created as files laid out in a particular directory tree, then they can be packaged into versioned archives for deployment. For more information, see the Helm documentation.

This runbook uses Helm Charts and describes how to package and deploy them. For more information, see Preparing Helm Charts.

Install Helm by following the steps described in Helm install.