Merge pull request #1226 from bigchaindb/docs-re-k8s-persistent-storage

Docs on BDB Node Storage Setup in an Existing Kubernetes Cluster

docs/server/source/cloud-deployment-templates/node-on-kubernetes.rst

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Step 2: Configure kubectl
 The default location of the kubectl configuration file is ``~/.kube/config``.
 If you don't have that file, then you need to get it.
 
-If you deployed your Kubernetes cluster on Azure
+**Azure.** If you deployed your Kubernetes cluster on Azure
 using the Azure CLI 2.0 (as per :doc:`our template <template-kubernetes-azure>`),
 then you can get the ``~/.kube/config`` file using:
 
@@ -32,15 +32,128 @@ then you can get the ``~/.kube/config`` file using:
    --name <ACS cluster name>
 
 
-Step 3: Run a MongoDB Container 
--------------------------------
+Step 3: Create a StorageClass
+-----------------------------
 
-To start a MongoDB Docker container in a pod on one of the cluster nodes:
+MongoDB needs somewhere to store its data persistently,
+outside the container where MongoDB is running.
+Explaining how Kubernetes handles persistent volumes,
+and the associated terminology,
+is beyond the scope of this documentation;
+see `the Kubernetes docs about persistent volumes
+<https://kubernetes.io/docs/user-guide/persistent-volumes>`_.
+
+The first thing to do is create a Kubernetes StorageClass.
+
+**Azure.** First, you need an Azure storage account.
+If you deployed your Kubernetes cluster on Azure
+using the Azure CLI 2.0
+(as per :doc:`our template <template-kubernetes-azure>`),
+then the `az acs create` command already created two
+storage accounts in the same location and resource group
+as your Kubernetes cluster.
+Both should have the same "storage account SKU": ``Standard_LRS``.
+Standard storage is lower-cost and lower-performance.
+It uses hard disk drives (HDD).
+LRS means locally-redundant storage: three replicas
+in the same data center.
+
+Premium storage is higher-cost and higher-performance.
+It uses solid state drives (SSD).
+At the time of writing,
+when we created a storage account with SKU ``Premium_LRS``
+and tried to use that,
+the PersistentVolumeClaim would get stuck in a "Pending" state.
+For future reference, the command to create a storage account is
+`az storage account create <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/storage/account#create>`_.
+
+Create a Kubernetes Storage Class named ``slow``
+by writing a file named ``azureStorageClass.yml`` containing:
+
+.. code:: yaml
+
+   kind: StorageClass
+   apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1beta1
+   metadata:
+     name: slow
+   provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-disk
+   parameters:
+     skuName: Standard_LRS
+     location: <region where your cluster is located>
+
+and then:
 
 .. code:: bash
 
-   $ kubectl ?????
+   $ kubectl apply -f azureStorageClass.yml
+
+You can check if it worked using ``kubectl get storageclasses``.
+
+Note that there is no line of the form
+``storageAccount: <azure storage account name>``
+under ``parameters:``. When we included one
+and then created a PersistentVolumeClaim based on it,
+the PersistentVolumeClaim would get stuck
+in a "Pending" state.
+Kubernetes just looks for a storageAccount
+with the specified skuName and location.
 
 
-Note: The BigchainDB Dashboard can be deployed
-as a Docker container, like everything else.
+Step 4: Create a PersistentVolumeClaim
+--------------------------------------
+
+Next, you'll create a PersistentVolumeClaim named ``mongoclaim``.
+Create a file named ``mongoclaim.yml``
+with the following contents:
+
+.. code:: yaml
+
+   kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
+   apiVersion: v1
+   metadata:
+     name: mongoclaim
+     annotations:
+       volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class: slow
+   spec:
+     accessModes:
+       - ReadWriteOnce
+     resources:
+       requests:
+         storage: 20Gi
+
+Note how there's no explicit mention of Azure, AWS or whatever.
+``ReadWriteOnce`` (RWO) means the volume can be mounted as
+read-write by a single Kubernetes node.
+(``ReadWriteOnce`` is the *only* access mode supported
+by AzureDisk.)
+``storage: 20Gi`` means the volume has a size of 20
+`gibibytes <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibibyte>`_.
+(You can change that if you like.)
+
+Create ``mongoclaim`` in your Kubernetes cluster:
+
+.. code:: bash
+
+   $ kubectl apply -f mongoclaim.yml
+
+You can check its status using:
+
+.. code:: bash
+
+   $ kubectl get pvc
+
+Initially, the status of ``mongoclaim`` might be "Pending"
+but it should become "Bound" fairly quickly.
+
+.. code:: bash
+
+   $ kubectl describe pvc
+   Name:            mongoclaim
+   Namespace:       default
+   StorageClass:    slow
+   Status:          Bound
+   Volume:          pvc-ebed81f1-fdca-11e6-abf0-000d3a27ab21
+   Labels:          <none>
+   Capacity:        2Gi
+   Access Modes:    RWO
+   No events.

docs/server/source/cloud-deployment-templates/template-kubernetes-azure.rst

@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ on most common operating systems
 <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-az-cli2>`_.
 Do that.
 
+First, update the Azure CLI to the latest version:
+
+.. code:: bash
+
+   $ az component update
+
 Next, login to your account using:
 
 .. code:: bash