Blog Archives

HiveNet’s Multi-Node Clusters: Scaling Horizontally with Rancher

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Veritas Automata Fabrizio Sgura

Fabrizio Sgura

Chief Engineer

Veritas Automata Roberto Galaz

Roberto Galaz

DevOps Engineer

The ability to extend and enhance platforms is the key to staying ahead.

Veritas Automata's Hivenet with Kubeflow, ushering in a new era of ML Ops at scale.

We combine the power of Kubeflow, Rancher fleet, FluxCD, and GitOps strategies within Hivenet to open doors for unparalleled control over configurations, data distribution, and the management of remote devices.

What does that mean? Hivenet helps you managing complex, distributed systems with high efficiency, reliability, and control.
Let’s break this down even more:
Kubeflow: Think of this as a smart assistant for working with machine learning (the technology that allows computers to learn and make decisions on their own) on a large scale. Kubeflow helps organize and run these learning tasks more smoothly on your network.

The heart of any ML operation lies in the efficiency of its pipeline engine. Hivenet, now extended with Kubeflow, boasts a pipeline engine that not only streamlines the distribution of configurations but also manages the flow of data seamlessly. This ensures that your ML workflows are efficient and scalable, paving the way for a new era in machine learning operations.

Rancher Fleet: This tool is like a manager for overseeing many groups of computers (clusters) at once. No matter how many locations you have, Rancher Fleet helps keep everything running smoothly and in sync.
FluxCD: Imagine you have a master plan or blueprint for how you want your computer network to operate. FluxCD ensures that your actual network matches this blueprint perfectly, automatically updating everything as the plan changes.

The synergy of Rancher Fleet and FluxCD within Hivenet takes control to a whole new level. Combined with FluxCD, it ensures that updates and configurations are synchronized across the Hivenet ecosystem. This combination unlocks a new paradigm in remote device control.

GitOps strategies: This is a modern way of managing changes and updates to your network. By treating your plans and configurations like code that can be reviewed and approved, you ensure that only the best, error-free changes are made, keeping everything secure and running smoothly.

GitOps becomes the cornerstone of Hivenet's extended capabilities. With the ability to declare and control the desired state of the system using Git repositories as the source of truth, GitOps offers a level of transparency and reproducibility that is unmatched. Hivenet, now a GitOps-driven platform, provides a strategy to control and shape your future in the swiftly advancing tech landscape.

For someone making big decisions, integrating these technologies with Hivenet means you can:
You get a detailed overview and command over how data and applications are managed across your network.
Whether you’re adding more devices or expanding to new locations, these tools help you grow without headaches.
Updates and changes can be rolled out quickly and safely, saving you time and reducing the chance of mistakes.
Your network operates smoothly, with less risk of disruptions or errors, because everything is checked and double-checked.
With everything managed through reviewed and approved changes, your network is better protected against threats.

Embracing Kubeflow for ML Ops at Scale

Kubeflow, the open-source machine learning (ML) toolkit for Kubernetes, becomes a part of Hivenet, transforming it into a powerhouse for ML Ops at scale. This integration brings forth the ability to deploy, manage, and scale ML workflows with ease. Whether you are a developer or a system operator, Kubeflow within Hivenet solves the complexities of machine learning effortlessly.

A GitOps Strategy for the Future

GitOps, an operational model for Kubernetes and other cloud-native environments, becomes the cornerstone of Hivenet’s extended capabilities. With the ability to declare and control the desired state of the system using Git repositories as the source of truth, GitOps offers a level of transparency and reproducibility that is unmatched. Hivenet, now a GitOps-driven platform, provides a strategy to control and shape your future in the swiftly advancing tech landscape.

Hivenet's Foundation: Open Source, K3s Kubernetes, and More

The foundation of Hivenet remains unwavering in its commitment to openness, utilizing K3s Kubernetes to create pre-integrated cloud and edge clusters on the same control plane. Deployed to both cloud and edge, Hivenet’s foundation is cloud provider-agnostic, offering connected services that span Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain for chain-of-custody and transaction management, state management for workflow efficiency, IoT device integration through ROS, and the ability to manage and control connected services remotely.
The extension of Hivenet with Kubeflow for ML Ops at scale is not just a step forward – it’s a leap into a future where control, efficiency, and innovation converge. This amalgamation of technologies within Hivenet sets the stage for a new era in platform capabilities, empowering users to shape and control their tech landscape with precision and ease.

Kubernetes Deployments with GitOps and FluxCD: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Veritas Automata Gerardo Lopez

Gerardo López

Principal Engineer

In the ever-evolving landscape of Kubernetes, efficient deployment practices are essential for maintaining control, consistency, and traceability in your clusters. GitOps, a powerful methodology, coupled with tools like FluxCD, provides an elegant solution to automate and streamline your Kubernetes workflows.

In this guide, we will explore the concepts of GitOps, understand why it’s a game-changer for deployments, delve into the features of FluxCD, and cap it off with a hands-on demo.

Veritas Automata is a pioneering force in the world of technology, epitomizing ‘Trust in Automation’. With a rich legacy of crafting enterprise-grade tech solutions across diverse sectors, the Veritas Automata team comprises tech maestros, mad scientists, enchanting narrators, and sagacious problem solvers, all of whom are unparalleled in addressing formidable challenges.

Veritas Automata specializes in industrial/manufacturing and life sciences, leveraging sophisticated platforms based on K3s Open-source Kubernetes, both in the cloud and at the edge. Their robust foundation enables them to layer on tools such as GitOps-driven Continuous Delivery, Custom edge images with OTA from Mender, IoT integration with ROS2, Chain-of-custody, zero trust, transactions with Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain, and AI/ML at the edge, ultimately leading to the pinnacle of automation. Notably, for Veritas Automata, world domination is not the goal; instead, their mission revolves around innovation, improvement, and inspiration.

What is GitOps?

GitOps is a paradigm that leverages Git as the single source of truth for your infrastructure and application configurations. With GitOps, the entire state of your system, including Kubernetes manifests, is declaratively described and versioned in a Git repository. Any desired changes are made through Git commits, enabling a transparent, auditable, and collaborative approach to managing infrastructure.

Why Use GitOps to Deploy?

Declarative Configuration:

GitOps encourages a declarative approach to configuration, where the desired state is specified rather than the sequence of steps to achieve it. This reduces complexity and ensures consistency across environments.

Version Control:

Git provides robust version control, allowing you to track changes, roll back to previous states, and collaborate with team members effectively. This is crucial for managing configuration changes in a dynamic Kubernetes environment.

Auditable Changes:

Every change made to the infrastructure is recorded in Git. This audit trail enhances security, compliance, and the ability to troubleshoot issues by understanding who made what changes and when.

Collaboration and Automation:

GitOps enables collaboration among team members through pull requests, reviews, and approvals. Automation tools, like FluxCD, can then apply these changes to the cluster automatically, reducing manual intervention and minimizing errors.

What is FluxCD?

FluxCD is an open-source continuous delivery tool specifically designed for Kubernetes. It acts as a GitOps operator, continuously ensuring that the cluster state matches the desired state specified in the Git repository. Key features of FluxCD include:

Automated Synchronization: FluxCD monitors the Git repository for changes and automatically synchronizes the cluster to reflect the latest state.

Helm Chart Support: It seamlessly integrates with Helm charts, allowing you to manage and deploy applications using Helm releases.

Multi-Environment Support: FluxCD provides support for multi-environment deployments, enabling you to manage configurations for different clusters and namespaces from a single Git repository.

Rollback Capabilities: In case of issues, FluxCD supports automatic rollbacks to a stable state defined in Git.

Installing and Using FluxCD

Step 1: Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A running Kubernetes cluster.
  • kubectl command-line tool installed.
  • A Git repository to store your Kubernetes manifests.


Step 2: Install FluxCD

Run the following command to install FluxCD components:

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2/releases/download/v0.17.0/install.yaml



Step 3: Configure FluxCD

Configure FluxCD to sync with your Git repository: 

flux create source git my-repo --url=https://github.com/your-username/your-repo

flux create kustomization my-repo --source=my-repo --path=./ --prune=true --validation=client --interval=5m

Replace https://github.com/your-username/your-repo with the URL of your Git repository.


Step 4: Sync with Git

Trigger a synchronization to apply changes from your Git repository to the cluster: 

flux reconcile kustomization my-repo


FluxCD will now continuously monitor your Git repository and automatically update the cluster state based on changes in the repository.

Why You Should Collaborate With Veritas Automata

Incorporating GitOps practices with FluxCD can revolutionize your Kubernetes deployment strategy. By centralizing configurations, automating processes, and embracing collaboration, you gain greater control and reliability in managing your Kubernetes infrastructure.

Collaborating with Veritas Automata means investing in trust, clarity, efficiency, and precision encapsulated in their digital solutions. At their core, Veritas Automata envisions crafting platforms that autonomously and securely oversee transactions, bridging digital domains with the real world of IoT environments.
Dive in, experiment with FluxCD, and elevate your Kubernetes deployments to the next level!

Want more information? Contact me!

Veritas Automata Gerardo Lopez

Gerardo López

Principal Engineer