Deploying IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0 on IBM Cloud Kubernetes Cluster
improve this page | report issue
Overview
IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0 is a developer edition which comprises of Server and Operational Analytics components.
The Mobile Foundation server runtime has an in-built Derby database to store the Mobile Foundation data. This restricts the users to one pod in the IBM Cloud Kubernetes deployment. Community Edition provides Mobile Foundation users a developer experience with minimal configuration parameters and ease of setting up of the Mobile Foundation instance on IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service.
Follow the instructions below to install the developer edition of IBM Mobile Foundation server with pre-configured Operational Analytics on IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service:
- Create and configure Kubernetes cluster from here.
- [Optional] Setup your host computer with the required tools – Docker CLI, Kubernetes CLI (kubectl), and Helm CLI (helm).
Jump to:
- Prerequisites
- Install and configure IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0 from Helm Chart Catalog
- Verifying the Installation
- Sample application
- Uninstall
- Limitations
Prerequisites
You should have IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service (Free plan) created using the IBM Cloud portal. Refer to the documentation for setup instructions. To manage kube pods and helm deployment, you need to install the following tools on your host machine:
- ibmcloud CLI (
ibmcloud) - Kubernetes CLI (
kubectl) - Helm (
helm) To work with Kubernetes cluster using CLI, you should configure the ibmcloud client.- Make sure you log in to the Clusters page. (Note: IBMid account is required.)
- Click the Kubernetes cluster to which IBM Mobile Foundation Chart needs to be deployed.
- Follow the instructions in Access tab once the cluster is created.
Note: Cluster creation takes few minutes. After the cluster is successfully created, click Worker Nodes tab and make a note of the Public IP.
Install and configure IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0 Helm Chart
From the IBM Cloud client terminal (ibmcloud CLI), follow the procedure under INSTALL CHART section in Deploying charts from the Helm Catalog, to install IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0 (ibm-mobilefoundation-dev) helm chart from the Catalog.
Environment variables for IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0
The table below provides the environment variables used in IBM Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0.
| Qualifier | Parameter | Definition | Allowed Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| arch | Worker node architecture | Worker node architecture to which this chart should be deployed. Only AMD64 platform is currently supported. |
|
| image | pullPolicy | Image Pull Policy | Always, Never, or IfNotPresent. Default is IfNotPresent. |
| repository | Docker image name | Name of the server docker image. | |
| tag | Docker image tag | See Docker tag description | |
| resources | limits.cpu | Describes the maximum amount of CPU allowed | Default is 1000m. See Kubernetes - meaning of CPU. |
| limits.memory | Describes the maximum amount of memory allowed | Default is 2048Mi. See Kubernetes - meaning of memory. | |
| requests.cpu | Describes the minimum amount of CPU required - if not specified will default to limit (if specified) or otherwise implementation-defined value | Default is 750m. See Kubernetes - meaning of CPU. | |
| requests.memory | Describes the minimum amount of memory required. If not specified, the memory amount will default to the limit (if specified via values.yaml) or the implementation-defined value | Default is 1024Mi. See Kubernetes - meaning of memory. | |
| logs | consoleFormat | Specifies container log output format. | Default is json. |
| consoleLogLevel | Controls the granularity of messages that go to the container log. | Default is info. | |
| consoleSource | Specify sources that are written to the container log. Use a comma separated list for multiple sources. | Default is message, trace, accessLog, ffdc. |
Verifying the Installation
After you have installed Mobile Foundation for Developers 8.0, you can verify your installation and the status of the deployed pods by doing the following:
- From the Clusters page, click on the Kubernetes Cluster on which IBM Mobile Foundation Chart has been deployed.
- Go to the Kube dashboard by clicking on the Kubernetes dashboard button.
- From the dashboard, check Deployments and Pods, they should be in DEPLOYED and RUNNING states respectively.
- Now you need Public IP and Node Port of the deployment to access the services
- To get Public IP - Select Kubernetes > Worker Nodes, note the IP address provided in Public IP.
- Node port can be found in Kubernetes Dashboard > Select Services under the internal endpoints, note the entry for TCP Node Port (a five digit port).
- Open a browser and enter
http://[public ip]:[node port]/mfpconsolethis should get you to Admin console. - Enter default credentials user as
adminand password asadminto log in to the Mobile Foundation Server Admin console. - Ensure the Server Admin, Push, and Analytics operations are available.
[OPTIONAL] Using Command Line
Alternatively, using command line one can follow the below procedure. Make sure the following command shows the status as DEPLOYED.
helm list
Run kubectl commands to check if the pods are in RUNNING state.
- Get the list of all deployments on the Kubernetes cluster, and note down the Mobile Foundation deployment name.
kubectl get deployments - Run the following commands to check the availability of the deployments and their status in detail. The kube pods should show availability with
(1/1) RUNNINGas their status.kubectl describe deployment <deployment_name> kubectl get podsAccessing console
After successful installation you can access, IBM Operational Console using <protocol>://<public_ip>:<node_port>/mfpconsole.
IBM MobileFirst Analytics console can be accessed using <protocol>://<public_ip>:<port>/analytics/console.
The protocol can be http or https. Also, note that the port will be NodePort in the case of NodePort deployment. To get the ip address and NodePort of your installed Charts, follow the steps below from the Kubernetes Dashboard.
- To get Public IP - Select Kubernetes > Worker Nodes > Under Public IP - note the IP address.
- Node port can be found in Kubernetes Dashboard > Select Services > Under the internal endpoints, note the entry for TCP Node Port (a five digit port).
Sample application
See the tutorials, to deploy the sample adapter and to run the sample application on IBM MobileFirst Server running on IBM Cloud Kubernetes cluster.
Uninstall
To uninstall the ibm-mobilefoundation-dev helm chart, use the Helm CLI.
Use the following command to completely delete the installed charts and the associated deployments:
helm delete --purge <release_name>
release_name is the deployed release name of the Helm Chart.
Limitations
This Helm chart is provided only for development and testing purposes. Data is stored in the embedded Derby database and it is not persisted. The chart deployment works with only one pod due to the database restrictions.
▲Inclusive terminology note: The Mobile First Platform team is making changes to support the IBM® initiative to replace racially biased and other discriminatory language in our code and content with more inclusive language. While IBM values the use of inclusive language, terms that are outside of IBM's direct influence are sometimes required for the sake of maintaining user understanding. As other industry leaders join IBM in embracing the use of inclusive language, IBM will continue to update the documentation to reflect those changes.