Applying Tyk Dashboard Configuration in Kubernetes Helm Chart Deployment Using ConfigMap and Volume Mounts

This guide explains how to apply configurations to the tyk_analytics.conf file in a Tyk Dashboard deployment using ConfigMap and volume mounts within a Kubernetes Helm chart. Each step and field will be explained in detail to ensure proper configuration. While this example demonstrates the use of sso_permission_defaults, the same method can be applied to any other configuration setting in tyk_analytics.conf.

Step 1: Create the ConfigMap File

Create a configMap.yaml file with the following content:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: tyk-dashboard-config
data:
tyk_analytics.conf: |
  { 
    "sso_permission_defaults": {
      "analytics": "read",
      "apis": "read"
    }
  }

1. Explanation of fields:
   • apiVersion: v1: Specifies the API version used for Kubernetes resources. v1 is the stable version for ConfigMap.
   • kind: ConfigMap: Defines the type of the resource being created, which is a ConfigMap in this case.
   • metadata: Contains metadata about the ConfigMap, such as the name. Here, the name is set to tyk-dashboard-config.
   • data: Defines the actual configuration data to be stored in the ConfigMap. The configuration key is tyk_analytics.conf, and the content is the configuration settings for the Tyk Dashboard (sso_permission_defaults in this example).
2. Save the file in your working directory.

Step 2: Apply the ConfigMap

Apply the ConfigMap to your Kubernetes cluster with the following command:

kubectl apply -f configMap.yaml -n <your-namespace>

Step 3: Update the Helm Chart Values File

To mount the ConfigMap into your Tyk Dashboard deployment, modify the values.yaml file of your Helm chart by adding the following configuration:

extraVolumes:
  - name: tyk-dashboard-config
    configMap:
      name: tyk-dashboard-config
      defaultMode: 420

extraVolumeMounts:
  - name: tyk-dashboard-config
    mountPath: /opt/tyk-dashboard/tyk_analytics.conf
    subPath: tyk_analytics.conf
    readOnly: true

Note: The extraVolumes and extraVolumeMounts fields are already present in the values.yaml file under the dashboard section, and you just need to add the rest of the configuration settings for your application.

Explanation of fields:

• extraVolumes: Defines additional volumes to be mounted in the Kubernetes pods. Here, we are specifying a volume that pulls data from the tyk-dashboard-config ConfigMap.
  • name: tyk-dashboard-config: This is the name of the volume. It is given the same name as the ConfigMap to link them together.
  • configMap: This specifies that the volume is sourced from a ConfigMap.
    • name: tyk-dashboard-config: The name of the ConfigMap to be used as the source for this volume.
    • defaultMode: 420: This sets the permissions for the files in the volume (in octal). 420 corresponds to rw-r--r--, meaning the owner has read-write access, and others only have read access.
• extraVolumeMounts: Specifies where to mount the volume within the pod.
  • name: tyk-dashboard-config: Refers to the volume we created in extraVolumes.
  • mountPath: /opt/tyk-dashboard/tyk_analytics.conf: The location in the container where the volume will be mounted. In this case, the tyk_analytics.conf file will be placed in /opt/tyk-dashboard/tyk_analytics.conf inside the Tyk Dashboard pod.
  • subPath: tyk_analytics.conf: This tells Kubernetes to mount the specific file tyk_analytics.conf from the ConfigMap, not the entire ConfigMap directory.
  • readOnly: true: Ensures the mounted file is read-only within the pod, preventing accidental modification.

Step 4: Restart the Deployment

To apply the changes, restart your Tyk deployment by executing the following command:

helm upgrade tyk-stack tyk-helm/tyk-stack -n <your-namespace> -f values.yaml

Step 5: Verify the Configuration

To ensure that the ConfigMap is applied correctly and the configuration is mounted, follow these steps:

Verify that the ConfigMap was created successfully:

kubectl get configmap tyk-dashboard-config -n <your-namespace>

1. This will confirm that the ConfigMap is present in the specified namespace.

Check that the ConfigMap is mounted into the pod by describing the pod:

kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <your-namespace>

2. Look for the tyk-dashboard-config volume and ensure that it is mounted correctly to the tyk_analytics.conf file.
3. To verify the actual configuration is applied, check the Tyk Dashboard logs or test the behavior of the Tyk Dashboard (e.g., by confirming if the sso_permission_defaults setting is being used).

Flexibility for Other Configurations

This example shows how to apply the sso_permission_defaults configuration. You can modify the configMap.yaml file to include any other settings supported by tyk_analytics.conf. For example:

"sso_enable_user_lookup": true,
"allow_explicit_policy_id": true

The same approach can be used for any other configuration option in the tyk_analytics.conf file.

By following these steps, you can manage Tyk Dashboard configurations using ConfigMap and volume mounts in a Kubernetes Helm chart deployment. This method provides a flexible and scalable way to manage configurations in your Kubernetes environment.