Use Helm to deploy applications - Container Compute Service

Helm packages Kubernetes applications as versioned, reusable charts — making it easier to deploy, update, and roll back complex workloads. Container Compute Service (ACS) integrates Helm in its application directory management feature and provides a curated chart repository with applications such as Apache Spark and Dify.

Key concepts

Concept	Description
Chart	The Helm packaging format. Each chart bundles the container images, dependencies, and Kubernetes resource definitions required to run an application. A Helm chart is similar to a Homebrew formula, an Advanced Package Tool (APT) dpkg, or a Yum rpm.
Release	A running instance of a chart in a Kubernetes cluster. Installing the same chart twice produces two independent releases, each with its own release name.
Repository	A storage location for charts. The Helm client fetches the index file and packaged charts from a chart repository over HTTP.
Helm CLI	The Helm command-line tool. For installation instructions, see Installing Helm.

For a complete reference on Helm concepts, see Helm.

Deploy from the ACS repository

ACS provides the aliyunhub chart repository, which includes curated applications such as Apache Spark. Access it through the ACS console or Helm CLI.

Use the console

Log on to the ACS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.
On the Clusters page, click the ID of the target cluster. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Applications > Helm.
In the upper-left corner of the Helm page, click Deploy.

Configure the basic information and click Next.

Parameter	Description	Example
Application Name	The release name in the cluster	`demo-app`
Namespace	The namespace where the release is deployed	`default`
Source	The chart source: Marketplace (application marketplace) or ACR EE (Container Registry Enterprise Edition)	Marketplace
Chart	The chart to install	`ack-dify`

Select a chart version, modify the chart content, and click OK.

After the release is installed, manage it from the Helm page in the console. For details, see Use Helm to manage applications in ACS.

Use Helm CLI

Install kubectl and Helm CLI on your local machine, then connect to the cluster. For instructions, see Connect to a cluster using kubectl and Install Helm.
Cloud Shell comes with Helm CLI pre-installed. If you use Cloud Shell to connect to the cluster, skip this step. For details, see Use kubectl on Cloud Shell to manage ACK clusters.

Add the ACS chart repository.

helm repo add aliyunhub https://aliacs-app-catalog.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/charts-incubator/

Expected output:

"aliyunhub" has been added to your repositories

Update the repository index.

helm repo update aliyunhub

Expected output:

Hang tight while we grab the latest from your chart repositories...
...Successfully got an update from the "aliyunhub" chart repository
Update Complete. ⎈Happy Helming!⎈

List available charts.

helm search repo aliyunhub

Expected output:

NAME                                                    CHART VERSION   APP VERSION             DESCRIPTION
aliyunhub/ack-acr-acceleration-p2p                      0.3.6           0.3.6                   Speed Up Container Startup on ACK
aliyunhub/ack-acr-acceleration-suite                    0.2.8           0.2.8                   Speed Up Container Startup on ACK
aliyunhub/ack-advanced-audit                            0.5.0           0.5.0                   Kubernetes advanced audit
aliyunhub/ack-dify                                      0.1.7           0.8.3                   Helm chart for deploying dify resources.
...

Install the chart. The following example deploys Apache Spark 3.0 in the spark-operator namespace.

Modify the image.repository value based on your cluster region and business requirements.

helm install spark aliyunhub/ack-spark-operator3.0 \
    --namespace spark-operator \
    --create-namespace \
    --set image.repository=registry-cn-shanghai-vpc.ack.aliyuncs.com/acs/spark-operator

Expected output:

NAME: spark
LAST DEPLOYED: * * ****** 2024
NAMESPACE: spark-operator
STATUS: deployed
REVISION: 1
TEST SUITE: None

Deploy from a third-party chart repository

If the ACS repository does not include the chart you need, use any third-party Helm repository.

helm repo add <REPO_NAME> <REPO_URL>                    # Add the repository
helm repo update                                         # Refresh the index
helm install <APP_NAME> <REPO_NAME>/<CHART_NAME>        # Install the chart

For a full list of Helm commands, see Using Helm.

What's next

After deploying an application, upgrade, roll back, or uninstall releases from the ACS console or using Helm CLI. See Use Helm to manage applications in ACS.