Installing the containerized server

You can install a containerized version of the IBM UrbanCode™ Deploy server in an IBM Cloud Private cluster.

Before you begin

The containerized version of UrbanCode deploy is compatible with IBM Cloud Private versions 2.1.0.2 and later. To install UrbanCode Deploy, you must have administrator privileges. If you do not have admin privileges, ask you administrator for the URL of the intended proxy host.

Before starting installation, prepare your IBM Cloud Private (ICP) cluster, and install the ICP command line client.

The containerized server, like the on-premises version, requires a database. You can install the database in any location that can be accessed by the cluster, such as an on-premises location or in a cluster. Generally, agents are not installed in containers.
Note: Unlike the on-premises version of IBM UrbanCode Deploy, the containerized version does not support the Apache Derby database, or high-availability topologies.

Your cluster needs two persistent volumes (PV). The persistent volumes maintain IBM UrbanCode Deploy data if the container goes down. You can use dynamic storage provisioning if your cluster supports it. Dynamic provisioning creates storage volumes on demand. If your cluster does not support dynamic storage provisioning, create two persistent volumes (PV) in your cluster, and then create persistent volume claims (PVC) for them. One volume holds the JDBC driver and the other contains the server's /appdata directory.

If you want to install the server image by using the Helm command-line client instead of the ICP client, install kubectl and then setup the Helm CLI.

About this task

You can install the containerized version of the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server in an IBM Cloud Private cluster. After the server is installed, you can manage it with the ICP Management console.

The installation material consists of a Passport Advantage archive (PPA) file, which contains a Docker image and a Helm chart. Helm is the Kubernetes package management tool. Helm charts are packages similar to debs and rpms packages. You load the PPA file into ICP, which installs the Docker image and the Helm chart.

You download the PPA file from IBM Passport Advantage.

Procedure

  1. Complete the steps in Before you begin. If your cluster does not support dynamic storage provisioning, ensure that two persistent volumes, and two persistent volume claims are ready before you begin installing the server.
  2. Download the PPA file for your operating system from IBM Passport Advantage® website. PPA files are available for x86, and Z Linux systems.
  3. Load the PPA file into ICP by using CLI commands. The PPA file loads the image and Helm chart for you.
  4. Configure the Helm chart by completing the following steps:
    1. After the Helm chart loads, use a web browser and open the Dashboard for your ICP instance.
    2. On the Dashboard, select Catalog > Helm charts, then select the Helm chart that you loaded, ibm-ucd-prod.
    3. On the Helm Chart page, review the README file. README describes all of the chart's properties.
    4. Click Configure, and then define the chart properties. Most properties have default values already defined. The following table describes the most-used properties.
    Table 1. Helm chart properties
    Property Description
    image repository The image repository where the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server image is located.

    If you pull the image from the internal ICP image registry, the value is similar to this example: mycluster.icp:8500/default/ucd-server/ucds.
    image tag Docker image tags. The values are 6.2.7.1.960481 for amd64/x86-64 worker nodes, or 6.2.7.1.960481 for zLinux worker nodes.
    security ucdInitPassword The default administrator password is admin.
    extLibVolume existingClaimName If your cluster support dynamic storage provisioning, this value is left blank. Otherwise, it contains the name of the persistent volume claim you created for the PV that contains the JDBC driver files.
    extLibVolume configMapName Used with dynamic storage provisioning. Contains the name of the ConfigMap that contains the script that copies the JDBC drivers to the PV.
    AppDataVolume ExistingClaimName If your cluster support dynamic storage provisioning, this value is left blank. Otherwise, it contains the name of the PVC you created for the UCD /appdata directory.
  5. Click Install. A Helm release is created for an instance of the IBM UrbanCode Deploy server in your cluster.
  6. Click View Helm Release to view information about your IBM UrbanCode Deploy instance.

What to do next

Access your containerized instance of IBM UrbanCode Deploy.

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