diff --git a/content/en/blog/_posts/2024-06-21-custom-profiling-kubectl-debug.md b/content/en/blog/_posts/2024-06-21-custom-profiling-kubectl-debug.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..58d191e0b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/en/blog/_posts/2024-06-21-custom-profiling-kubectl-debug.md @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@ +--- +layout: blog +title: "Kubernetes 1.31: Custom Profiling in Kubectl Debug Graduates to Beta" +date: 2024-08-22 +slug: kubernetes-1-31-custom-profiling-kubectl-debug +author: > + Arda Güçlü (Red Hat) +--- + +There are many ways of troubleshooting the pods and nodes in the cluster. However, `kubectl debug` is one of the easiest, highly used and most prominent ones. It +provides a set of static profiles and each profile serves for a different kind of role. For instance, from the network administrator's point of view, +debugging the node should be as easy as this: + +```shell +$ kubectl debug node/mynode -it --image=busybox --profile=netadmin +``` + +On the other hand, static profiles also bring about inherent rigidity, which has some implications for some pods contrary to their ease of use. +Because there are various kinds of pods (or nodes) that all have their specific +necessities, and unfortunately, some can't be debugged by only using the static profiles. + +Take an instance of a simple pod consisting of a container whose healthiness relies on an environment variable: + +```yaml +apiVersion: v1 +kind: Pod +metadata: + name: example-pod +spec: + containers: + - name: example-container + image: customapp:latest + env: + - name: REQUIRED_ENV_VAR + value: "value1" +``` + +Currently, copying the pod is the sole mechanism that supports debugging this pod in kubectl debug. Furthermore, what if user needs to modify the `REQUIRED_ENV_VAR` to something different +for advanced troubleshooting?. There is no mechanism to achieve this. + +## Custom Profiling + +Custom profiling is a new functionality available under `--custom` flag, introduced in kubectl debug to provide extensibility. It expects partial `Container` spec in either YAML or JSON format. +In order to debug the example-container above by creating an ephemeral container, we simply have to define this YAML: + +```yaml +# partial_container.yaml +env: + - name: REQUIRED_ENV_VAR + value: value2 +``` + +and execute: + +```shell +kubectl debug example-pod -it --image=customapp --custom=partial_container.yaml +``` + +Here is another example that modifies multiple fields at once (change port number, add resource limits, modify environment variable) in JSON: + +```json +{ + "ports": [ + { + "containerPort": 80 + } + ], + "resources": { + "limits": { + "cpu": "0.5", + "memory": "512Mi" + }, + "requests": { + "cpu": "0.2", + "memory": "256Mi" + } + }, + "env": [ + { + "name": "REQUIRED_ENV_VAR", + "value": "value2" + } + ] +} +``` + +## Constraints + +Uncontrolled extensibility hurts the usability. So that, custom profiling is not allowed for certain fields such as command, image, lifecycle, volume devices and container name. +In the future, more fields can be added to the disallowed list if required. + +## Limitations + +The `kubectl debug` command has 3 aspects: Debugging with ephemeral containers, pod copying, and node debugging. The largest intersection set of these aspects is the container spec within a Pod +That's why, custom profiling only supports the modification of the fields that are defined with `containers`. This leads to a limitation that if user needs to modify the other fields in the Pod spec, it is not supported. + +## Acknowledgments + +Special thanks to all the contributors who reviewed and commented on this feature, from the initial conception to its actual implementation (alphabetical order): + +- [Eddie Zaneski](https://github.com/eddiezane) +- [Maciej Szulik](https://github.com/soltysh) +- [Lee Verberne](https://github.com/verb) \ No newline at end of file