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Validator

The Palette CLI has built-in support for the open-source Validator framework and its plugins ecosystem. You can use the Validator to verify your environment is ready for an installation of self-hosted Palette, VerteX, or for deployment of Kubernetes clusters through Palette.

The validator command exposes the following subcommands.

  • install - Install the Validator framework and configure Validator plugins.

  • uninstall - Uninstall the Validator framework and remove all Validator plugins.

Prerequisites​

The Validator requires the following dependencies.

  • Docker - The Validator requires Docker.
warning

Credentials and other permissions may be required depending on the Validator plugins you use. For example, the AWS plugin requires AWS credentials with elevated permissions to validate your AWS environment. Refer to the Validator GitHub repository for more information about the Validator and its plugins.

Install​

Use the install subcommand to install the Validator framework and configure Validator plugins. An interactive wizard will guide you through the installation process. You can also use a configuration file to install the Validator.

info

A kind cluster will be deployed as part of the Validator installation. The name of the kind cluster is validator-kind-cluster. You can find the kind binary installed in the $HOME/.palette/bin directory. You can install the Validator into an existing Kubernetes cluster by using the Helm chart. Refer to the Validator Helm Install steps for more information.

The install subcommand accepts the following flags.

Short FlagLong FlagDescriptionType
-f--config-fileInstall the Validator using a configuration file (optional). Provide the file path to the configuration file.string
-o--config-onlyGenerate a configuration file without proceeding with an actual install. Default: falseboolean
-h--helpHelp with any command.-

Examples​

Below are some examples of using the install subcommand and its supported workflows.

Interactive Install

palette validator install

Install using a configuration file

palette validator install \
--config-file /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/validator.yaml

Generate a configuration file without proceeding with an actual installation

palette validator install --config-only

Configuration Files​

After the install wizard completes, the Validator will generate a configuration file. You can use the generated configuration file to install the Validator using with the same configuration you specified in the wizard. You also need this configuration file to uninstall the Validator.

Once Validator is installed, the configuration file is located in the $HOME/.palette/validator directory and is named validator.yaml.

The install output displays the location of the configuration file. In the example below, the configuration file is located at /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/validator.yaml. The output is truncated for brevity.

validator configuration file saved: /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/validator.yaml
Creating cluster "validator-kind-cluster" ...
 ✓ Ensuring node image (kindest/node:v1.24.7) 🖼
 • Preparing nodes 📦   ...
 • Writing configuration 📜  ...
 ✓ Starting control-plane 🕹️
 • Installing CNI 🔌  ...
 ✓ Installing StorageClass 💾
Set kubectl context to "kind-validator-kind-cluster"
You can now use your cluster with:
kubectl cluster-info --context kind-validator-kind-cluster --kubeconfig /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/kind-cluster.kubeconfig

The kubeconfig file to the kind cluster is also located in the $HOME/.palette/validator directory and is named kind-cluster.kubeconfig. Its location is displayed in the install output.

Review Validation Results​

The Validator generates a report after the validation process is complete. All validations are stored as a Custom Resource (CR) in the validator namespace. Each plugin you specified during installation will have its own CR. Additionally, the Validator creates a CR containing all the validation results and Validator configurations.

tip

The kind cluster's kubeconfig file is located in the $HOME/.palette/validator directory and is named kind-cluster.kubeconfig. Its location is displayed in the install output. You can use this kubeconfig file to access the kind cluster and view the CRs.

Example: /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/kind-cluster.kubeconfig

Below is example output of the CRs the Validator creates after a successful validation process. Two plugins were used in this example: the aws plugin and the network plugin.

NAME                                             CREATED AT
awsvalidators.validation.spectrocloud.labs       2023-11-09T21:02:41Z
networkvalidators.validation.spectrocloud.labs   2023-11-09T21:02:45Z
validationresults.validation.spectrocloud.labs   2023-11-09T21:02:12Z
validatorconfigs.validation.spectrocloud.labs    2023-11-09T21:02:12Z

You can use the kubectl command to view the validation results. To review all the results collectively, use the describe command to display the validationresults CR.

kubectl describe validationresults --namespace validator
Name:         validator-plugin-aws-aws-validator-spectro-cloud-base
Namespace:    validator
Labels:       <none>
Annotations:  <none>
API Version:  validation.spectrocloud.labs/v1alpha1
Kind:         ValidationResult
Metadata:
  Creation Timestamp:  2023-11-09T21:03:14Z
  Generation:          1
  Resource Version:    721
  UID:                 766f0465-8867-48e9-89e5-a6f819795b17
Spec:
  Plugin:  AWS
Status:
  Conditions:
    Failures:
      v1alpha1.IamRoleRule SpectroCloudRole missing action(s): [s3:DeleteObject s3:PutBucketOwnershipControls s3:PutBucketPolicy s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock s3:PutObjectAcl s3:PutObject] for resource arn:*:s3:::* from policy Controllers Policy
    Last Validation Time:  2023-11-09T21:03:14Z
    Message:               One or more required IAM permissions was not found, or a condition was not met
    Status:                False
    Validation Rule:       validation-SpectroCloudRole
    Validation Type:       aws-iam-role-policy
  State:                   Failed
Events:                    <none>


Name:         validator-plugin-aws-validator-plugin-aws
Namespace:    validator
Labels:       <none>
Annotations:  <none>
API Version:  validation.spectrocloud.labs/v1alpha1
Kind:         ValidationResult
Metadata:
  Creation Timestamp:  2023-11-09T21:03:12Z
  Generation:          1
  Resource Version:    713
  UID:                 73e2f1c6-feb0-493b-bf8a-161e662e02b5
Spec:
  Plugin:  AWS
Status:
  Conditions:
    Details:
      EC2-VPC Elastic IPs: quota: 10, buffer: 5, max. usage: 0, max. usage entity: us-east-1
    Last Validation Time:  2023-11-09T21:03:12Z
    Message:               Usage for all service quotas is below specified buffer
    Status:                True
    Validation Rule:       validation-ec2
    Validation Type:       aws-service-quota
  State:                   Succeeded
Events:                    <none>


Name:         validator-plugin-aws-validator-plugin-network
Namespace:    validator
Labels:       <none>
Annotations:  <none>
API Version:  validation.spectrocloud.labs/v1alpha1
Kind:         ValidationResult
Metadata:
  Creation Timestamp:  2023-11-09T21:03:12Z
  Generation:          1
  Resource Version:    734
  UID:                 256006fb-5729-4b44-a4e1-58b7d32068b9
Spec:
  Plugin:  Network
Status:
  Conditions:
    Details:
      nc [-w 3 google.com 443] succeeded
    Last Validation Time:  2023-11-09T21:03:17Z
    Status:                True
    Validation Rule:       default
    Validation Type:       network-tcp-conn
  State:                   Failed
Events:                    <none>

Success​

The State field in the Status section of the ValidationResult CR indicates if the validation was successful or not. If the validation was successful, the State field is set to Succeeded.

In the example below, the State field is set to Succeeded for the validator-plugin-aws-validator-plugin-aws CR. This check was successful because the usage for all service quotas is below the specified buffer. The output is truncated for brevity.

Name:         validator-plugin-aws-validator-plugin-aws
...
Status:
  Conditions:
    Details:
      EC2-VPC Elastic IPs: quota: 10, buffer: 5, max. usage: 0, max. usage entity: us-east-1
    Last Validation Time:  2023-11-09T21:03:12Z
    Message:               Usage for all service quotas is below specified buffer
    Status:                True
    Validation Rule:       validation-ec2
    Validation Type:       aws-service-quota
  State:                   Succeeded

Fail​

If the validation is not successful, the State field is set to Failed. The Conditions.Failures section contains additional information about the failure. In this example, several IAM permissions are missing for the SpectroCloudRole IAM role. The output is truncated for brevity.

Name:         validator-plugin-aws-aws-validator-spectro-cloud-base
...
Status:
  Conditions:
    Failures:
      v1alpha1.IamRoleRule SpectroCloudRole missing action(s): [s3:DeleteObject s3:PutBucketOwnershipControls s3:PutBucketPolicy s3:PutBucketPublicAccessBlock s3:PutObjectAcl s3:PutObject] for resource arn:*:s3:::* from policy Controllers Policy
    Last Validation Time:  2023-11-09T21:03:14Z
    Message:               One or more required IAM permissions was not found, or a condition was not met
    Status:                False
    Validation Rule:       validation-SpectroCloudRole
    Validation Type:       aws-iam-role-policy
  State:                   Failed

Use the error output to help you address the failure. In this example, you would need to add the missing IAM permissions to the SpectroCloudRole IAM role. Other failures may require you to update your environment to meet the validation requirements.

Resolve Failures​

Each plugin may have its own set of failures. Resolving failures will depend on the plugin and the failure. Use the error output to help you address the failure. Below are some tips to help you resolve failures.

PluginFailure ScenarioGuidance
AWSMissing IAM permissionsThe IAM role used by Palette is missing one or more required IAM permissions. Refer to Required IAM Policies for a comprehensive list of required IAM permissions and attach the missing permissions or policies.
AWSInsufficient Service Quota BufferThe usage quota for a service or multiple service quotas is above the specified buffer. Refer to AWS Service Quotas documentation to review the default limits. Use the Service Quotas console to request an increase to your account, or remove resources to reduce the usage.
NetworkTCP connection errorThe Validator could not establish a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to the specified host and port. Ensure the host and port are accessible from the Validator's current network. If the current network is not in scope, ensure you conduct the test from a network in scope. Refer to the Network Ports resource for a list of Palette required ports.
NetworkUnable to connectThis could be caused by several issues. If you require network connections to use a proxy server, specify the usage of a network proxy and provide the required proxy server information.
NetworkUnable to resolve DNSThe Validator was unable to resolve the specified DNS name. Ensure the DNS name is valid and accessible from the Validator's current network default DNS resolver. Use network tools such as dig and nslookup to debug DNS issues.
NetworkInsufficient IP AddressesThe Validator was unable to find a sufficient number of IP addresses in the specified IP range. Ensure the IP range is valid and has enough IP addresses to satisfy the Validator's requirements. Discuss these findings with your network administrator.
vSphereMissing permissionsThe user account used by Palette or VerteX is missing one or more required permissions. Refer to Palette Required vSphere Permissions, or the VerteX Required vSphere Permissions resource for information about required permissions.
vSphereMissing tagsKubernetes regions and zone tags are missing from the vSphere environment. Refer to Palette Required vSphere Tags, or the VerteX Required vSphere Tags resource for information about zone tags.
vSphereFolder missing or not accessibleThe spectro-templates folder is missing or not accessible. Ensure the folder exists and the user account used by Palette or VerteX has read access to the folder. The spectro-templates folder is used by Palette and VerteX to download OVAs during the install.

Every 30 seconds, the Validator will continuously re-issue a validation and update the ValidationResult CR with the result of the validation. The validation results are hashed, and result events are only emitted if the result has changed. Once you resolve the failure, the Validator will update the ValidationResult CR with the new result.

Use the kubectl describe command to view the validation results.

kubectl describe validationresults --namespace validator

Uninstall​

Use the uninstall subcommand to uninstall the Validator framework and remove all Validator plugins. To remove the Validator, you must specify the --config-file flag.

The uninstall subcommand accepts the following flags.

Short FlagLong FlagDescriptionType
-f--config-fileUninstall the Validator using a configuration file (required). Provide the file path to the configuration file.string
-d--delete-clusterDelete the Validator kind cluster. This does not apply if using a preexisting Kubernetes cluster. Default: true.bool
-h--helpHelp with any command.-

Examples​

Remove the Validator, its plugins, and the kind cluster.

palette validator uninstall  \
--config-file /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/validator.yaml \
--delete-cluster

Remove the Validator, its plugins, but not the kind cluster.

palette validator uninstall  \
--config-file /Users/demo/.palette/validator/validator-20231109135306/validator.yaml \
--delete-cluster=false