helm-charts

blockchain-nodes

This repository contains the blockchain-node Helm chart, which can generate Kubernetes manifests to deploy and expose a blockchain node using Ingress.

Motivation to Use a Common Helm Chart for All Blockchain Nodes

Pros:

• More DRY Infra as Code: All blockchain nodes share a significant amount of configuration, which is generalized in this Helm chart.
• Easier Infra as Code Development: Using the same Helm chart for all nodes allows changes to be made in one place to bring new features or fix bugs for all nodes.
• Unified Code and Naming Conventions: All nodes follow the same code and naming conventions specified in the Helm chart, resulting in a more uniform infrastructure that is easier to read and develop.

Cons:

• Increased Configuration Items: Due to generalization, nodes’ configurations include more items, resulting in more lines of code.

Structure of the Repository

The Helm chart includes templates for the following objects:

• StatefulSet: Deploys blockchain node containers. Init containers can be used to download snapshots, initialize data, etc. It will also automatically add a sidecar container with health probes to check the node’s status.
• Services: Generated for each container’s port.
• Ingresses: Exposes ports to the outside world; see example.
• Use additionalManifests to provision any manifests, e.g., configmaps, podScrappers, etc.

Example node configurations can be found in the following files:

• node-axelar-dojo1.yaml
• node-base-mainnet-archival.yaml
• node-pokt-mainnet.yaml
• node-polygon-mainnet.yaml
• node-solana-mainnet.yaml

How to:

Generate Kubernetes Manifests of a Node with the Helm Chart

To generate manifests of a node described in node-solana-mainnet.yaml, run the following command:

helm template \
  solana \
  helm/blockchain-node \
  -f node-solana-mainnet.yaml

You will see the generated manifests in the output of the command.

Deploy a Node with the Helm Chart

To deploy a node, install the blockchain-node Helm chart and pass an additional value file for the required node.

For example, to deploy an Axelar node configured in node-axelar-dojo1.yaml config file:

helm install \
  axelar \
  helm/blockchain-node \
  -f node-axelar-dojo1.yaml