Kubernetes Kops Operator

Overview

The Kubernetes Kops Operator is a Kubernetes operator that manages kOps clusters using the Kubernetes API. It follows the Cluster API pattern to provide a declarative way to manage Kubernetes clusters using kOps as the infrastructure provider.

Features

• Declarative cluster management using Kubernetes custom resources
• Compatibility with Cluster API project:
  • Implements Cluster API's control plane and infrastructure provider interfaces
  • Supports Cluster API's cluster lifecycle management
  • Integrates with Cluster API's machine deployment and machine pool concepts
• Support for AWS infrastructure
• Karpenter integration for node provisioning (v1 NodePools)
• SpotInst integration for cost optimization
• Custom resource management for kOps clusters
• Automated cluster validation and health checks

Architecture

The operator consists of several key components:

Custom Resources

1. KopsControlPlane (controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1alpha1)

   • Manages the control plane of kOps clusters
   • Handles cluster configuration and lifecycle
   • Manages worker node pools through KopsMachinePool resources
   • Supports SpotInst integration
   • Integrates with Karpenter for node provisioning

2. KopsMachinePool (infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1alpha1)

   • Defines worker node pool configurations
   • Supports Karpenter NodePools for node provisioning
   • Configures instance groups and node templates

Controllers

• KopsControlPlane Controller:
  • Manages the complete lifecycle of kOps clusters
  • Handles both control plane and worker node pool management
  • Integrates with Karpenter for node provisioning
  • Manages SpotInst resources when enabled

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes cluster (for running the operator)
• Cluster API core components installed:
  • cluster-api-controller
  • cluster-api-bootstrap-controller
  • cluster-api-control-plane-controller
• AWS credentials configured
• kOps CLI installed (for development)
• Go 1.23.5 or later
• kubebuilder v3

Usage

Creating a Cluster

1. Define your KopsControlPlane resource
2. Define KopsMachinePool resources for worker nodes
3. Apply the resources to your Kubernetes cluster

Managing Node Pools

The operator supports two methods for node management:

1. Traditional kOps instance groups
2. Karpenter NodePools (recommended)

SpotInst Integration

Enable SpotInst by configuring the KopsControlPlane resource:

spec:
  spotInst:
    enabled: true
    featureFlags: "Spotinst,SpotinstOcean"

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

License

Apache License 2.0

Support

For issues and feature requests, please use the GitHub issue tracker.