Why do we need Helm?

Helm, a package manager for Kubernetes. In many reviews, it is the best package manager to deploy and manage applications on any Kubernetes cluster. We can write YAML manifests to deploy any resources for deploying on a Kubernetes cluster. It is easy and simple to manage an application. However, due to the complexities of Kubernetes, Helm addresses those challenges.

Quick reminder — what is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes, an open-source platform designed to automate application container deployment, scaling, and operation, simplifies orchestration but introduces its own complexities.

The pain points

All the Kubernetes resources are just a few YAML files, but managing these files could bring you headaches due to the number of environments and applications. In more real-world cases, programs must frequently be deployed across several environments because of minor configuration changes. Inaccuracies and inconsistencies may arise by manually handling these variations, which would further complicate the deployment process.

Moreover, dependency management is crucial for complex systems with several microservices or other apps. It is not only hard to handle manually but also prone to errors, to ensure that all dependencies are correct all the time. Significant issues also occur when it comes to maintaining track of application versions and distributing updates uniformly across environments.

What Helm brings

Simplified management

Helm Charts are packages of pre-configured Kubernetes resources. These Charts include the necessary components for deploying applications, from simple single-pod setups to complex multi-service stacks. It also allows users to define their applications through templates, which reduces the need to manage numerous, often repetitive, YAML files manually.

2. Consistency and Reusability

Helm ensures that applications can be consistently deployed across different environments by leveraging the power of templating and values files. Each Chart can be installed using a different set of values files, which means that the same Chart can be reused on DEV, QA, and Prod environments. This consistency is important to reduce configuration drift and minimize deployment errors.

3. Dependency Management

Complex applications always rely on multiple microservices or third-party components. Helm Charts can declare dependencies on other Charts, and then automatically fetch and install these dependencies, with a designated order and configuration. This simplifies the deployment process and ensures that applications have all the components they need to function correctly.

4. Release Management

Each installation or upgrade in Helm is treated as a release, with Helm tracking versions of these releases over time. For each application update, Helm applies the changes incrementally. If any issues occur, it will be easy to roll back to any version, minimizing downtime and mitigating the impact of deployment errors. This feature provides a trackable deployment process.

And more you can definitely find out…

Conclusion

The benefits brought by Helm are way more than the 4 I mentioned above. With the popularity of Kubernetes, Helm is undeniably one of the best package management tools on the market. As a DevOps Engineer or just a big fan of automation, Helm should play an important role in your application.