# First steps with Constellation The following steps guide you through the process of creating a cluster and deploying a sample app. This example assumes that you have successfully [installed and set up Constellation](install.md). ## Create a cluster 1. Create the configuration file for your selected cloud provider. ```bash constellation config generate azure ``` ```bash constellation config generate gcp ``` This creates the file `constellation-conf.yaml` in your current working directory. 2. Fill in your cloud provider specific information. You need several resources for the cluster. You can use the following `az` script to create them: ```bash RESOURCE_GROUP=constellation # enter name of new resource group for your cluster here LOCATION=westus # enter location of resources here SUBSCRIPTION_ID=$(az account show --query id --out tsv) SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_NAME=constell az group create --name "${RESOURCE_GROUP}" --location "${LOCATION}" az group create --name "${RESOURCE_GROUP}-identity" --location "${LOCATION}" az ad sp create-for-rbac -n "${SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_NAME}" --role Owner --scopes "/subscriptions/${SUBSCRIPTION_ID}/resourceGroups/${RESOURCE_GROUP}" | tee azureServiceAccountKey.json az identity create -g "${RESOURCE_GROUP}-identity" -n "${SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_NAME}" identityID=$(az identity show -n "${SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_NAME}" -g "${RESOURCE_GROUP}-identity" --query principalId --out tsv) az role assignment create --assignee-principal-type ServicePrincipal --assignee-object-id "${identityID}" --role 'Virtual Machine Contributor' --scope "/subscriptions/${SUBSCRIPTION_ID}" az role assignment create --assignee-principal-type ServicePrincipal --assignee-object-id "${identityID}" --role 'Application Insights Component Contributor' --scope "/subscriptions/${SUBSCRIPTION_ID}" echo "subscription: ${SUBSCRIPTION_ID} tenant: $(az account show --query tenantId -o tsv) location: ${LOCATION} resourceGroup: ${RESOURCE_GROUP} userAssignedIdentity: $(az identity show -n "${SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_NAME}" -g "${RESOURCE_GROUP}-identity" --query id --out tsv) appClientID: $(jq -r '.appId' azureServiceAccountKey.json) clientSecretValue: $(jq -r '.password' azureServiceAccountKey.json)" ``` Fill the values produced by the script into your configuration file. By default, Constellation uses `Standard_DC4as_v5` CVMs (4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM) to create your cluster. Optionally, you can switch to a different VM type by modifying **instanceType** in the configuration file. For CVMs, any VM type with a minimum of 4 vCPUs from the [DCasv5 & DCadsv5](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/dcasv5-dcadsv5-series) or [ECasv5 & ECadsv5](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/ecasv5-ecadsv5-series) families is supported. Run `constellation config instance-types` to get the list of all supported options. * **subscription**: The UUID of your Azure subscription, e.g., `8b8bd01f-efd9-4113-9bd1-c82137c32da7`. You can view your subscription UUID via `az account show` and read the `id` field. For more information refer to [Azure's documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/get-subscription-tenant-id#find-your-azure-subscription). * **tenant**: The UUID of your Azure tenant, e.g., `3400e5a2-8fe2-492a-886c-38cb66170f25`. You can view your tenant UUID via `az account show` and read the `tenant` field. For more information refer to [Azure's documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/get-subscription-tenant-id#find-your-azure-ad-tenant). * **location**: The Azure datacenter location you want to deploy your cluster in, e.g., `westus`. CVMs are currently only supported in a few regions, check [Azure's products available by region](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/global-infrastructure/services/?products=virtual-machines®ions=all). These are: * `westus` * `eastus` * `northeurope` * `westeurope` * **resourceGroup**: [Create a new resource group in Azure](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/manage-resource-groups-portal) for your Constellation cluster. Set this configuration field to the name of the created resource group. * **userAssignedIdentity**: [Create a new managed identity in Azure](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/managed-identities-azure-resources/how-manage-user-assigned-managed-identities). You should create the identity in a different resource group as all resources within the cluster resource group will be deleted on cluster termination. Add two role assignments to the identity: `Virtual Machine Contributor` and `Application Insights Component Contributor`. The `scope` of both should refer to the previously created cluster resource group. Set the configuration value to the full ID of the created identity, e.g., `/subscriptions/8b8bd01f-efd9-4113-9bd1-c82137c32da7/resourcegroups/constellation-identity/providers/Microsoft.ManagedIdentity/userAssignedIdentities/constellation-identity`. You can get it by opening the `JSON View` from the `Overview` section of the identity. The user-assigned identity is used by instances of the cluster to access other cloud resources. For more information about managed identities refer to [Azure's documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/managed-identities-azure-resources/how-manage-user-assigned-managed-identities). * **appClientID**: [Create a new app registration in Azure](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/develop/quickstart-register-app). Set `Supported account types` to `Accounts in this organizational directory only` and leave the `Redirect URI` empty. Set the configuration value to the `Application (client) ID`, e.g., `86ec31dd-532b-4a8c-a055-dd23f25fb12f`. In the cluster resource group, go to `Access Control (IAM)` and set the created app registration as `Owner`. * **clientSecretValue**: In the previously created app registration, go to `Certificates & secrets` and create a new `Client secret`. Set the configuration value to the secret value. * **instanceType**: The VM type you want to use for your Constellation nodes. For CVMs, any type with a minimum of 4 vCPUs from the [DCasv5 & DCadsv5](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/dcasv5-dcadsv5-series) or [ECasv5 & ECadsv5](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/ecasv5-ecadsv5-series) families is supported. It defaults to `Standard_DC4as_v5` (4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM). Run `constellation config instance-types` to get the list of all supported options. You need a service account for the cluster. You can use the following `gcloud` script to create it: ```bash SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID=constell # enter name of service account here PROJECT_ID= # enter project id here SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL=${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID}@${PROJECT_ID}.iam.gserviceaccount.com gcloud iam service-accounts create "${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_ID}" --description="Service account used inside Constellation" --display-name="Constellation service account" --project="${PROJECT_ID}" gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding "${PROJECT_ID}" --member="serviceAccount:${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" --role='roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1' gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding "${PROJECT_ID}" --member="serviceAccount:${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" --role='roles/compute.networkAdmin' gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding "${PROJECT_ID}" --member="serviceAccount:${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" --role='roles/compute.securityAdmin' gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding "${PROJECT_ID}" --member="serviceAccount:${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" --role='roles/compute.storageAdmin' gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding "${PROJECT_ID}" --member="serviceAccount:${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" --role='roles/iam.serviceAccountUser' gcloud iam service-accounts keys create gcpServiceAccountKey.json --iam-account="${SERVICE_ACCOUNT_EMAIL}" echo "project: ${PROJECT_ID} serviceAccountKeyPath: $(realpath gcpServiceAccountKey.json)" ``` Fill the values produced by the script into your configuration file. By default, Constellation uses `n2d-standard-4` VMs (4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM) to create your cluster. Optionally, you can switch to a different VM type by modifying **instanceType** in the configuration file. Supported are all machines from the N2D family. Refer to [N2D machine series](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/general-purpose-machines#n2d_machines) or run `constellation config instance-types` to get the list of all supported options. * **project**: The ID of your GCP project, e.g., `constellation-129857`. You can find it on the [welcome screen of your GCP project](https://console.cloud.google.com/welcome). For more information refer to [Google's documentation](https://support.google.com/googleapi/answer/7014113). * **region**: The GCP region you want to deploy your cluster in, e.g., `us-west1`. You can find a [list of all regions in Google's documentation](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/regions-zones#available). * **zone**: The GCP zone you want to deploy your cluster in, e.g., `us-west1-a`. You can find a [list of all zones in Google's documentation](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/regions-zones#available). * **serviceAccountKeyPath**: To configure this, you need to create a GCP [service account](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/service-accounts) with the following permissions: * `Compute Instance Admin (v1) (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1)` * `Compute Network Admin (roles/compute.networkAdmin)` * `Compute Security Admin (roles/compute.securityAdmin)` * `Compute Storage Admin (roles/compute.storageAdmin)` * `Service Account User (roles/iam.serviceAccountUser)` Afterward, create and download a new JSON key for this service account. Place the downloaded file in your Constellation workspace, and set the config parameter to the filename, e.g., `constellation-129857-15343dba46cb.json`. * **instanceType**: The VM type you want to use for your Constellation nodes. Supported are all machines from the N2D family with a minimum of 4 vCPUs. It defaults to `n2d-standard-4` (4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM), but you can use any other VMs from the same family. Refer to [N2D machine series](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/general-purpose-machines#n2d_machines) or run `constellation config instance-types` to get the list of all supported options. :::info In case you don't have access to CVMs on Azure, you may use less secure [trusted launch VMs](../workflows/trusted-launch.md) instead. For this, set **confidentialVM** to `false` in the configuration file. ::: 3. Download the trusted measurements for your configured image. ```bash constellation config fetch-measurements ``` For details, see the [verification section](../workflows/verify-cluster.md). 4. Create the cluster with one control-plane node and two worker nodes. `constellation create` uses options set in `constellation-conf.yaml`. :::tip On Azure, you may need to wait 15+ minutes at this point for role assignments to propagate. ::: ```bash constellation create --control-plane-nodes 1 --worker-nodes 2 -y ``` This should give the following output: ```shell-session $ constellation create ... Your Constellation cluster was created successfully. ``` 5. Initialize the cluster ```bash constellation init ``` This should give the following output: ```shell-session $ constellation init Your Constellation master secret was successfully written to ./constellation-mastersecret.json Initializing cluster ... Your Constellation cluster was successfully initialized. Constellation cluster identifier g6iMP5wRU1b7mpOz2WEISlIYSfdAhB0oNaOg6XEwKFY= Kubernetes configuration constellation-admin.conf You can now connect to your cluster by executing: export KUBECONFIG="$PWD/constellation-admin.conf" ``` The cluster's identifier will be different in your output. Keep `constellation-mastersecret.json` somewhere safe. This will allow you to [recover your cluster](../workflows/recovery.md) in case of a disaster. :::info Depending on your CSP and region, `constellation init` may take 10+ minutes to complete. ::: 6. Configure kubectl ```bash export KUBECONFIG="$PWD/constellation-admin.conf" ``` ## Deploy a sample application 1. Deploy the [emojivoto app](https://github.com/BuoyantIO/emojivoto) ```bash kubectl apply -k github.com/BuoyantIO/emojivoto/kustomize/deployment ``` 2. Expose the frontend service locally ```bash kubectl wait --for=condition=available --timeout=60s -n emojivoto --all deployments kubectl -n emojivoto port-forward svc/web-svc 8080:80 & curl http://localhost:8080 kill %1 ``` ## Terminate your cluster ```bash constellation terminate ``` This should give the following output: ```shell-session $ constellation terminate Terminating ... Your Constellation cluster was terminated successfully. ``` :::tip On Azure, if you have used the `az` script, you can keep the prerequisite resources and reuse them for a new cluster. Or you can delete them: ```bash RESOURCE_GROUP=constellation # name of your cluster resource group APPID=$(jq -r '.appId' azureServiceAccountKey.json) az ad sp delete --id "${APPID}" az group delete -g "${RESOURCE_GROUP}-identity" --yes --no-wait az group delete -g "${RESOURCE_GROUP}" --yes --no-wait ``` :::