Working with Dynamo Kubernetes Operator#

Overview#

Dynamo operator is a Kubernetes operator that simplifies the deployment, configuration, and lifecycle management of DynamoGraphs. It automates the reconciliation of custom resources to ensure your desired state is always achieved. This operator is ideal for users who want to manage complex deployments using declarative YAML definitions and Kubernetes-native tooling.

Architecture#

  • Operator Deployment: Deployed as a Kubernetes Deployment in a specific namespace.

  • Controllers:

    • DynamoGraphDeploymentController: Watches DynamoGraphDeployment CRs and orchestrates graph deployments.

    • DynamoComponentDeploymentController: Watches DynamoComponentDeployment CRs and handles individual component deployments.

  • Workflow:

    1. A custom resource is created by the user or API server.

    2. The corresponding controller detects the change and runs reconciliation.

    3. Kubernetes resources (Deployments, Services, etc.) are created or updated to match the CR spec.

    4. Status fields are updated to reflect the current state.

Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs)#

For the complete technical API reference for Dynamo Custom Resource Definitions, see:

📖 Dynamo CRD API Reference

Installation#

Quick Install with Helm#

# Set environment
export NAMESPACE=dynamo-system
export RELEASE_VERSION=0.x.x # any version of Dynamo 0.3.2+ listed at https://github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/releases

# Install Platform (includes operator)
helm fetch https://helm.ngc.nvidia.com/nvidia/ai-dynamo/charts/dynamo-platform-${RELEASE_VERSION}.tgz
helm install dynamo-platform dynamo-platform-${RELEASE_VERSION}.tgz --namespace ${NAMESPACE} --create-namespace

For namespace-restricted installations (shared clusters):

helm install dynamo-platform dynamo-platform-${RELEASE_VERSION}.tgz \
  --namespace ${NAMESPACE} \
  --create-namespace \
  --set dynamo-operator.namespaceRestriction.enabled=true

Building from Source#

# Set environment
export NAMESPACE=dynamo-system
export DOCKER_SERVER=your-registry.com/  # your container registry
export IMAGE_TAG=latest

# Build operator image
cd deploy/cloud/operator
docker build -t $DOCKER_SERVER/dynamo-operator:$IMAGE_TAG .
docker push $DOCKER_SERVER/dynamo-operator:$IMAGE_TAG
cd -

# Install CRDs
cd deploy/cloud/helm
helm install dynamo-crds ./crds/ --namespace default

# Install platform with custom operator image
helm install dynamo-platform ./platform/ \
  --namespace ${NAMESPACE} \
  --create-namespace \
  --set "dynamo-operator.controllerManager.manager.image.repository=${DOCKER_SERVER}/dynamo-operator" \
  --set "dynamo-operator.controllerManager.manager.image.tag=${IMAGE_TAG}"

For detailed installation options, see the Installation Guide

Development#

  • Code Structure:

The operator is built using Kubebuilder and the operator-sdk, with the following structure:

  • controllers/: Reconciliation logic

  • api/v1alpha1/: CRD types

  • config/: Manifests and Helm charts

References#