Creating a compute machine set on GCP

You can create a different compute machine set to serve a specific purpose in your OKD cluster on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). For example, you might create infrastructure machine sets and related machines so that you can move supporting workloads to the new machines.

$ oc get infrastructure cluster -o jsonpath=’{.status.platform}’

Sample YAML for a compute machine set custom resource on GCP

This sample YAML defines a compute machine set that runs in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and creates nodes that are labeled with node-role.kubernetes.io/<role>: "", where <role> is the node label to add.

Values obtained by using the OpenShift CLI

In the following example, you can obtain some of the values for your cluster by using the OpenShift CLI.

Infrastructure ID

The <infrastructure_id> string is the infrastructure ID that is based on the cluster ID that you set when you provisioned the cluster. If you have the OpenShift CLI installed, you can obtain the infrastructure ID by running the following command:

$ oc get -o jsonpath='{.status.infrastructureName}{"\n"}' infrastructure cluster

Image path

The <path_to_image> string is the path to the image that was used to create the disk. If you have the OpenShift CLI installed, you can obtain the path to the image by running the following command:

$ oc -n openshift-machine-api \
  -o jsonpath='{.spec.template.spec.providerSpec.value.disks[0].image}{"\n"}' \
  get machineset/<infrastructure_id>-worker-a

Sample GCP MachineSet values

apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
kind: MachineSet
metadata:
  labels:
    machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id> (1)
  name: <infrastructure_id>-w-a
  namespace: openshift-machine-api
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id>
      machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset: <infrastructure_id>-w-a
  template:
    metadata:
      creationTimestamp: null
      labels:
        machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id>
        machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-role: <role> (2)
        machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-type: <role>
        machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset: <infrastructure_id>-w-a
    spec:
      metadata:
        labels:
          node-role.kubernetes.io/<role>: ""
      providerSpec:
        value:
          apiVersion: gcpprovider.openshift.io/v1beta1
          canIPForward: false
          credentialsSecret:
            name: gcp-cloud-credentials
          deletionProtection: false
          disks:
          - autoDelete: true
            boot: true
            image: <path_to_image> (3)
            labels: null
            sizeGb: 128
            type: pd-ssd
          gcpMetadata: (4)
          - key: <custom_metadata_key>
            value: <custom_metadata_value>
          kind: GCPMachineProviderSpec
          machineType: n1-standard-4
          metadata:
            creationTimestamp: null
          networkInterfaces:
          - network: <infrastructure_id>-network
            subnetwork: <infrastructure_id>-worker-subnet
          projectID: <project_name> (5)
          region: us-central1
          serviceAccounts:
          - email: <infrastructure_id>-w@<project_name>.iam.gserviceaccount.com
            scopes:
            - https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
          tags:
            - <infrastructure_id>-worker
          userDataSecret:
            name: worker-user-data
          zone: us-central1-a

Creating a compute machine set

In addition to the compute machine sets created by the installation program, you can create your own to dynamically manage the machine compute resources for specific workloads of your choice.

Prerequisites

• Deploy an OKD cluster.

• Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

• Log in to oc as a user with cluster-admin permission.

Procedure

1. Create a new YAML file that contains the compute machine set custom resource (CR) sample and is named <file_name>.yaml.

   Ensure that you set the <clusterID> and <role> parameter values.

2. Optional: If you are not sure which value to set for a specific field, you can check an existing compute machine set from your cluster.

   1. To list the compute machine sets in your cluster, run the following command:

      $ oc get machinesets -n openshift-machine-api

      Example output

      NAME                                DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   AVAILABLE   AGE
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1a   1         1         1       1           55m
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1b   1         1         1       1           55m
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1c   1         1         1       1           55m
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1d   0         0                             55m
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1e   0         0                             55m
      agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1f   0         0                             55m

   2. To view values of a specific compute machine set custom resource (CR), run the following command:

      $ oc get machineset <machineset_name> \
        -n openshift-machine-api -o yaml

      Example output

      apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
      kind: MachineSet
      metadata:
        labels:
          machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id> (1)
        name: <infrastructure_id>-<role> (2)
        namespace: openshift-machine-api
      spec:
        replicas: 1
        selector:
          matchLabels:
            machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id>
            machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset: <infrastructure_id>-<role>
        template:
          metadata:
            labels:
              machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster: <infrastructure_id>
              machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-role: <role>
              machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-type: <role>
              machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset: <infrastructure_id>-<role>
          spec:
            providerSpec: (3)
              ...

      1	The cluster infrastructure ID.
      2	A default node label. For clusters that have user-provisioned infrastructure, a compute machine set can only create worker and infra type machines.
      3	The values in the <providerSpec> section of the compute machine set CR are platform-specific. For more information about <providerSpec> parameters in the CR, see the sample compute machine set CR configuration for your provider.

3. Create a MachineSet CR by running the following command:

   $ oc create -f <file_name>.yaml

Verification

• View the list of compute machine sets by running the following command:

  $ oc get machineset -n openshift-machine-api

  Example output

  NAME                                DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   AVAILABLE   AGE
  agl030519-vplxk-infra-us-east-1a    1         1         1       1           11m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1a   1         1         1       1           55m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1b   1         1         1       1           55m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1c   1         1         1       1           55m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1d   0         0                             55m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1e   0         0                             55m
  agl030519-vplxk-worker-us-east-1f   0         0                             55m

  When the new compute machine set is available, the DESIRED and CURRENT values match. If the compute machine set is not available, wait a few minutes and run the command again.

Configuring persistent disk types by using machine sets

You can configure the type of persistent disk that a machine set deploys machines on by editing the machine set YAML file.

For more information about persistent disk types, compatibility, regional availability, and limitations, see the GCP Compute Engine documentation about persistent disks.

Procedure

1. In a text editor, open the YAML file for an existing machine set or create a new one.

2. Edit the following line under the providerSpec field:

   apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: MachineSet
   ...
   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         providerSpec:
           value:
             disks:
               type: <pd-disk-type> (1)

   1	Specify the disk persistent type. Valid values are pd-ssd, pd-standard, and pd-balanced. The default value is pd-standard.

Verification

• Using the Google Cloud console, review the details for a machine deployed by the machine set and verify that the Type field matches the configured disk type.

Configuring Confidential VM by using machine sets

By editing the machine set YAML file, you can configure the Confidential VM options that a machine set uses for machines that it deploys.

For more information about Confidential Compute features, functionality, and compatibility, see the GCP Compute Engine documentation about Confidential VM.

Procedure

1. In a text editor, open the YAML file for an existing machine set or create a new one.

2. Edit the following section under the providerSpec field:

   apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: MachineSet
   ...
   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         providerSpec:
           value:
             confidentialCompute: Enabled (1)
             onHostMaintenance: Terminate (2)
             machineType: n2d-standard-8 (3)
   ...

   1	Specify whether Confidential VM is enabled. Valid values are Disabled or Enabled.
   2	Specify the behavior of the VM during a host maintenance event, such as a hardware or software update. For a machine that uses Confidential VM, this value must be set to Terminate, which stops the VM. Confidential VM does not support live VM migration.
   3	Specify a machine type that supports Confidential VM. Confidential VM supports the N2D and C2D series of machine types.

Verification

• On the Google Cloud console, review the details for a machine deployed by the machine set and verify that the Confidential VM options match the values that you configured.

Machine sets that deploy machines as preemptible VM instances

You can save on costs by creating a compute machine set running on GCP that deploys machines as non-guaranteed preemptible VM instances. Preemptible VM instances utilize excess Compute Engine capacity and are less expensive than normal instances. You can use preemptible VM instances for workloads that can tolerate interruptions, such as batch or stateless, horizontally scalable workloads.

GCP Compute Engine can terminate a preemptible VM instance at any time. Compute Engine sends a preemption notice to the user indicating that an interruption will occur in 30 seconds. OKD begins to remove the workloads from the affected instances when Compute Engine issues the preemption notice. An ACPI G3 Mechanical Off signal is sent to the operating system after 30 seconds if the instance is not stopped. The preemptible VM instance is then transitioned to a TERMINATED state by Compute Engine.

Interruptions can occur when using preemptible VM instances for the following reasons:

• There is a system or maintenance event

• The supply of preemptible VM instances decreases

• The instance reaches the end of the allotted 24-hour period for preemptible VM instances

When GCP terminates an instance, a termination handler running on the preemptible VM instance node deletes the machine resource. To satisfy the compute machine set replicas quantity, the compute machine set creates a machine that requests a preemptible VM instance.

Creating preemptible VM instances by using compute machine sets

You can launch a preemptible VM instance on GCP by adding preemptible to your compute machine set YAML file.

Procedure

• Add the following line under the providerSpec field:

  providerSpec:
    value:
      preemptible: true

  If preemptible is set to true, the machine is labelled as an interruptable-instance after the instance is launched.

Configuring Shielded VM options by using machine sets

By editing the machine set YAML file, you can configure the Shielded VM options that a machine set uses for machines that it deploys.

For more information about Shielded VM features and functionality, see the GCP Compute Engine documentation about Shielded VM.

Procedure

1. In a text editor, open the YAML file for an existing machine set or create a new one.

2. Edit the following section under the providerSpec field:

   apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: MachineSet
   ...
   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         providerSpec:
           value:
             shieldedInstanceConfig: (1)
               integrityMonitoring: Enabled (2)
               secureBoot: Disabled (3)
               virtualizedTrustedPlatformModule: Enabled (4)
   ...

   1	In this section, specify any Shielded VM options that you want.
   2	Specify whether UEFI Secure Boot is enabled. Valid values are Disabled or Enabled.
   3	Specify whether integrity monitoring is enabled. Valid values are Disabled or Enabled. When integrity monitoring is enabled, you must not disable virtual trusted platform module (vTPM).
   4	Specify whether vTPM is enabled. Valid values are Disabled or Enabled.

Verification

• Using the Google Cloud console, review the details for a machine deployed by the machine set and verify that the Shielded VM options match the values that you configured.

Additional resources

• What is Shielded VM?

  • Secure Boot

  • Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM)

  • Integrity monitoring

Enabling customer-managed encryption keys for a machine set

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Compute Engine allows users to supply an encryption key to encrypt data on disks at rest. The key is used to encrypt the data encryption key, not to encrypt the customer’s data. By default, Compute Engine encrypts this data by using Compute Engine keys.

You can enable encryption with a customer-managed key in clusters that use the Machine API. You must first create a KMS key and assign the correct permissions to a service account. The KMS key name, key ring name, and location are required to allow a service account to use your key.

Procedure

1. To allow a specific service account to use your KMS key and to grant the service account the correct IAM role, run the following command with your KMS key name, key ring name, and location:

   $ gcloud kms keys add-iam-policy-binding <key_name> \
     --keyring <key_ring_name> \
     --location <key_ring_location> \
     --member "serviceAccount:service-<project_number>@compute-system.iam.gserviceaccount.com” \
     --role roles/cloudkms.cryptoKeyEncrypterDecrypter

2. Configure the encryption key under the providerSpec field in your machine set YAML file. For example:

   apiVersion: machine.openshift.io/v1beta1
   kind: MachineSet
   ...
   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         providerSpec:
           value:
             disks:
             - type:
               encryptionKey:
                 kmsKey:
                   name: machine-encryption-key (1)
                   keyRing: openshift-encrpytion-ring (2)
                   location: global (3)
                   projectID: openshift-gcp-project (4)
                 kmsKeyServiceAccount: openshift-service-account@openshift-gcp-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com (5)

   1	The name of the customer-managed encryption key that is used for the disk encryption.
   2	The name of the KMS key ring that the KMS key belongs to.
   3	The GCP location in which the KMS key ring exists.
   4	Optional: The ID of the project in which the KMS key ring exists. If a project ID is not set, the machine set projectID in which the machine set was created is used.
   5	Optional: The service account that is used for the encryption request for the given KMS key. If a service account is not set, the Compute Engine default service account is used.

   When a new machine is created by using the updated providerSpec object configuration, the disk encryption key is encrypted with the KMS key.

Enabling GPU support for a compute machine set

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Compute Engine enables users to add GPUs to VM instances. Workloads that benefit from access to GPU resources can perform better on compute machines with this feature enabled. OKD on GCP supports NVIDIA GPU models in the A2 and N1 machine series.

1. For more information about machine types, including specifications, compatibility, regional availability, and limitations, see the GCP Compute Engine documentation about N1 machine series, A2 machine series, and GPU regions and zones availability.

You can define which supported GPU to use for an instance by using the Machine API.

You can configure machines in the N1 machine series to deploy with one of the supported GPU types. Machines in the A2 machine series come with associated GPUs, and cannot use guest accelerators.

Procedure

1. In a text editor, open the YAML file for an existing compute machine set or create a new one.

2. Specify a GPU configuration under the providerSpec field in your compute machine set YAML file. See the following examples of valid configurations:

   Example configuration for the A2 machine series:

     providerSpec:
       value:
         machineType: a2-highgpu-1g (1)
         onHostMaintenance: Terminate (2)
         restartPolicy: Always (3)

   1	Specify the machine type. Ensure that the machine type is included in the A2 machine series.
   2	When using GPU support, you must set onHostMaintenance to Terminate.
   3	Specify the restart policy for machines deployed by the compute machine set. Allowed values are Always or Never.

   Example configuration for the N1 machine series:

   providerSpec:
     value:
       gpus:
       - count: 1 (1)
         type: nvidia-tesla-p100 (2)
       machineType: n1-standard-1 (3)
       onHostMaintenance: Terminate (4)
       restartPolicy: Always (5)

   1	Specify the number of GPUs to attach to the machine.
   2	Specify the type of GPUs to attach to the machine. Ensure that the machine type and GPU type are compatible.
   3	Specify the machine type. Ensure that the machine type and GPU type are compatible.
   4	When using GPU support, you must set onHostMaintenance to Terminate.
   5	Specify the restart policy for machines deployed by the compute machine set. Allowed values are Always or Never.

Adding a GPU node to an existing OKD cluster

You can copy and modify a default compute machine set configuration to create a GPU-enabled machine set and machines for the GCP cloud provider.

The following table lists the validated instance types:

Procedure

1. Make a copy of an existing MachineSet.

2. In the new copy, change the machine set name in metadata.name and in both instances of machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset.

3. Change the instance type to add the following two lines to the newly copied MachineSet:

   machineType: a2-highgpu-1g
   onHostMaintenance: Terminate

   Example a2-highgpu-1g.json file

   {
       "apiVersion": "machine.openshift.io/v1beta1",
       "kind": "MachineSet",
       "metadata": {
           "annotations": {
               "machine.openshift.io/GPU": "0",
               "machine.openshift.io/memoryMb": "16384",
               "machine.openshift.io/vCPU": "4"
           },
           "creationTimestamp": "2023-01-13T17:11:02Z",
           "generation": 1,
           "labels": {
               "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster": "myclustername-2pt9p"
           },
           "name": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a",
           "namespace": "openshift-machine-api",
           "resourceVersion": "20185",
           "uid": "2daf4712-733e-4399-b4b4-d43cb1ed32bd"
       },
       "spec": {
           "replicas": 1,
           "selector": {
               "matchLabels": {
                   "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster": "myclustername-2pt9p",
                   "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a"
               }
           },
           "template": {
               "metadata": {
                   "labels": {
                       "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-cluster": "myclustername-2pt9p",
                       "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-role": "worker",
                       "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machine-type": "worker",
                       "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a"
                   }
               },
               "spec": {
                   "lifecycleHooks": {},
                   "metadata": {},
                   "providerSpec": {
                       "value": {
                           "apiVersion": "machine.openshift.io/v1beta1",
                           "canIPForward": false,
                           "credentialsSecret": {
                               "name": "gcp-cloud-credentials"
                           },
                           "deletionProtection": false,
                           "disks": [
                               {
                                   "autoDelete": true,
                                   "boot": true,
                                   "image": "projects/rhcos-cloud/global/images/rhcos-412-86-202212081411-0-gcp-x86-64",
                                   "labels": null,
                                   "sizeGb": 128,
                                   "type": "pd-ssd"
                               }
                           ],
                           "kind": "GCPMachineProviderSpec",
                           "machineType": "a2-highgpu-1g",
                           "onHostMaintenance": "Terminate",
                           "metadata": {
                               "creationTimestamp": null
                           },
                           "networkInterfaces": [
                               {
                                   "network": "myclustername-2pt9p-network",
                                   "subnetwork": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-subnet"
                               }
                           ],
                           "preemptible": true,
                           "projectID": "myteam",
                           "region": "us-central1",
                           "serviceAccounts": [
                               {
                                   "email": "myclustername-2pt9p-w@myteam.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
                                   "scopes": [
                                       "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"
                                   ]
                               }
                           ],
                           "tags": [
                               "myclustername-2pt9p-worker"
                           ],
                           "userDataSecret": {
                               "name": "worker-user-data"
                           },
                           "zone": "us-central1-a"
                       }
                   }
               }
           }
       },
       "status": {
           "availableReplicas": 1,
           "fullyLabeledReplicas": 1,
           "observedGeneration": 1,
           "readyReplicas": 1,
           "replicas": 1
       }
   }

4. View the existing nodes, machines, and machine sets by running the following command. Note that each node is an instance of a machine definition with a specific GCP region and OKD role.

   $ oc get nodes

   Example output

   NAME                                                             STATUS     ROLES                  AGE     VERSION
   myclustername-2pt9p-master-0.c.openshift-qe.internal             Ready      control-plane,master   8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-master-1.c.openshift-qe.internal             Ready      control-plane,master   8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-master-2.c.openshift-qe.internal             Ready      control-plane,master   8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a-mxtnz.c.openshift-qe.internal       Ready      worker                 8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-b-9pzzn.c.openshift-qe.internal       Ready      worker                 8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-c-6pbg6.c.openshift-qe.internal       Ready      worker                 8h      v1.26.0
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a-wxcr6.c.openshift-qe.internal   Ready      worker                 4h35m   v1.26.0

5. View the machines and machine sets that exist in the openshift-machine-api namespace by running the following command. Each compute machine set is associated with a different availability zone within the GCP region. The installer automatically load balances compute machines across availability zones.

   $ oc get machinesets -n openshift-machine-api

   Example output

   NAME                               DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   AVAILABLE   AGE
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a       1         1         1       1           8h
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-b       1         1         1       1           8h
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-c       1         1                             8h
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-f       0         0                             8h

6. View the machines that exist in the openshift-machine-api namespace by running the following command. You can only configure one compute machine per set, although you can scale a compute machine set to add a node in a particular region and zone.

   $ oc get machines -n openshift-machine-api | grep worker

   Example output

   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a-mxtnz       Running   n2-standard-4   us-central1   us-central1-a   8h
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-b-9pzzn       Running   n2-standard-4   us-central1   us-central1-b   8h
   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-c-6pbg6       Running   n2-standard-4   us-central1   us-central1-c   8h

7. Make a copy of one of the existing compute MachineSet definitions and output the result to a JSON file by running the following command. This will be the basis for the GPU-enabled compute machine set definition.

   $ oc get machineset myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a -n openshift-machine-api -o json  > <output_file.json>

8. Edit the JSON file to make the following changes to the new MachineSet definition:

   • Rename the machine set name by inserting the substring gpu in metadata.name and in both instances of machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset.

   • Change the machineType of the new MachineSet definition to a2-highgpu-1g, which includes an NVIDIA A100 GPU.

     jq .spec.template.spec.providerSpec.value.machineType ocp_4.13_machineset-a2-highgpu-1g.json
     "a2-highgpu-1g"

     The <output_file.json> file is saved as ocp_4.13_machineset-a2-highgpu-1g.json.

9. Update the following fields in ocp_4.13_machineset-a2-highgpu-1g.json:

   • Change .metadata.name to a name containing gpu.

   • Change .spec.selector.matchLabels["machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset"] to match the new .metadata.name.

   • Change .spec.template.metadata.labels["machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset"] to match the new .metadata.name.

   • Change .spec.template.spec.providerSpec.value.MachineType to a2-highgpu-1g.

   • Add the following line under machineType: `“onHostMaintenance”: “Terminate”. For example:

     "machineType": "a2-highgpu-1g",
     "onHostMaintenance": "Terminate",

10. To verify your changes, perform a diff of the original compute definition and the new GPU-enabled node definition by running the following command:

    $ oc get machineset/myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a -n openshift-machine-api -o json | diff ocp_4.13_machineset-a2-highgpu-1g.json -

    Example output

    15c15
    <         "name": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a",
    ---
    >         "name": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a",
    25c25
    <                 "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a"
    ---
    >                 "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a"
    34c34
    <                     "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a"
    ---
    >                     "machine.openshift.io/cluster-api-machineset": "myclustername-2pt9p-worker-a"
    59,60c59
    <                         "machineType": "a2-highgpu-1g",
    <                         "onHostMaintenance": "Terminate",
    ---
    >                         "machineType": "n2-standard-4",

11. Create the GPU-enabled compute machine set from the definition file by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f ocp_4.13_machineset-a2-highgpu-1g.json

    Example output

    machineset.machine.openshift.io/myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a created

Verification

1. View the machine set you created by running the following command:

   $ oc -n openshift-machine-api get machinesets | grep gpu

   The MachineSet replica count is set to 1 so a new Machine object is created automatically.

   Example output

   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a   1         1         1       1           5h24m

2. View the Machine object that the machine set created by running the following command:

   $ oc -n openshift-machine-api get machines | grep gpu

   Example output

   myclustername-2pt9p-worker-gpu-a-wxcr6   Running   a2-highgpu-1g   us-central1   us-central1-a   5h25m

Deploying the Node Feature Discovery Operator

After the GPU-enabled node is created, you need to discover the GPU-enabled node so it can be scheduled. To do this, install the Node Feature Discovery (NFD) Operator. The NFD Operator identifies hardware device features in nodes. It solves the general problem of identifying and cataloging hardware resources in the infrastructure nodes so they can be made available to OKD.

Procedure

1. Install the Node Feature Discovery Operator from OperatorHub in the OKD console.

2. After installing the NFD Operator into OperatorHub, select Node Feature Discovery from the installed Operators list and select Create instance. This installs the nfd-master and nfd-worker pods, one nfd-worker pod for each compute node, in the openshift-nfd namespace.

3. Verify that the Operator is installed and running by running the following command:

   $ oc get pods -n openshift-nfd

   Example output

   NAME                                       READY    STATUS     RESTARTS   AGE
   nfd-controller-manager-8646fcbb65-x5qgk    2/2      Running 7  (8h ago)   1d

4. Browse to the installed Oerator in the console and select Create Node Feature Discovery.

5. Select Create to build a NFD custom resource. This creates NFD pods in the openshift-nfd namespace that poll the OKD nodes for hardware resources and catalogue them.

Verification

1. After a successful build, verify that a NFD pod is running on each nodes by running the following command:

   $ oc get pods -n openshift-nfd

   Example output

   NAME                                       READY   STATUS      RESTARTS        AGE
   nfd-controller-manager-8646fcbb65-x5qgk    2/2     Running     7 (8h ago)      12d
   nfd-master-769656c4cb-w9vrv                1/1     Running     0               12d
   nfd-worker-qjxb2                           1/1     Running     3 (3d14h ago)   12d
   nfd-worker-xtz9b                           1/1     Running     5 (3d14h ago)   12d

   The NFD Operator uses vendor PCI IDs to identify hardware in a node. NVIDIA uses the PCI ID 10de.

2. View the NVIDIA GPU discovered by the NFD Operator by running the following command:

   $ oc describe node ip-10-0-132-138.us-east-2.compute.internal | egrep 'Roles|pci'

   Example output

   Roles: worker
   feature.node.kubernetes.io/pci-1013.present=true
   feature.node.kubernetes.io/pci-10de.present=true
   feature.node.kubernetes.io/pci-1d0f.present=true

   10de appears in the node feature list for the GPU-enabled node. This mean the NFD Operator correctly identified the node from the GPU-enabled MachineSet.