Learning Helm

Chapter 1. Introducing Helm

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. That is the way the Helm developers have described Helm since the very first commits to the Git repository. And that sentence is the topic of this chapter.

In this chapter, we will start with a conceptual look at the cloud native ecosystem, in which Kubernetes is a key technology. We will take a fresh look at what Kubernetes has to offer to set the stage for describing Helm.

Next, we will look at the problems Helm sets out to solve. In this section, we will look at the concept of package management and why we have modeled Helm this way. We will also visit some of the unique facets of installing packages into a cluster management tool like Kubernetes.

Finally, we will finish the chapter with a high-level look at Helm’s architecture, focusing on the concepts of charts, templates, and releases. By the end of the chapter, you will understand how Helm fits into the broader ecosystem of tools, and you will be familiar with the terminology and concepts we will be using throughout this book.

The Cloud Native Ecosystem

The emergence of cloud technologies has clearly changed the way the industry looks at hardware, system management, physical networking, and so on. Virtual machines replaced physical servers, storage services displaced talk of hard drives, and automation tools rose in prominence. This was perhaps an early change in the way the industry conceptualized the cloud. But as the strengths and weaknesses of ...