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Installing IML

Prerequisites

Before installing IML, you need:

  1. A Kubernetes cluster (v1.11.3 or higher)

  2. Required cluster add-ons:

    • Multus CNI - for multiple network interface support
    • Flannel - for pod-to-pod networking
    • cert-manager - for certificate management and webhook validation

  3. Tools installed locally:

    • kubectl (v1.11.3 or higher)
    • helm (v3.0 or higher)
    • docker (for building/running containers)

Setting Up a Kubernetes Cluster

kind (Kubernetes in Docker) is the easiest way to run a local cluster for development and testing.

  1. Create a kind cluster: 

    kind create cluster --name iml

  2. Verify the cluster is running: 

    kubectl cluster-info --context kind-iml
kubectl get nodes

Option 2: Using an Existing Cluster

If you already have a Kubernetes cluster running (local or remote), you can use that instead. Make sure you have proper access via kubectl:

kubectl cluster-info
kubectl auth can-i create deployments --all-namespaces

Installing Cluster Dependencies

After you have a cluster running, install the required add-ons:

1. Install Multus CNI

Multus enables attaching multiple network interfaces to pods:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/k8snetworkplumbingwg/multus-cni/master/deployments/multus-daemonset.yml

2. Install Flannel

Flannel provides pod-to-pod networking:

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/flannel-io/flannel/releases/latest/download/kube-flannel.yml

# Wait for Flannel to be ready
kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pod -l app=flannel -n kube-flannel --timeout=300s

3. Install cert-manager

cert-manager handles certificate provisioning and webhook validation for IML:

# Add the Jetstack Helm repository
helm repo add jetstack https://charts.jetstack.io
helm repo update

# Install cert-manager with CRDs
helm install cert-manager jetstack/cert-manager --namespace cert-manager --create-namespace --set installCRDs=true

# Wait for cert-manager to be ready
kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pod -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=cert-manager -n cert-manager --timeout=300s

Installing IML

Now that your cluster has all the required dependencies, you can install IML. There are two methods:

  1. Installing via Helm (recommended for production)
  2. Installing via kubectl manifests (recommended for development)

Installing via Helm

First, clone the IML repository and navigate to the chart directory:

git clone https://github.com/mantra6g/iml
cd iml/chart

Then, install the IML Helm chart:

helm install iml . --namespace loom-system --create-namespace

Installing via kubectl manifests

This installation method is recommended for development. First, clone the IML repository and cd into it:

git clone https://github.com/mantra6g/iml
cd iml

Then, apply the kubectl manifests:

kubectl apply -f operator/dist/install.yaml
kubectl apply -f cni/dist/install.yaml
kubectl apply -f daemon/dist/install.yaml

Verify that the components are running:

kubectl get pods -n loom-system

Uninstalling IML

Uninstalling via Helm

To uninstall IML when installed via Helm, first cd into the IML repository if you haven't already:

cd iml

Run the following command:

helm uninstall iml --namespace loom-system

Uninstalling via kubectl manifests

To uninstall IML when installed via kubectl manifests, first cd into the IML repository if you haven't already:

cd iml

Then, delete the kubectl manifests:

kubectl delete -f go-daemon/dist/install.yaml
kubectl delete -f cni/dist/install.yaml
kubectl delete -f operator/dist/install.yaml

Cleaning Up the Cluster

Removing kind Cluster (Development Only)

If you used kind for local development and want to remove it:

kind delete cluster --name iml

Removing Cluster Dependencies (Optional)

If you no longer need the cluster dependencies, you can remove them:

# Remove Multus
kubectl delete -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/k8snetworkplumbingwg/multus-cni/master/deployments/multus-daemonset.yml

# Remove Flannel
kubectl delete -f https://github.com/flannel-io/flannel/releases/latest/download/kube-flannel.yml

# Remove cert-manager
helm uninstall cert-manager --namespace cert-manager
kubectl delete namespace cert-manager

Note: Only remove cluster dependencies if you're not using them for other applications.