Spectrocloud Packs

Spectro Cloud Pack Learnings

Pack-specific configuration patterns, gotchas, and known issues.

Pack Discovery

Use the spectrocloud-common skill for all discovery queries — pagination-safe find-by-name ("Find Pack by Exact Name"), latest-version + UID lookup ("Get Latest Pack Version"), and full default values ("Get Pack Default Values"). Two rules that skill enforces:

• The pack API paginates at 50 results — always loop offsets 0/50/100/150
• Never use partial pack values — fetch the COMPLETE file via GET /v1/packs/$PACK_UID?includePackValues=true

Storage Packs

Piraeus (LINSTOR)

Distributed storage for edge using LINSTOR/DRBD.

Pack name: piraeus-operator Registry: Check with discovery (often Palette Community Registry) Type: oci

Critical configuration (all of these are needed):

charts:
  piraeus:
    # 1. Service name length limit (63 chars) - pack name creates resources too long
    fullnameOverride: "piraeus"
  linstor-gui:
    fullnameOverride: "linstor-gui"

  # 2. DRBD module loader fails on HWE kernels (Ubuntu 22.04 with 6.8.x kernel)
  linstorSatelliteConfigurations:
    - name: disable-drbd-loader
      spec:
        podTemplate:
          spec:
            initContainers:
              - name: drbd-module-loader
                $patch: delete
    # 3. File-based storage pool (default path works, don't override unless needed)
    - name: file-thin-storage-pool
      spec:
        storagePools:
          - name: file-pool
            fileThinPool:
              directory: /var/lib/piraeus-pools

  # 4. Storage without DRBD - must use STORAGE layer only (no replication)
  storageClasses:
    - name: piraeus-storage
      parameters:
        placementCount: "1"
        storagePool: "file-pool"
        layerList: "STORAGE"  # Critical when DRBD disabled

Gotchas:

• Name too long: Without fullnameOverride, resources exceed 63-char K8s limit
• HWE kernel: Ubuntu 22.04 HWE kernel (6.8.x) has no pre-built DRBD modules - must disable loader
• No DRBD = no replication: When DRBD disabled, use layerList: "STORAGE" only
• File pool sizing: Uses root partition space - 100GB VM disk leaves only ~2.5GB after OS install
• On nodes with a separate data disk: put the storage pool on the data disk, not the OS drive

Post-deploy verification:

kubectl get pods -n piraeus
kubectl get storageclasses
kubectl get linstorsatellites  # Check nodes joined

Longhorn

Cloud-native distributed storage.

Pack name: longhorn Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Key configuration:

defaultSettings:
  defaultDataPath: /var/lib/longhorn  # Ensure disk space here
  replicaCount: 1  # For single-node edge, 3 for HA

Gotchas:

• Needs open-iscsi on nodes
• High resource usage for small edge deployments
• Replica count must match available nodes

Networking Packs

MetalLB

Bare-metal load balancer for on-prem/edge.

Pack name: lb-metallb-helm Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Key configuration:

# L2 mode (most common for edge)
configInline:
  address-pools:
    - name: default
      protocol: layer2
      addresses:
        - 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250  # MUST be in same subnet as nodes

# For newer MetalLB versions (0.13+), use IPAddressPool + L2Advertisement
# Check pack version to determine config format

Gotchas:

• IP range must be routable from clients
• L2 mode requires nodes on same L2 network
• BGP mode needs router configuration
• Version matters: Config format changed significantly in 0.13.x

Post-deploy verification:

kubectl get pods -n metallb-system
kubectl get ipaddresspools  # For newer versions
kubectl get svc -A | grep LoadBalancer  # Check for EXTERNAL-IP

Calico (CNI)

Pack name: cni-calico Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Key configuration:

# Update CIDRs to avoid conflicts
installation:
  calicoNetwork:
    ipPools:
      - cidr: 100.64.0.0/18  # Pod CIDR - change from default!

Cilium (CNI)

Pack name: cni-cilium-oss Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Gotchas:

• Requires kernel 4.9+ (5.4+ recommended)
• May conflict with existing iptables rules
• Hubble UI needs additional config for observability

Security Packs

External Secrets Operator

Syncs secrets from external stores (1Password, AWS, Vault, etc.).

Pack name: external-secrets-operator Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Usage:

1. Deploy operator with this config:

# Pack values
installCRDs: true

2. After operator deploys, create a ClusterSecretStore for your backend (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, 1Password, etc.) — see ESO provider docs.

3. Create ExternalSecret to sync:

apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: ExternalSecret
metadata:
  name: my-secret
spec:
  refreshInterval: 1h
  secretStoreRef:
    name: my-secret-store
    kind: ClusterSecretStore
  target:
    name: my-k8s-secret
  data:
    - secretKey: password
      remoteRef:
        key: my-secret-item
        property: password

Gotchas:

• Backend-specific credentials must be configured before SecretStore works
• Secret key names and paths are case-sensitive

Database Packs

MongoDB (Bitnami)

Pack name: mongodb Registry: Bitnami Type: helm

Gotchas:

1. Image tags expire: Bitnami removes old image tags (e.g., 4.4.24-debian-11-r9). Options:

   • Use official mongo:4.4 image (requires changing volumeMount from /bitnami/mongodb to /data/db)
   • Check current available tags before deployment: docker pull bitnami/mongodb:<tag>

2. Standalone vs ReplicaSet: For single-node MongoDB:

architecture: standalone  # Creates Deployment, not StatefulSet
persistence:
  enabled: true
  size: 8Gi

3. Volume mount path differs by image:
   • Bitnami image: /bitnami/mongodb
   • Official mongo image: /data/db

Application Packs

Hello Universe

Demo application for testing deployments.

Pack name: hello-universe Registry: Palette Community Registry Type: oci

Key configuration:

# Minimal config - usually works with defaults
pack:
  namespace: hello-universe

Gotchas:

• Needs LoadBalancer or Ingress to access
• If using NodePort, find port: kubectl get svc -n hello-universe

Nginx Ingress

Pack name: nginx Registry: Public Repo Type: spectro

Key configuration:

controller:
  service:
    type: LoadBalancer  # Needs MetalLB on bare-metal
    # Or use NodePort for simple edge:
    # type: NodePort

Pack Type Quick Reference

Adding New Pack Learnings

When you discover a pack-specific issue or pattern:

1. Note the exact pack name and version
2. Document what config was needed
3. Document what failed and why
4. Add verification commands

Links

• Palette Pack Registry
• Community Packs