Google Cloud Marketplace

The PostgreSQL Operator is installed as part of Crunchy PostgreSQL for GKE that is available in the Google Cloud Marketplace.

Step 1: Install

Install Crunchy PostgreSQL for GKE to a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster using Google Cloud Marketplace.

Step 2: Verify Installation

Install kubectl using the gcloud components command of the Google Cloud SDK or by following the Kubernetes documentation.

Using the gcloud utility, ensure you are logged into the GKE cluster in which you installed the PostgreSQL Operator, and see that it is running in the namespace in which you installed it. For example, in the pgo namespace:

kubectl -n pgo get deployments,pods

If successful, you should see output similar to this:

NAME                                READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
deployment.apps/postgres-operator   1/1     1            1           16h

NAME                                    READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
pod/postgres-operator-56d6ccb97-tmz7m   4/4     Running   0          2m

Step 3: Install the PostgreSQL Operator User Keys

You will need to get TLS keys used to secure the Operator REST API. Again, in the pgo namespace:

kubectl -n pgo get secret pgo.tls -o 'go-template={{ index .data "tls.crt" | base64decode }}' > /tmp/client.crt
kubectl -n pgo get secret pgo.tls -o 'go-template={{ index .data "tls.key" | base64decode }}' > /tmp/client.key

Step 4: Setup PostgreSQL Operator User

The PostgreSQL Operator implements its own role-based access control (RBAC) system for authenticating and authorization PostgreSQL Operator users access to its REST API. A default PostgreSQL Operator user (aka a “pgouser”) is created as part of the marketplace installation (these credentials are set during the marketplace deployment workflow).

Create the pgouser file in ${HOME?}/.pgo/<operatornamespace>/pgouser and insert the user and password you created on deployment of the PostgreSQL Operator via GCP Marketplace. For example, if you set up a user with the username of username and a password of hippo:

username:hippo

Step 5: Setup Environment variables

The PostgreSQL Operator Client uses several environmental variables to make it easier for interfacing with the PostgreSQL Operator.

Set the environmental variables to use the key / certificate pair that you pulled in Step 3 was deployed via the marketplace. Using the previous examples, You can set up environment variables with the following command:

export PGOUSER="${HOME?}/.pgo/pgo/pgouser"
export PGO_CA_CERT="/tmp/client.crt"
export PGO_CLIENT_CERT="/tmp/client.crt"
export PGO_CLIENT_KEY="/tmp/client.key"
export PGO_APISERVER_URL='https://127.0.0.1:8443'
export PGO_NAMESPACE=pgo

If you wish to permanently add these variables to your environment, you can run the following command:

cat <<EOF >> ~/.bashrc
export PGOUSER="${HOME?}/.pgo/pgo/pgouser"
export PGO_CA_CERT="/tmp/client.crt"
export PGO_CLIENT_CERT="/tmp/client.crt"
export PGO_CLIENT_KEY="/tmp/client.key"
export PGO_APISERVER_URL='https://127.0.0.1:8443'
export PGO_NAMESPACE=pgo
EOF

source ~/.bashrc

NOTE: For macOS users, you must use ~/.bash_profile instead of ~/.bashrc

Step 6: Install the PostgreSQL Operator Client pgo

The pgo client provides a helpful command-line interface to perform key operations on a PostgreSQL Operator, such as creating a PostgreSQL cluster.

The pgo client can be downloaded from GitHub Releases (subscribers can download it from the Crunchy Data Customer Portal).

Note that the pgo client’s version must match the version of the PostgreSQL Operator that you have deployed. For example, if you have deployed version 4.6.1 of the PostgreSQL Operator, you must use the pgo for 4.6.1.

Once you have download the pgo client, change the permissions on the file to be executable if need be as shown below:

chmod +x pgo

Step 7: Connect to the PostgreSQL Operator

Finally, let’s see if we can connect to the PostgreSQL Operator from the pgo client. In order to communicate with the PostgreSQL Operator API server, you will first need to set up a port forward to your local environment.

In a new console window, run the following command to set up a port forward:

kubectl -n pgo port-forward svc/postgres-operator 8443:8443

Back to your original console window, you can verify that you can connect to the PostgreSQL Operator using the following command:

pgo version

If successful, you should see output similar to this:

pgo client version 4.6.1
pgo-apiserver version 4.6.1

Step 8: Create a Namespace

We are almost there! You can optionally add a namespace that can be managed by the PostgreSQL Operator to watch and to deploy a PostgreSQL cluster into.

pgo create namespace wateringhole

verify the operator has access to the newly added namespace

pgo show namespace --all

you should see out put similar to this:

pgo username: admin
namespace                useraccess          installaccess
application-system       accessible          no access
default                  accessible          no access
kube-public              accessible          no access
kube-system              accessible          no access
pgo                      accessible          no access
wateringhole             accessible          accessible

Step 9: Have Some Fun - Create a PostgreSQL Cluster

You are now ready to create a new cluster in the wateringhole namespace, try the command below:

pgo create cluster -n wateringhole hippo

If successful, you should see output similar to this:

created Pgcluster hippo
workflow id 1cd0d225-7cd4-4044-b269-aa7bedae219b

This will create a PostgreSQL cluster named hippo. It may take a few moments for the cluster to be provisioned. You can see the status of this cluster using the pgo test command:

pgo test -n wateringhole hippo

When everything is up and running, you should see output similar to this:

cluster : hippo
	Services
		primary (10.97.140.113:5432): UP
	Instances
		primary (hippo-7b64747476-6dr4h): UP

The pgo test command provides you the basic information you need to connect to your PostgreSQL cluster from within your Kubernetes environment. For more detailed information, you can use pgo show cluster -n wateringhole hippo.