The OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator is an open-source kubernetes operator that helps automate the deployment and provisioning of OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards in a containerized environment. The operator can manage multiple OpenSearch clusters that can be scaled up and down depending on your needs.
## Installation
There are two ways to get started with the operator:
- [Use a local installation](#use-a-local-installation).
### Use a Helm chart
If you use Helm to manage your Kubernetes cluster, you can use the OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator's Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) project stored in Artifact Hub, a web-based application for finding, installing, and publishing CNCF packages.
To begin, log in to your Kubernetes cluster and add the Helm repository (repo) from [Artifact Hub](https://opster.github.io/opensearch-Kubernetes-operator/).
After the installation completes, the operator returns information on the deployment with `STATUS: deployed`. Then you can configure and start your [OpenSearch cluster](#deploy-a-new-opensearch-cluster).
### Use a local installation
If you want to create a new Kubernetes cluster on your existing machine, use a local installation.
If this is your first time running Kubernetes and you intend to run through these instructions on your laptop, make sure that you have the following installed:
Before running through the installation steps, make sure that you have a Kubernetes environment running locally. When using minikube, open a new terminal window and enter `minikube start`. Kubernetes will now use a containerized minikube cluster with a namespace called `default`.
Then install the OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator using the following steps:
1. In your preferred directory, clone the [OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator repo](https://github.com/Opster/opensearch-k8s-operator). Navigate into repo's directory using `cd`.
2. Go to the `opensearch-operator` folder.
3. Enter `make build manifests`.
4. Start a Kubernetes cluster. When using minikube, open a new terminal window and enter `minikube start`. Kubernetes will now use a containerized minikube cluster with a namespace called `default`. Make sure that `~/.kube/config` points to the cluster.
5. Enter `make install` to create the CustomResourceDefinition that runs in your Kubernetes cluster.
6. Start the OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator. Enter `make run`.
## Verify Kubernetes deployment
To ensure that Kubernetes recognizes the OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator as a namespace, enter `k get ns | grep opensearch`. Both `opensearch` and `opensearch-operator-system` should appear as `Active`.
With the operator active, use `k get pod -n opensearch-operator-system` to make sure that the operator's pods are running.
With the Kubernetes cluster running, you can now run OpenSearch inside the cluster.
## Deploy a new OpenSearch cluster
From your cloned OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator repo, navigate to the `opensearch-operator/examples` directory. There you'll find the `opensearch-cluster.yaml` file, which can be customized to the needs of your cluster, including the `clusterName` that acts as the namespace in which your new OpenSearch cluster will reside.
With your cluster configured, run the `kubectl apply` command.
```
kubectl apply -f opensearch-cluster.yaml
```
The operator creates several pods, including a bootstrap pod, three OpenSearch cluster pods, and one Dashboards pod. To connect to your cluster, use the `port-forward` command.
Open http://localhost:5601 in your preferred browser and log in with the default demo credentials `admin / admin`. You can also run curl commands against the OpenSearch REST API by forwarding to port 9200.
```
kubectl port-forward svc/my-cluster 9200
```
In order to delete the OpenSearch cluster, delete the cluster resources. The following command deletes the cluster namespace and all its resources.
```
kubectl delete -f opensearch-cluster.yaml
```
## Next steps
To learn more about how to customize your Kubernetes OpenSearch cluster, including data persistence, authentication methods, and scaling, see the [OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator User Guide](https://github.com/Opster/opensearch-k8s-operator/blob/main/docs/userguide/main.md).
If you want to contribute to the development of the OpenSearch Kubernetes Operator, see the repo [design documents](https://github.com/Opster/opensearch-k8s-operator/blob/main/docs/designs/high-level.md).