l8k: Deploy

PREREQUISITE: Read ../k8s-launch-kit-shared/SKILL.md for install paths, global flags, and output modes.

This workflow uses the default host target; --target host is equivalent. The CLI snapshots deployment arguments and runs the standalone Host deploy service through the target registry; command syntax and apply ordering are unchanged.

Apply previously generated NVIDIA networking manifests to a Kubernetes cluster.

Usage

The standalone subcommand (preferred):

l8k deploy [--deployment-files <DIR>] [--kubeconfig <PATH>] [--dry-run]

l8k deploy reads YAML files from --deployment-files (default ./deployment) and applies them in dependency order. It auto-prefers <DIR>/network-operator/ (the layout l8k generate produces) and falls back to <DIR> itself.

When the deployment directory contains a values.yaml (the l8k generate profile renderer emits one per profile), Phase 0 runs first: the Helm Go SDK installs (or upgrades, with --overwrite-existing) the nvidia/network-operator chart in the namespace from networkOperator.namespace. The chart version and Helm repo URL come from the embedded release catalog selected via --network-operator-release. Phase 0 is skipped silently when values.yaml is absent — backward compatible with users managing the chart out of band.

networkOperator.skipHelmChart: true or --skip-network-operator-helm explicitly skips Phase 0 and its Helm chart-version/values preflight checks even when an external bundle has a values.yaml. Component-version and stray-resource preflight checks plus all manifest apply phases remain enabled.

When networkOperator.imagePullSecrets is non-empty, l8k reads the named Docker Secrets from the operator namespace and uses compatible credentials to authenticate both the Helm repository index and chart archive requests. The Secret must exist before Phase 0, and the kubeconfig must allow get secrets. l8k never logs or persists the credential. It sends credentials only to an exact matching chart host, with one intentional NGC mapping from nvcr.io to helm.ngc.nvidia.com; unrelated registry credentials are not forwarded.

Network Operator 26.1+ requestor mode is a Helm-level change: the generated values add Network Operator Deployment environment variables and enable the SR-IOV external drainer where applicable. Applying only the generated CRs cannot enable requestor mode. When upgrading an existing release whose values differ, pass --overwrite-existing; otherwise l8k intentionally stops at the values conflict.

The legacy one-shot form (still supported, useful when you want to generate and apply in a single step):

l8k generate --user-config <CONFIG> --fabric <FABRIC> --deployment-type <TYPE> --deploy [--kubeconfig <PATH>]

Flags

Examples

# Apply manifests from ./deployment to the cluster reachable via $KUBECONFIG
l8k deploy

# Apply from a specific directory with explicit kubeconfig
l8k deploy --deployment-files /tmp/my-output --kubeconfig ~/.kube/config

# Server-side dry-run before a production apply
l8k deploy --dry-run

# Apply newly generated requestor-mode values to an existing release
l8k deploy --deployment-files ./output --kubeconfig ~/.kube/config \
  --overwrite-existing

# Agent mode
l8k deploy --output json --yes 2>/dev/null

# Legacy single-shot: generate + deploy in one invocation
l8k generate --user-config cluster-config.yaml \
  --fabric ethernet --deployment-type sriov \
  --save-deployment-files ./output \
  --deploy --kubeconfig ~/.kube/config

Resource Apply Order

l8k applies resources in dependency order:

1. NicClusterPolicy (cluster-wide: Multus, CNI, NV-IPAM, operators) — wait for ready before continuing
2. NicNodePolicy per group (OFED driver, device plugins) — wait for each
3. Network resources (SriovNetwork / HostDeviceNetwork / MacvlanNetwork / IPoIBNetwork)
4. IPPool (NV-IPAM address allocation)
5. NicInterfaceNameTemplate (when needed)
6. Example workload DaemonSets (optional)

Post-Deploy Verification

During reconciliation, NicConfigurationTemplate and NicFirmwareTemplate wait for the operator-populated status.nicDevices list to reflect the current node, NIC type, PCI-address, serial-number, and part-number selectors. l8k validates only those named NicDevice objects and waits for their corresponding spec.configuration or spec.firmware to reflect the current template payload and for device conditions to observe the current device generation; unrelated device configuration state does not block deployment. A NicConfigurationTemplate gates on FirmwareUpdateInProgress only when the matched device has spec.firmware; configuration-only deployments ignore a stale firmware condition.

NicInterfaceNameTemplate gates verification of the manifests that follow it. Treat InterfaceNameMismatch as retryable because the NIC configuration daemon can publish that condition while new udev rules are still taking effect. Start the five-minute retry window only when the first mismatch is observed; initial device discovery and other ordinary in-progress states stay unbounded. If every targeted device reaches InterfaceNameApplied, continue verification. If a mismatch persists for five minutes, fail with the per-device details. A shorter deploy-wide --deploy-timeout takes precedence.

During preflight, do not classify SriovNetworkPoolConfig, SriovNetworkNodePolicy, or OVSNetwork objects labeled with spectrumx.nvidia.com/owner-name as strays. They are child resources generated and reconciled by the Spectrum-X operator from SpectrumXRailPoolConfig, not manifests owned by l8k. Unlabelled objects of the same kinds remain subject to the normal conflict check.

kubectl get nicclusterpolicy -o yaml          # Check policy state
kubectl get nicnodepolicy                     # Per-group state
kubectl get pods -n <operator-ns>             # Verify all pods Running
kubectl get sriovnetworknodestates -A         # Check SR-IOV VF allocation
kubectl get maintenanceoperatorconfigs -A -o yaml # Check global concurrency
kubectl get nodemaintenances -A                # Check active requests

For SR-IOV on release 26.1+, verify that the generated Helm values contain both operator.maintenanceOperator.useDrainControllerRequestor: true and sriov-network-operator.operator.externalDrainer.enabled: true. For OFED, verify operator.maintenanceOperator.useRequestor: true. Do not try to enable these by applying MaintenanceOperatorConfig alone.

[!CAUTION]
This is a write command — confirm with the user before executing on production clusters.

See Also

• [k8s-launch-kit-shared](../k8s-launch-kit-shared/SKILL.md) — Global flags and exit codes
• [k8s-launch-kit-dryrun](../k8s-launch-kit-dryrun/SKILL.md) — Preview before deploying
• [k8s-launch-kit-clean](../k8s-launch-kit-clean/SKILL.md) — Remove an installed deployment
• [k8s-launch-kit-troubleshoot](../k8s-launch-kit-troubleshoot/SKILL.md) — Debug deployment failures