cs_performance.md

copyright	lastupdated
years 2014, 2018	2018-11-13

{:new_window: target="_blank"} {:shortdesc: .shortdesc} {:screen: .screen} {:pre: .pre} {:table: .aria-labeledby="caption"} {:codeblock: .codeblock} {:tip: .tip} {:note: .note} {:important: .important} {:deprecated: .deprecated} {:download: .download}

Tuning performance

{: #kernel}

If you have specific performance optimization requirements, you can change the default settings for some cluster components in {{site.data.keyword.containerlong}}. {: shortdesc}

If you choose to change the default settings, you are doing so at your own risk. You are responsible for running tests against any changed settings and for any potential disruptions caused by the changed settings in your environment. {: important}

Optimizing worker node performance

{: #worker}

If you have specific performance optimization requirements, you can change the default settings for the Linux kernel sysctl parameters on worker nodes. {: shortdesc}

Worker nodes are automatically provisioned with optimized kernel performance, but you can change the default settings by applying a custom Kubernetes DaemonSet object to your cluster. The daemonset alters the settings for all existing worker nodes and applies the settings to any new worker nodes that are provisioned in the cluster. No pods are affected.

You must have the Administrator {{site.data.keyword.Bluemix_notm}} IAM platform role for the cluster to run the sample privileged initContainer. After the containers for the deployments are initialized, the privileges are dropped. {: note}

1. Save the following daemonset in a file named worker-node-kernel-settings.yaml. In the spec.template.spec.initContainers section, add the fields and values for the sysctl parameters that you want to tune. This example daemonset changes the default maximum number of connections allowed in the environment via the net.core.somaxconn setting and the ephemeral port range via the net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range setting.

   apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
   kind: DaemonSet
   metadata:
     name: kernel-optimization
     namespace: kube-system
     labels:
       tier: management
       app: kernel-optimization
   spec:
     template:
       metadata:
         labels:
           name: kernel-optimization
       spec:
         hostNetwork: true
         hostPID: true
         hostIPC: true
         initContainers:
           - command:
               - sh
               - -c
               - sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range="1025 65535"; sysctl -w net.core.somaxconn=32768;
             image: alpine:3.6
             imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
             name: sysctl
             resources: {}
             securityContext:
               privileged: true
               capabilities:
                 add:
                   - NET_ADMIN
             volumeMounts:
               - name: modifysys
                 mountPath: /sys
         containers:
           - resources:
               requests:
                 cpu: 0.01
             image: alpine:3.6
             name: sleepforever
             command: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
             args:
               - >
                 while true; do
                   sleep 100000;
                 done
         volumes:
           - name: modifysys
             hostPath:
               path: /sys
   

   {: codeblock}

2. Apply the daemonset to your worker nodes. The changes are applied immediately.

   kubectl apply -f worker-node-kernel-settings.yaml
   

   {: pre}

To revert your worker nodes' sysctl parameters to the default values set by {{site.data.keyword.containerlong_notm}}:

1. Delete the daemonset. The initContainers that applied the custom settings are removed.

   kubectl delete ds kernel-optimization
   

   {: pre}

2. Reboot all worker nodes in the cluster. The worker nodes come back online with the default values applied.

Optimizing pod performance

{: #pod}

If you have specific performance workload demands, you can change the default settings for the Linux kernel sysctl parameters on pod network namespaces. {: shortdesc}

To optimize kernel settings for app pods, you can insert an initContainer patch into the pod/ds/rs/deployment YAML for each deployment. The initContainer is added to each app deployment that is in the pod network namespace for which you want to optimize performance.

Before you begin, ensure you have the Administrator {{site.data.keyword.Bluemix_notm}} IAM platform role for the cluster to run the sample privileged initContainer. After the containers for the deployments are initialized, the privileges are dropped.

1. Save the following initContainer patch in a file named pod-patch.yaml and add the fields and values for the sysctl parameters that you want to tune. This example initContainer changes the default maximum number of connections allowed in the environment via the net.core.somaxconn setting and the ephemeral port range via the net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range setting.

   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         initContainers:
         - command:
           - sh
           - -c
           - sysctl -e -w net.core.somaxconn=32768;  sysctl -e -w net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range="1025 65535";
           image: alpine:3.6
           imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
           name: sysctl
           resources: {}
           securityContext:
             privileged: true
   

   {: codeblock}

2. Patch each of your deployments.

   kubectl patch deployment <deployment_name> --patch pod-patch.yaml
   

   {: pre}

3. If you changed the net.core.somaxconn value in the kernel settings, most apps can automatically use the updated value. However, some apps might require you to manually change the corresponding value in your app code to match the kernel value. For example, if you're tuning the performance of a pod where an NGINX app is running, you must change the value of the backlog field in the NGINX app code to match. For more information, see this NGINX blog post .

Adjusting cluster metrics provider resources

{: #metrics}

Your cluster's metrics provider (metrics-server in Kubernetes 1.12 and later, or heapster in earlier versions) configurations are optimized for clusters with 30 or less pods per worker node. If your cluster has more pods per worker node, the metrics provider metrics-server or heapster main container for the pod might restart frequently with an error message such as OOMKilled.

The metrics provider pod also has a nanny container that scales the metrics-server or heapster main container's resource requests and limits in response to the number of worker nodes in the cluster. You can change the default resources by editing the metrics provider's configmap.

Before you begin: Log in to your account. Target the appropriate region and, if applicable, resource group. Set the context for your cluster.

1. Open the cluster metrics provider configmap YAML.

   • For metrics-server:

     kubectl get configmap metrics-server-config -n kube-system -o yaml
     

     {: pre}
   • For heapster:

     kubectl get configmap heapster-config -n kube-system -o yaml
     

     {: pre} Example output:

   apiVersion: v1
   data:
     NannyConfiguration: |-
       apiVersion: nannyconfig/v1alpha1
       kind: NannyConfiguration
   kind: ConfigMap
   metadata:
     annotations:
       armada-service: cruiser-kube-addons
       version: --
     creationTimestamp: 2018-10-09T20:15:32Z
     labels:
       addonmanager.kubernetes.io/mode: EnsureExists
       kubernetes.io/cluster-service: "true"
     name: heapster-config
     namespace: kube-system
     resourceVersion: "526"
     selfLink: /api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/configmaps/heapster-config
     uid: 11a1aaaa-bb22-33c3-4444-5e55e555e555
   

   {: screen}

2. Add the memoryPerNode field to the configmap in the data.NannyConfiguration section. The default value for both metrics-server and heapster is set to 4Mi.

   apiVersion: v1
   data:
     NannyConfiguration: |-
       apiVersion: nannyconfig/v1alpha1
       kind: NannyConfiguration
       memoryPerNode: 5Mi
   kind: ConfigMap
   ...
   

   {: codeblock}

3. Apply your changes.

   kubectl apply -f heapster-config.yaml
   

   {: pre}

4. Monitor the metrics provider pods to see if containers continue to be restarted due to an OOMKilled error message. If so, repeat these steps and increase the memoryPerNode size until the pod is stable.

Want to tune more settings? Check out the Kubernetes Add-on resizer configuration docs for more ideas. {: tip}