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Spinnaker (Deprecated)

Deprecated Tool

Spinnaker is no longer used in Fawkes. This documentation is retained for historical reference only.

**Migration Path**: Use [ArgoCD](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/) for GitOps-based continuous delivery.

See the migration guide below for transitioning from Spinnaker to ArgoCD.

Migration from Spinnaker to ArgoCD

Fawkes has migrated from Spinnaker to ArgoCD for the following reasons:

  1. GitOps-First: ArgoCD provides native GitOps workflows with Git as the single source of truth
  2. Simplicity: Simpler architecture with lower operational overhead
  3. Kubernetes-Native: Built specifically for Kubernetes deployments
  4. Integration: Better integration with Grafana, Prometheus, and the observability stack
  5. Cost: Lower infrastructure and maintenance costs

How to Migrate

From Spinnaker Pipelines to ArgoCD Applications

Spinnaker Pipeline (Old):

{
  "name": "Deploy to Production",
  "stages": [
    {
      "type": "deployManifest",
      "cloudProvider": "kubernetes",
      "manifests": [...]
    }
  ]
}

ArgoCD Application (New):

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-app-prod
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/your-org/my-app.git
    targetRevision: main
    path: k8s/overlays/production
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: production
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

Progressive Delivery with Argo Rollouts

For canary and blue-green deployments (previously done in Spinnaker):

Argo Rollout:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Rollout
metadata:
  name: my-app
spec:
  replicas: 5
  strategy:
    canary:
      steps:
        - setWeight: 20
        - pause: { duration: 5m }
        - setWeight: 40
        - pause: { duration: 5m }
        - setWeight: 60
        - pause: { duration: 5m }
        - setWeight: 80
        - pause: { duration: 5m }
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: my-app
          image: my-app:v2.0.0

Migration Steps

  1. Install ArgoCD (if not already installed)
  2. Create ArgoCD Applications for existing Spinnaker pipelines
  3. Configure automated sync policies
  4. Test deployments in development environment
  5. Migrate production workloads incrementally
  6. Decommission Spinnaker after full migration

Resources

Historical Documentation (Deprecated)

The content below is retained for historical reference only and should not be used for new deployments.

Spinnaker Logo

Spinnaker is an open-source continuous delivery platform that helps you release software changes with high velocity and confidence.

Overview

Spinnaker provides two core sets of features:

  • Application Management - Deploy and manage cloud resources
  • Application Deployment - Construct and manage continuous delivery workflows

Key Features

Feature Description
Multi-Cloud Deploy to multiple cloud providers
Pipeline Management Create complex deployment workflows
Automated Canary Analysis Automated testing in production
Easy Rollbacks Quick recovery from failed deployments

Integration with Fawkes

Prerequisites

  • Kubernetes cluster
  • Helm v3
  • kubectl configured with cluster access

Installation

# Add Spinnaker Helm repository
helm repo add spinnaker https://helmcharts.opsmx.com/
helm repo update

# Install Spinnaker
helm install spinnaker spinnaker/spinnaker \
  --namespace spinnaker \
  --create-namespace \
  --values values.yaml

Example values.yaml:

spinnakerConfig:
  profiles:
    clouddriver:
      kubernetes:
        enabled: true
        accounts:
          - name: fawkes-cluster
            requiredGroupMembership: []
            providerVersion: V2
            permissions: {}
            dockerRegistries: []
            configureImagePullSecrets: true
            cacheThreads: 1
            namespaces: []
            omitNamespaces: []
            kinds: []
            omitKinds: []
            customResources: []

Using Spinnaker with Fawkes

Creating a Deployment Pipeline

  1. Navigate to Spinnaker UI

  2. Create a new application:

  3. Name: fawkes-app

  4. Owner Email: team@fawkes.io

  5. Cloud Providers: Kubernetes V2

  6. Create a deployment pipeline: 

    {
  "name": "Deploy to Production",
  "stages": [
    {
      "type": "deployManifest",
      "name": "Deploy Application",
      "cloudProvider": "kubernetes",
      "account": "fawkes-cluster",
      "source": "text",
      "manifests": [
        {
          "apiVersion": "apps/v1",
          "kind": "Deployment",
          "metadata": {
            "name": "fawkes-app"
          },
          "spec": {
            "replicas": 3
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Best Practices

  1. Pipeline Templates

  2. Use pipeline templates for consistency

  3. Version control your templates

  4. Share common deployment patterns

  5. Security

  6. Enable RBAC

  7. Use service accounts

  8. Implement least privilege access

  9. Monitoring

  10. Configure pipeline notifications
  11. Monitor pipeline executions
  12. Set up alerting for failures

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

Issue Solution
Pipeline fails to start Check Spinnaker service account permissions
Manifest deployment fails Verify Kubernetes cluster connectivity
Images not found Confirm container registry configuration

Additional Resources

Configure Spinnaker