Chapter 3. Database Images

3.1. Overview

This topic group includes information on the different database images available for OpenShift Enterprise users.

Note

Enabling clustering for database images is currently in Technology Preview and not intended for production use.

3.2. MySQL

3.2.1. Overview

OpenShift Enterprise provides a container image for running MySQL. This image can provide database services based on username, password, and database name settings provided via configuration.

3.2.2. Versions

Currently, OpenShift Enterprise provides versions 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7 of MySQL.

3.2.3. Images

This image comes in two flavors, depending on your needs:

  • RHEL 7
  • CentOS 7

RHEL 7 Based Images

The RHEL 7 image is available through the Red Hat Registry:

$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/openshift3/mysql-55-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/mysql-56-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/mysql-57-rhel7

CentOS 7 Based Images

CentOS images for MySQL 5.5 and 5.6 are available on Docker Hub:

$ docker pull openshift/mysql-55-centos7
$ docker pull openshift/mysql-56-centos7

To use these images, you can either access them directly from these registries or push them into your OpenShift Enterprise Docker registry. Additionally, you can create an ImageStream that points to the image, either in your Docker registry or at the external location. Your OpenShift Enterprise resources can then reference the ImageStream. You can find example ImageStream definitions for all the provided OpenShift Enterprise images.

3.2.4. Configuration and Usage

3.2.4.1. Initializing the Database

The first time you use the shared volume, the database is created along with the database administrator user and the MySQL root user (if you specify the MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD environment variable). Afterwards, the MySQL daemon starts up. If you are re-attaching the volume to another container, then the database, database user, and the administrator user are not created, and the MySQL daemon starts.

The following command creates a new database pod with MySQL running in a container:

$ oc new-app \
    -e MYSQL_USER=<username> \
    -e MYSQL_PASSWORD=<password> \
    -e MYSQL_DATABASE=<database_name> \
    registry.access.redhat.com/openshift3/mysql-55-rhel7

3.2.4.2. Running MySQL Commands in Containers

OpenShift Enterprise uses Software Collections (SCLs) to install and launch MySQL. If you want to execute a MySQL command inside of a running container (for debugging), you must invoke it using bash.

To do so, first identify the name of the pod. For example, you can view the list of pods in your current project:

$ oc get pods

Then, open a remote shell session to the pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

When you enter the container, the required SCL is automatically enabled.

You can now run the mysql command from the bash shell to start a MySQL interactive session and perform normal MySQL operations. For example, to authenticate as the database user:

bash-4.2$ mysql -u $MYSQL_USER -p$MYSQL_PASSWORD -h $HOSTNAME $MYSQL_DATABASE
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 4
Server version: 5.5.37 MySQL Community Server (GPL)
...
mysql>

When you are finished, enter quit or exit to leave the MySQL session.

3.2.4.3. Environment Variables

The MySQL user name, password, and database name must be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.1. MySQL Environment Variables

Variable NameDescription

MYSQL_USER

Specifies the user name for the database user that is created for use by your application.

MYSQL_PASSWORD

Password for the MYSQL_USER.

MYSQL_DATABASE

Name of the database to which MYSQL_USER has full rights.

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD

Optional password for the root user. If this is not set, then remote login to the root account is not possible. Local connections from within the container are always permitted without a password.

MYSQL_SERVICE_HOST

Service host variable automatically created by Kubernetes.

MYSQL_SERVICE_PORT

Service port variable automatically created by Kubernetes.

Warning

You must specify the user name, password, and database name. If you do not specify all three, the pod will fail to start and OpenShift Enterprise will continuously try to restart it.

MySQL settings can be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.2. Additional MySQL Settings

Variable NameDescriptionDefault

MYSQL_LOWER_CASE_TABLE_NAMES

Sets how the table names are stored and compared.

0

MYSQL_MAX_CONNECTIONS

The maximum permitted number of simultaneous client connections.

151

MYSQL_FT_MIN_WORD_LEN

The minimum length of the word to be included in a FULLTEXT index.

4

MYSQL_FT_MAX_WORD_LEN

The maximum length of the word to be included in a FULLTEXT index.

20

MYSQL_AIO

Controls the innodb_use_native_aio setting value if the native AIO is broken.

1

MYSQL_TABLE_OPEN_CACHE

The number of open tables for all threads.

400

MYSQL_KEY_BUFFER_SIZE

The size of the buffer used for index blocks.

32M (or 10% of available memory)

MYSQL_SORT_BUFFER_SIZE

The size of the buffer used for sorting.

256K

MYSQL_READ_BUFFER_SIZE

The size of the buffer used for a sequential scan.

8M (or 5% of available memory)

MYSQL_INNODB_BUFFER_POOL_SIZE

The size of the buffer pool where InnoDB caches table and index data.

32M (or 50% of available memory)

MYSQL_INNODB_LOG_FILE_SIZE

The size of each log file in a log group.

8M (or 15% of available memory)

MYSQL_INNODB_LOG_BUFFER_SIZE

The size of the buffer that InnoDB uses to write to the log files on disk.

8M (or 15% of available memory)

Some of the memory-related parameters have two default values. The fixed value is used when a container does not have memory limits assigned. The other value is calculated dynamically during a container’s startup based on available memory.

3.2.4.4. Volume Mount Points

The MySQL image can be run with mounted volumes to enable persistent storage for the database:

  • /var/lib/mysql/data - This is the data directory where MySQL stores database files.

3.2.4.5. Changing Passwords

Passwords are part of the image configuration, therefore the only supported method to change passwords for the database user (MYSQL_USER) and root user is by changing the environment variables MYSQL_PASSWORD and MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, respectively.

You can view the current passwords by viewing the pod or deployment configuration in the web console or by listing the environment variables with the CLI:

$ oc set env pod <pod_name> --list

Whenever MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD is set, it enables remote access for the root user with the given password, and whenever it is unset, remote access for the root user is disabled. This does not affect the regular user MYSQL_USER, who always has remote access. This also does not affect local access by the root user, who can always log in without a password in localhost.

Changing database passwords through SQL statements or any way other than through the environment variables aforementioned causes a mismatch between the values stored in the variables and the actual passwords. Whenever a database container starts, it resets the passwords to the values stored in the environment variables.

To change these passwords, update one or both of the desired environment variables for the related deployment configuration(s) using the oc set env command. If multiple deployment configurations utilize these environment variables, for example in the case of an application created from a template, you must update the variables on each deployment configuration so that the passwords are in sync everywhere. This can be done all in the same command:

$ oc set env dc <dc_name> [<dc_name_2> ...] \
  MYSQL_PASSWORD=<new_password> \
  MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=<new_root_password>
Important

Depending on your application, there may be other environment variables for passwords in other parts of the application that should also be updated to match. For example, there could be a more generic DATABASE_USER variable in a front-end pod that should match the database user’s password. Ensure that passwords are in sync for all required environment variables per your application, otherwise your pods may fail to redeploy when triggered.

Updating the environment variables triggers the redeployment of the database server if you have a configuration change trigger. Otherwise, you must manually start a new deployment in order to apply the password changes.

To verify that new passwords are in effect, first open a remote shell session to the running MySQL pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

From the bash shell, verify the database user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ mysql -u $MYSQL_USER -p<new_password> -h $HOSTNAME $MYSQL_DATABASE -te "SELECT * FROM (SELECT database()) db CROSS JOIN (SELECT user()) u"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see a table like this:

+------------+---------------------+
| database() | user()              |
+------------+---------------------+
| sampledb   | user0PG@172.17.42.1 |
+------------+---------------------+

To verify the root user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ mysql -u root -p<new_root_password> -h $HOSTNAME $MYSQL_DATABASE -te "SELECT * FROM (SELECT database()) db CROSS JOIN (SELECT user()) u"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see a table like this:

+------------+------------------+
| database() | user()           |
+------------+------------------+
| sampledb   | root@172.17.42.1 |
+------------+------------------+

3.2.5. Creating a Database Service from a Template

OpenShift Enterprise provides a template to make creating a new database service easy. The template provides parameter fields to define all the mandatory environment variables (user, password, database name, etc) with predefined defaults including auto-generation of password values. It will also define both a deployment configuration and a service.

The MySQL templates should have been registered in the default openshift project by your cluster administrator during the initial cluster setup. See Loading the Default Image Streams and Templates for more details, if required.

There are two templates available:

  • mysql-ephemeral is for development or testing purposes only because it uses ephemeral storage for the database content. This means that if the database pod is restarted for any reason, such as the pod being moved to another node or the deployment configuration being updated and triggering a redeploy, all data will be lost.
  • mysql-persistent uses a persistent volume store for the database data which means the data will survive a pod restart. Using persistent volumes requires a persistent volume pool be defined in the OpenShift Enterprise deployment. Cluster administrator instructions for setting up the pool are located here.

You can find instructions for instantiating templates by following these instructions.

Once you have instantiated the service, you can copy the user name, password, and database name environment variables into a deployment configuration for another component that intends to access the database. That component can then access the database via the service that was defined.

3.2.6. Using MySQL Replication

Note

Enabling clustering for database images is currently in Technology Preview and not intended for production use.

Red Hat provides a proof-of-concept template for MySQL master-slave replication (clustering); you can obtain the example template from GitHub.

To upload the example template into the current project’s template library:

$ oc create -f \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/mysql/master/5.5/examples/replica/mysql_replica.json

The following sections detail the objects defined in the example template and describe how they work together to start a cluster of MySQL servers implementing master-slave replication. This is the recommended replication strategy for MySQL.

3.2.6.1. Creating the Deployment Configuration for the MySQL Master

To set up MySQL replication, a deployment configuration is defined in the example template that defines a replication controller. For MySQL master-slave replication, two deployment configurations are needed. One deployment configuration defines the MySQL master server and second the MySQL slave servers.

To tell a MySQL server to act as the master, the command field in the container’s definition in the deployment configuration must be set to run-mysqld-master. This script acts as an alternative entrypoint for the MySQL image and configures the MySQL server to run as the master in replication.

MySQL replication requires a special user that relays data between the master and slaves. The following environment variables are defined in the template for this purpose:

Variable NameDescriptionDefault

MYSQL_MASTER_USER

The user name of the replication user

master

MYSQL_MASTER_PASSWORD

The password for the replication user

generated

Example 3.1. MySQL Master Deployment Configuration Object Definition in the Example Template

kind: "DeploymentConfig"
apiVersion: "v1"
metadata:
  name: "mysql-master"
spec:
  strategy:
    type: "Recreate"
  triggers:
    - type: "ConfigChange"
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    name: "mysql-master"
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        name: "mysql-master"
    spec:
      volumes:
        - name: "mysql-master-data"
          persistentVolumeClaim:
            claimName: "mysql-master"
      containers:
        - name: "server"
          image: "openshift/mysql-55-centos7"
          command:
            - "run-mysqld-master"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3306
              protocol: "TCP"
          env:
            - name: "MYSQL_MASTER_USER"
              value: "${MYSQL_MASTER_USER}"
            - name: "MYSQL_MASTER_PASSWORD"
              value: "${MYSQL_MASTER_PASSWORD}"
            - name: "MYSQL_USER"
              value: "${MYSQL_USER}"
            - name: "MYSQL_PASSWORD"
              value: "${MYSQL_PASSWORD}"
            - name: "MYSQL_DATABASE"
              value: "${MYSQL_DATABASE}"
            - name: "MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD"
              value: "${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}"
          volumeMounts:
            - name: "mysql-master-data"
              mountPath: "/var/lib/mysql/data"
          resources: {}
          terminationMessagePath: "/dev/termination-log"
          imagePullPolicy: "IfNotPresent"
          securityContext:
            capabilities: {}
            privileged: false
      restartPolicy: "Always"
      dnsPolicy: "ClusterFirst"

Since we claimed a persistent volume in this deployment configuration to have all data persisted for the MySQL master server, you must ask your cluster administrator to create a persistent volume that you can claim the storage from.

After the deployment configuration is created and the pod with MySQL master server is started, it will create the database defined by MYSQL_DATABASE and configure the server to replicate this database to slaves.

The example provided defines only one replica of the MySQL master server. This causes OpenShift Enterprise to start only one instance of the server. Multiple instances (multi-master) is not supported and therefore you can not scale this replication controller.

To replicate the database created by the MySQL master, a deployment configuration is defined in the template. This deployment configuration creates a replication controller that launches the MySQL image with the command field set to run-mysqld-slave. This alternative entrypoints skips the initialization of the database and configures the MySQL server to connect to the mysql-master service, which is also defined in example template.

Example 3.2. MySQL Slave Deployment Configuration Object Definition in the Example Template

kind: "DeploymentConfig"
apiVersion: "v1"
metadata:
  name: "mysql-slave"
spec:
  strategy:
    type: "Recreate"
  triggers:
    - type: "ConfigChange"
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    name: "mysql-slave"
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        name: "mysql-slave"
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: "server"
          image: "openshift/mysql-55-centos7"
          command:
            - "run-mysqld-slave"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3306
              protocol: "TCP"
          env:
            - name: "MYSQL_MASTER_USER"
              value: "${MYSQL_MASTER_USER}"
            - name: "MYSQL_MASTER_PASSWORD"
              value: "${MYSQL_MASTER_PASSWORD}"
            - name: "MYSQL_DATABASE"
              value: "${MYSQL_DATABASE}"
          resources: {}
          terminationMessagePath: "/dev/termination-log"
          imagePullPolicy: "IfNotPresent"
          securityContext:
            capabilities: {}
            privileged: false
      restartPolicy: "Always"
      dnsPolicy: "ClusterFirst"

This example deployment configuration starts the replication controller with the initial number of replicas set to 1. You can scale this replication controller in both directions, up to the resources capacity of your account.

3.2.6.2. Creating a Headless Service

The pods created by the MySQL slave replication controller must reach the MySQL master server in order to register for replication. The example template defines a headless service named mysql-master for this purpose. This service is not used only for replication, but the clients can also send the queries to mysql-master:3306 as the MySQL host.

To have a headless service, the portalIP parameter in the service definition is set to None. Then you can use a DNS query to get a list of the pod IP addresses that represents the current endpoints for this service.

Example 3.3. Headless Service Object Definition in the Example Template

kind: "Service"
apiVersion: "v1"
metadata:
  name: "mysql-master"
  labels:
    name: "mysql-master"
spec:
  ports:
    - protocol: "TCP"
      port: 3306
      targetPort: 3306
      nodePort: 0
  selector:
    name: "mysql-master"
  portalIP: "None"
  type: "ClusterIP"
  sessionAffinity: "None"
status:
  loadBalancer: {}

3.2.6.3. Scaling the MySQL Slaves

To increase the number of members in the cluster:

$ oc scale rc mysql-slave-1 --replicas=<number>

This tells the replication controller to create a new MySQL slave pod. When a new slave is created, the slave entrypoint first attempts to contact the mysql-master service and register itself to the replication set. Once that is done, the MySQL master server sends the slave the replicated database.

When scaling down, the MySQL slave is shut down and, because the slave does not have any persistent storage defined, all data on the slave is lost. The MySQL master server then discovers that the slave is not reachable anymore, and it automatically removes it from the replication.

3.2.7. Troubleshooting

This section describes some troubles you might encounter and presents possible resolutions.

3.2.7.1. Linux Native AIO Failure

Symptom

The MySQL container fails to start and the logs show something like:

151113  5:06:56 InnoDB: Using Linux native AIO
151113  5:06:56  InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() failed with EAGAIN. Will make 5 attempts before giving up.
InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() attempt 1 failed.
InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() attempt 2 failed.
Waiting for MySQL to start ...
InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() attempt 3 failed.
InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() attempt 4 failed.
Waiting for MySQL to start ...
InnoDB: Warning: io_setup() attempt 5 failed.
151113  5:06:59  InnoDB: Error: io_setup() failed with EAGAIN after 5 attempts.
InnoDB: You can disable Linux Native AIO by setting innodb_use_native_aio = 0 in my.cnf
151113  5:06:59 InnoDB: Fatal error: cannot initialize AIO sub-system
151113  5:06:59 [ERROR] Plugin 'InnoDB' init function returned error.
151113  5:06:59 [ERROR] Plugin 'InnoDB' registration as a STORAGE ENGINE failed.
151113  5:06:59 [ERROR] Unknown/unsupported storage engine: InnoDB
151113  5:06:59 [ERROR] Aborting

Explanation

MySQL’s storage engine was unable to use the kernel’s AIO (Asynchronous I/O) facilities due to resource limits.

Resolution

Turn off AIO usage entirely by setting environment variable MYSQL_AIO to have value 0. On subsequent deployments, this arranges for the MySQL configuration variable innodb_use_native_aio to have value 0.

Alternatively, increase the aio-max-nr kernel resource. The following example examines the current value of aio-max-nr and doubles it.

$ sysctl fs.aio-max-nr
fs.aio-max-nr = 1048576
# sysctl -w fs.aio-max-nr=2097152

This is a per-node resolution and lasts until the next node reboot.

3.3. PostgreSQL

3.3.1. Overview

OpenShift Enterprise provides a container image for running PostgreSQL. This image can provide database services based on username, password, and database name settings provided via configuration.

3.3.2. Versions

Currently, OpenShift Enterprise supports versions 9.2, 9.4, and 9.5 of PostgreSQL.

3.3.3. Images

These images come in two flavors, depending on your needs:

  • RHEL 7
  • CentOS 7

RHEL 7 Based Image

The RHEL 7 images are available through the Red Hat Registry:

$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/openshift3/postgresql-92-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/postgresql-94-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/postgresql-95-rhel7

CentOS 7 Based Image

These images are available on Docker Hub:

$ docker pull openshift/postgresql-92-centos7
$ docker pull centos/postgresql-94-centos7
$ docker pull centos/postgresql-95-centos7

or

$ docker pull centos/postgresql-94-centos7

To use these images, you can either access them directly from these registries or push them into your OpenShift Enterprise Docker registry. Additionally, you can create an ImageStream that points to the image, either in your Docker registry or at the external location. Your OpenShift Enterprise resources can then reference the ImageStream. You can find example ImageStream definitions for all the provided OpenShift Enterprise images.

3.3.4. Configuration and Usage

3.3.4.1. Initializing the Database

The first time you use the shared volume, the database is created along with the database administrator user and the PostgreSQL postgres user (if you specify the POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable). Afterwards, the PostgreSQL daemon starts up. If you are re-attaching the volume to another container, then the database, the database user, and the administrator user are not created, and the PostgreSQL daemon starts.

The following command creates a new database pod with PostgreSQL running in a container:

$ oc new-app \
    -e POSTGRESQL_USER=<username> \
    -e POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD=<password> \
    -e POSTGRESQL_DATABASE=<database_name> \
    registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/postgresql-94-rhel7

3.3.4.2. Running PostgreSQL Commands in Containers

OpenShift Enterprise uses Software Collections (SCLs) to install and launch PostgreSQL. If you want to execute a PostgreSQL command inside of a running container (for debugging), you must invoke it using bash.

To do so, first identify the name of the running PostgreSQL pod. For example, you can view the list of pods in your current project:

$ oc get pods

Then, open a remote shell session to the desired pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

When you enter the container, the required SCL is automatically enabled.

You can now run the psql command from the bash shell to start a PostgreSQL interactive session and perform normal PostgreSQL operations. For example, to authenticate as the database user:

bash-4.2$ PGPASSWORD=$POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD psql -h postgresql $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE $POSTGRESQL_USER
psql (9.2.8)
Type "help" for help.

default=>

When you are finished, enter \q to leave the PostgreSQL session.

3.3.4.3. Environment Variables

The PostgreSQL user name, password, and database name must be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.3. PostgreSQL Environment Variables

Variable NameDescription

POSTGRESQL_USER

User name for the PostgreSQL account to be created. This user has full rights to the database.

POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD

Password for the user account.

POSTGRESQL_DATABASE

Database name.

POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD

Optional password for the postgres administrator user. If this is not set, then remote login to the postgres account is not possible. Local connections from within the container are always permitted without a password.

Warning

You must specify the user name, password, and database name. If you do not specify all three, the pod will fail to start and OpenShift Enterprise will continuously try to restart it.

PostgreSQL settings can be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.4. Additional PostgreSQL settings

Variable NameDescriptionDefault

POSTGRESQL_MAX_CONNECTIONS

Maximum number of client connections allowed.

100

POSTGRESQL_MAX_PREPARED_TRANSACTIONS

Maximum number of transactions that can be in the "prepared" state. If using prepared transactions, the value should be at least as large as POSTGRESQL_MAX_CONNECTIONS.

0

POSTGRESQL_SHARED_BUFFERS

Amount of memory dedicated to PostgreSQL for caching data.

32M

POSTGRESQL_EFFECTIVE_CACHE_SIZE

Estimated amount of memory available for disk caching by the operating system and within PostgreSQL itself.

128M

3.3.4.4. Volume Mount Points

The PostgreSQL image can be run with mounted volumes to enable persistent storage for the database:

  • /var/lib/pgsql/data - This is the database cluster directory where PostgreSQL stores database files.

3.3.4.5. Changing Passwords

Passwords are part of the image configuration, therefore the only supported method to change passwords for the database user (POSTGRESQL_USER) and postgres administrator user is by changing the environment variables POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD and POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD, respectively.

You can view the current passwords by viewing the pod or deployment configuration in the web console or by listing the environment variables with the CLI:

$ oc set env pod <pod_name> --list

Changing database passwords through SQL statements or any way other than through the environment variables aforementioned will cause a mismatch between the values stored in the variables and the actual passwords. Whenever a database container starts, it resets the passwords to the values stored in the environment variables.

To change these passwords, update one or both of the desired environment variables for the related deployment configuration(s) using the oc set env command. If multiple deployment configurations utilize these environment variables, for example in the case of an application created from a template, you must update the variables on each deployment configuration so that the passwords are in sync everywhere. This can be done all in the same command:

$ oc set env dc <dc_name> [<dc_name_2> ...] \
  POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD=<new_password> \
  POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<new_admin_password>
Important

Depending on your application, there may be other environment variables for passwords in other parts of the application that should also be updated to match. For example, there could be a more generic DATABASE_USER variable in a front-end pod that should match the database user’s password. Ensure that passwords are in sync for all required environment variables per your application, otherwise your pods may fail to redeploy when triggered.

Updating the environment variables triggers the redeployment of the database server if you have a configuration change trigger. Otherwise, you must manually start a new deployment in order to apply the password changes.

To verify that new passwords are in effect, first open a remote shell session to the running PostgreSQL pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

From the bash shell, verify the database user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ PGPASSWORD=<new_password> psql -h postgresql $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE $POSTGRESQL_USER -c "SELECT * FROM (SELECT current_database()) cdb CROSS JOIN (SELECT current_user) cu"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see a table like this:

 current_database | current_user
------------------+--------------
 default          | django
(1 row)

From the bash shell, verify the postgres administrator user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ PGPASSWORD=<new_admin_password> psql -h postgresql $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE postgres -c "SELECT * FROM (SELECT current_database()) cdb CROSS JOIN (SELECT current_user) cu"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see a table like this:

 current_database | current_user
------------------+--------------
 default          | postgres
(1 row)

3.3.5. Creating a Database Service from a Template

OpenShift Enterprise provides a template to make creating a new database service easy. The template provides parameter fields to define all the mandatory environment variables (user, password, database name, etc) with predefined defaults including auto-generation of password values. It will also define both a deployment configuration and a service.

The PostgreSQL templates should have been registered in the default openshift project by your cluster administrator during the initial cluster setup. See Loading the Default Image Streams and Templates for more details, if required.

There are two templates available:

  • PostgreSQL-ephemeral is for development or testing purposes only because it uses ephemeral storage for the database content. This means that if the database pod is restarted for any reason, such as the pod being moved to another node or the deployment configuration being updated and triggering a redeploy, all data will be lost.
  • PostgreSQL-persistent uses a persistent volume store for the database data which means the data will survive a pod restart. Using persistent volumes requires a persistent volume pool be defined in the OpenShift Enterprise deployment. Cluster administrator instructions for setting up the pool are located here.

You can find instructions for instantiating templates by following these instructions.

Once you have instantiated the service, you can copy the user name, password, and database name environment variables into a deployment configuration for another component that intends to access the database. That component can then access the database via the service that was defined.

3.4. MongoDB

3.4.1. Overview

OpenShift Enterprise provides a container image for running MongoDB. This image can provide database services based on username, password, and database name settings provided via configuration.

3.4.2. Versions

Currently, OpenShift Enterprise provides versions 2.4, 2.6, and 3.2 of MongoDB.

3.4.3. Images

These images come in two flavors, depending on your needs:

  • RHEL 7
  • CentOS 7

RHEL 7 Based Images

The RHEL 7 images are available through the Red Hat Registry:

$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/openshift3/mongodb-24-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/mongodb-26-rhel7
$ docker pull registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/mongodb-32-rhel7

CentOS 7 Based Images

These images are available on Docker Hub:

$ docker pull openshift/mongodb-24-centos7
$ docker pull centos/mongodb-26-centos7
$ docker pull centos/mongodb-32-centos7

To use these images, you can either access them directly from these registries or push them into your OpenShift Enterprise Docker registry. Additionally, you can create an ImageStream that points to the image, either in your Docker registry or at the external location. Your OpenShift Enterprise resources can then reference the ImageStream. You can find example ImageStream definitions for all the provided OpenShift Enterprise images.

3.4.4. Configuration and Usage

3.4.4.1. Initializing the Database

You can configure MongoDB with an ephemeral volume or a persistent volume. The first time you use the volume, the database is created along with the database administrator user. Afterwards, the MongoDB daemon starts up. If you are re-attaching the volume to another container, then the database, database user, and the administrator user are not created, and the MongoDB daemon starts.

The following command creates a new database pod with MongoDB running in a container with an ephemeral volume:

$ oc new-app \
    -e MONGODB_USER=<username> \
    -e MONGODB_PASSWORD=<password> \
    -e MONGODB_DATABASE=<database_name> \
    -e MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<admin_password> \
    registry.access.redhat.com/rhscl/mongodb-26-rhel7

3.4.4.2. Running MongoDB Commands in Containers

OpenShift Enterprise uses Software Collections (SCLs) to install and launch MongoDB. If you want to execute a MongoDB command inside of a running container (for debugging), you must invoke it using bash.

To do so, first identify the name of the running MongoDB pod. For example, you can view the list of pods in your current project:

$ oc get pods

Then, open a remote shell session to the desired pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

When you enter the container, the required SCL is automatically enabled.

You can now run mongo commands from the bash shell to start a MongoDB interactive session and perform normal MongoDB operations. For example, to switch to the sampledb database and authenticate as the database user:

bash-4.2$ mongo -u $MONGODB_USER -p $MONGODB_PASSWORD $MONGODB_DATABASE
MongoDB shell version: 2.4.9
connecting to: sampledb
>

When you are finished, press CTRL+D to leave the MongoDB session.

3.4.4.3. Environment Variables

The MongoDB user name, password, database name, and admin password must be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.5. MongoDB Environment Variables

Variable NameDescription

MONGODB_USER

User name for MongoDB account to be created.

MONGODB_PASSWORD

Password for the user account.

MONGODB_DATABASE

Database name.

MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD

Password for the admin user.

Warning

You must specify the user name, password, database name, and admin password. If you do not specify all four, the pod will fail to start and OpenShift Enterprise will continuously try to restart it.

Note

The administrator user name is set to admin and you must specify its password by setting the MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable. This process is done upon database initialization.

MongoDB settings can be configured with the following environment variables:

Table 3.6. Additional MongoDB Settings

Variable NameDescriptionDefault

MONGODB_NOPREALLOC

Disable data file preallocation.

true

MONGODB_SMALLFILES

Set MongoDB to use a smaller default data file size.

true

MONGODB_QUIET

Runs MongoDB in a quiet mode that attempts to limit the amount of output.

true

MONGODB_TEXT_SEARCH_ENABLED

(MongoDB version 2.4 only) Enables the text search feature.

Note

Text search is enabled by default in MongoDB versions 2.6 and higher, and therefore has no configurable parameter.

false

3.4.4.4. Volume Mount Points

The MongoDB image can be run with mounted volumes to enable persistent storage for the database:

  • /var/lib/mongodb - This is the database directory where MongoDB stores database files.

3.4.4.5. Changing Passwords

Passwords are part of the image configuration, therefore the only supported method to change passwords for the database user (MONGODB_USER) and admin user is by changing the environment variables MONGODB_PASSWORD and MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD, respectively.

You can view the current passwords by viewing the pod or deployment configuration in the web console or by listing the environment variables with the CLI:

$ oc set env pod <pod_name> --list

Changing database passwords directly in MongoDB causes a mismatch between the values stored in the variables and the actual passwords. Whenever a database container starts, it resets the passwords to the values stored in the environment variables.

To change these passwords, update one or both of the desired environment variables for the related deployment configuration(s) using the oc set env command. If multiple deployment configurations utilize these environment variables, for example in the case of an application created from a template, you must update the variables on each deployment configuration so that the passwords are in sync everywhere. This can be done all in the same command:

$ oc set env dc <dc_name> [<dc_name_2> ...] \
  MONGODB_PASSWORD=<new_password> \
  MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<new_admin_password>
Important

Depending on your application, there may be other environment variables for passwords in other parts of the application that should also be updated to match. For example, there could be a more generic DATABASE_USER variable in a front-end pod that should match the database user’s password. Ensure that passwords are in sync for all required environment variables per your application, otherwise your pods may fail to redeploy when triggered.

Updating the environment variables triggers the redeployment of the database server if you have a configuration change trigger. Otherwise, you must manually start a new deployment in order to apply the password changes.

To verify that new passwords are in effect, first open a remote shell session to the running MongoDB pod:

$ oc rsh <pod>

From the bash shell, verify the database user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ mongo -u $MONGODB_USER -p <new_password> $MONGODB_DATABASE --eval "db.version()"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see output like this:

MongoDB shell version: 2.6.9
connecting to: sampledb
2.6.9

To verify the admin user’s new password:

bash-4.2$ mongo -u admin -p <new_admin_password> admin --eval "db.version()"

If the password was changed correctly, you should see output like this:

MongoDB shell version: 2.4.9
connecting to: admin
2.4.9

3.4.5. Creating a Database Service from a Template

OpenShift Enterprise provides a template to make creating a new database service easy. The template provides parameter fields to define all the mandatory environment variables (user, password, database name, etc) with predefined defaults including auto-generation of password values. It will also define both a deployment configuration and a service.

The MongoDB templates should have been registered in the default openshift project by your cluster administrator during the initial cluster setup. See Loading the Default Image Streams and Templates for more details, if required.

There are two templates available:

  • mongodb-ephemeral is for development/testing purposes only because it uses ephemeral storage for the database content. This means that if the database pod is restarted for any reason, such as the pod being moved to another node or the deployment configuration being updated and triggering a redeploy, all data will be lost.
  • mongodb-persistent uses a persistent volume store for the database data which means the data will survive a pod restart. Using persistent volumes requires a persistent volume pool be defined in the OpenShift Enterprise deployment. Cluster administrator instructions for setting up the pool are located here.

You can find instructions for instantiating templates by following these instructions.

Once you have instantiated the service, you can copy the user name, password, and database name environment variables into a deployment configuration for another component that intends to access the database. That component can then access the database via the service that was defined.

3.4.6. Using MongoDB Replication

Note

Enabling clustering for database images is currently in Technology Preview and not intended for production use.

Red Hat provides a proof-of-concept template for MongoDB replication (clustering); you can obtain the example template from GitHub.

For example, to upload the example template into the current project’s template library:

$ oc create -f \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/mongodb/master/2.4/examples/replica/mongodb-clustered.json
Important

The example template does not use persistent storage. When you lose all members of the replication set, your data will be lost.

The following sections detail the objects defined in the example template and describe how they work together to start a cluster of MongoDB servers implementing master-slave replication and automated failover. This is the recommended replication strategy for MongoDB.

3.4.6.1. Creating the Deployment Configuration

To set up MongoDB replication, a deployment configuration is defined in the example template that defines a replication controller. The replication controller manages the members of the MongoDB cluster.

To tell a MongoDB server that the member will be part of the cluster, additional environment variables are provided for the container defined in the replication controller pod template:

Variable NameDescriptionDefault

MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME

Specifies the name of the replication set.

rs0

MONGODB_KEYFILE_VALUE

See: Generate a Key File

generated

Example 3.4. Deployment Configuration Object Definition in the Example Template

kind: DeploymentConfig
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
spec:
  strategy:
    type: Recreate
    resources: {}
  triggers:
    - type: ConfigChange
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    name: mongodb-replica
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        name: mongodb-replica
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: member
          image: openshift/mongodb-24-centos7
          env:
            - name: MONGODB_USER
              value: "${MONGODB_USER}"
            - name: MONGODB_PASSWORD
              value: "${MONGODB_PASSWORD}"
            - name: MONGODB_DATABASE
              value: "${MONGODB_DATABASE}"
            - name: MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD
              value: "${MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD}"
            - name: MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME
              value: "${MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME}"
            - name: MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME
              value: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
            - name: MONGODB_KEYFILE_VALUE
              value: "${MONGODB_KEYFILE_VALUE}"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 27017
              protocol: TCP
  restartPolicy: Never
  dnsPolicy: ClusterFirst

After the deployment configuration is created and the pods with MongoDB cluster members are started, they will not be initialized. Instead, they start as part of the rs0 replication set, as the value of MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME is set to rs0 by default.

3.4.6.2. Creating the Service Pod

To initialize members created by the deployment configuration, the pods are started with the initiate argument, which instructs the startup script to behave slightly differently than a regular, stand-alone MongoDB database.

Example 3.5. Deployment Configuration Object Definition in the Example Template

- kind: DeploymentConfig
  apiVersion: v1
  metadata:
    name: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
  spec:
    strategy:
      type: Recreate
      recreateParams:
        post:
          failurePolicy: Retry
          execNewPod:
            command: ["run-mongod","initiate"]
            containerName: mongodb
            env:
            - name: MONGODB_INITIAL_REPLICA_COUNT
              value: '3'
    triggers:
    - type: ConfigChange
    replicas: 3
    selector:
      name: mongodb-replica
    template:
      metadata:
        labels:
          name: mongodb-replica
      spec:
        containers:
        - name: mongodb
          image: openshift/mongodb-24-centos7
          readinessProbe:
            tcpSocket:
              port: 27017
            initialDelaySeconds: 15
            timeoutSeconds: 1
          env:
          - name: MONGODB_USER
            value: "${MONGODB_USER}"
          - name: MONGODB_PASSWORD
            value: "${MONGODB_PASSWORD}"
          - name: MONGODB_DATABASE
            value: "${MONGODB_DATABASE}"
          - name: MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD
            value: "${MONGODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD}"
          - name: MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME
            value: "${MONGODB_REPLICA_NAME}"
          - name: MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME
            value: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
          - name: MONGODB_KEYFILE_VALUE
            value: "${MONGODB_KEYFILE_VALUE}"
          ports:
          - containerPort: 27017

3.4.6.3. Creating a Headless Service

The initiate argument in the container specification above instructs the container to first discover all running member pods within the MongoDB cluster. To achieve this, a headless service is defined named mongodb in the example template.

To have a headless service, the portalIP parameter in the service definition is set to None. Then you can use a DNS query to get a list of the pod IP addresses that represents the current endpoints for this service.

Example 3.6. Headless Service Object Definition in the Example Template

kind: "Service"
apiVersion: "v1"
metadata:
  name: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
  labels:
    name: "${MONGODB_SERVICE_NAME}"
spec:
  ports:
    - protocol: "TCP"
      port: 27017
      targetPort: 27017
      nodePort: 0
  selector:
    name: "mongodb-replica"
  portalIP: "None"
  type: "ClusterIP"
  sessionAffinity: "None"
status:
  loadBalancer: {}

3.4.6.4. Creating the Final Replication Set

When the script that runs as the container entrypoint has the IP addresses of all running MongoDB members, it creates a MongoDB replication set configuration where it lists all member IP addresses. It then initiates the replication set using rs.initiate(config). The script waits until MongoDB elects the PRIMARY member of the cluster.

Once the PRIMARY member has been elected, the entrypoint script starts creating MongoDB users and databases.

Clients can then start using the MongoDB instance by sending the queries to the mongodb service. As this service is a headless service, they do not need to provide the IP address. Clients can use mongodb:27017 for connections. The service then sends the query to one of the members in the replication set.

3.4.6.5. Scaling the MongoDB Replication Set

To increase the number of members in the cluster:

$ oc scale rc mongodb-1 --replicas=<number>

This tells the replication controller to create a new MongoDB member pod. When a new member is created, the member entrypoint first attempts to discover other running members in the cluster. It then chooses one and adds itself to the list of members. Once the replication configuration is updated, the other members replicate the data to a new pod and start a new election.