Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and GitOps workflows

The Mission Control UI is optional for cluster creation and modification. Mission Control fully supports infrastructure-as-code (IaC) and GitOps workflows through direct Kubernetes API interaction. You can manage your entire database infrastructure using YAML manifests, kubectl, and GitOps tools like Argo CD and Flux.

Direct Kubernetes API interaction is a primary supported method for production deployments. Most Mission Control testing occurs with direct Kubernetes API interaction.

For a comparison of UI-based and programmatic workflows, including cluster creation modes and use cases, see Choose your workflow.

Best practices

Follow these best practices when you manage Mission Control clusters as code:

Version control: Store all cluster manifests in Git repositories to maintain history, enable rollbacks, and provide audit trails.
Separate environments: Use different namespaces or clusters for development, staging, and production environments to isolate changes and reduce risk.
Automated testing: Test manifest changes in non-production environments before you apply them to production to catch configuration errors early.
Monitoring and alerts: Set up monitoring for custom resource status conditions and operator health to detect issues quickly. For more information, see Metrics.
Resource management: Define resource requests and limits explicitly in your manifests to ensure predictable performance and prevent resource contention.
Backup automation: Automate backup creation using scheduled K8ssandraTask resources or CronJobs to protect against data loss.
Documentation: Document your cluster configurations, naming conventions, and operational procedures to ensure team alignment and knowledge sharing.

Create clusters with the direct API workflow

You can create database clusters by applying MissionControlCluster custom resources directly to the Kubernetes API.

To create clusters with kubectl, do the following:

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:
- Access to a Kubernetes cluster with Mission Control installed
- kubectl configured to access your cluster
- Appropriate RBAC permissions to create MissionControlCluster resources

Create a YAML manifest for your cluster:

apiVersion: missioncontrol.datastax.com/v1beta2
kind: MissionControlCluster
metadata:
  name: production-cluster
  namespace: default
spec:
  k8ssandra:
    cassandra:
      serverType: hcd
      serverVersion: "2.0.6"
      datacenters:
        - metadata:
            name: dc1
          size: 3
          storageConfig:
            cassandraDataVolumeClaimSpec:
              storageClassName: fast-ssd
              accessModes:
                - ReadWriteOnce
              resources:
                requests:
                  storage: 100Gi
          resources:
            requests:
              memory: 16Gi
              cpu: 4
            limits:
              memory: 16Gi
              cpu: 4

Apply the manifest to create the cluster:
```
kubectl apply -f production-cluster.yaml
```

Monitor cluster creation progress:

kubectl get missioncontrolcluster production-cluster -w

Check detailed cluster status:

kubectl describe missioncontrolcluster production-cluster

The cluster creation process follows the same automated reconciliation steps regardless of whether you use the UI or direct API interaction. For more information about the reconciliation process, see administration:control-plane/add-db-cluster.adoc#automatic-reconciliation-steps-for-missioncontrolcluster-resources.

Modify clusters with the direct API workflow

You can update the MissionControlCluster custom resource to modify existing clusters.

Edit the cluster manifest:

kubectl edit missioncontrolcluster production-cluster

Or update your YAML file and reapply:

kubectl apply -f production-cluster.yaml

Monitor the modification progress:

kubectl get missioncontrolcluster production-cluster -w

Mission Control operators detect the changes and reconcile the cluster to match the new desired state. The reconciliation process handles rolling updates, configuration changes, and scaling operations automatically.

Manage cluster lifecycle with the direct API workflow

You can perform common cluster lifecycle operations using kubectl and custom resources. For example:

Scale a datacenter

kubectl patch missioncontrolcluster production-cluster --type=merge -p '
{
  "spec": {
    "k8ssandra": {
      "cassandra": {
        "datacenters": [
          {
            "metadata": {"name": "dc1"},
            "size": 6
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}'

Add a datacenter

Edit the cluster manifest to include an additional datacenter in the datacenters array, then apply the changes.

Remove a cluster

kubectl delete missioncontrolcluster production-cluster

For detailed information about cluster lifecycle operations, see Administer database clusters.

Perform database operations

You can execute database operations like backups, restores, and repairs using K8ssandraTask custom resources.

For example, to create an apply a backup task:

Create a backup task:

apiVersion: control.k8ssandra.io/v1alpha1
kind: K8ssandraTask
metadata:
  name: backup-production
  namespace: default
spec:
  cluster:
    name: production-cluster
  template:
    backup:
      name: daily-backup

Apply the task:
```
kubectl apply -f backup-task.yaml
```

Monitor task progress:

kubectl get k8ssandratask backup-production -w

For more information about database tasks, see Cassandra operations task CassandraTask.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and GitOps workflows

Best practices

Create clusters with the direct API workflow

Modify clusters with the direct API workflow

Manage cluster lifecycle with the direct API workflow

Perform database operations

See also

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