bob-builds-labs

DDVE Helm Chart - Quick Start

Quick Reference

Step 1: Pull and Extract the Chart

helm pull oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0
tar -xzf ddve-8.9.0-0.tgz

Step 2: View Default Values

# View from Quay (no need to extract)
helm show values oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0

# Or view from extracted chart
cat ddve/values.yaml

Step 3: Create Golden Resources (One-Time)

# Option 1: From parent directory (recommended - no cd needed)
helm install golden-resources oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-golden.yaml

Step 4: Monitor the Import

# Watch the DataVolume import progress
oc get datavolume ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812-pvc -n openshift-virtualization-os-images -w

# Check the phase (should show "Succeeded" when complete)
oc get datavolume ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812-pvc -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

Step 5: Deploy VM

# copy values for for editing
cp ddve/values-example-basic.yaml values.yaml

Edit values

# deploy customized chart
helm install my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f values.yaml -n ddve --create-namespace

Step 6: Start VM

virtctl start my-ddve -n ddve

Step 7: Check Status

oc get vm -n ddve
oc get vmi -n ddve
oc get pvc -n ddve

Cleanup Failed Import

If the golden import fails, clean up the failed resources before retrying:

# Delete the Helm release
helm uninstall golden-resources -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

# Delete the failed DataVolume
oc delete datavolume ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812-pvc -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

# Delete the PVC if it was created
oc delete pvc ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812-pvc -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

# Delete the DataSource if it was created
oc delete datasource ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812 -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

# Check for any stuck importer pods
oc get pods -n cdi | grep importer
# Delete if needed
oc delete pod <importer-pod> -n cdi

Example Configurations

File	Description	Use Case
ddve/values-example-basic.yaml	1 disk, 1 network, 8TB	Simple deployment
ddve/values-example-multinic.yaml	4 disks, 3 networks, 32TB	Multi-network setup
ddve/values-example-high-capacity.yaml	8 disks, 2 networks, 96TB	High capacity
ddve/values-golden.yaml	Golden resources only	One-time setup

Common Commands

Get Chart Info

helm show chart oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0

Get README

helm show readme oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0

Upgrade

# From parent directory
helm upgrade my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version <new-version> -f ddve/my-values.yaml -n ddve

Uninstall

helm uninstall my-ddve -n ddve

Important Notes

• Golden resources (PVC/DataSource) are created once per version in openshift-virtualization-os-images
• VMs are deployed in separate namespaces and reference the shared golden resources
• First deployment: Use ddve/values-golden.yaml to create golden resources
• Subsequent deployments: Use example files, golden resources already exist
• File paths: All commands work from parent directory using ddve/ prefix. No need to cd ddve.
• Single VM per release: By default, each Helm release deploys one VM. To deploy multiple VMs in the same namespace, use the multi-VM example files (see “Deploy Multiple VMs” section below).

Troubleshooting

Chart Not Found

helm pull oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0

DataSource Not Found

oc get datasource -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

VM Won’t Start

oc get datavolume my-ddve-rootdisk -n ddve
oc get datasource ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812 -n openshift-virtualization-os-images

Import Failed

If the CDI import fails:

1. Check the importer pod logs: oc logs <importer-pod> -n cdi
2. Verify the image digest is correct: podman pull quay.io/delldps/ddve-appliance@<digest>
3. Clean up failed resources (see “Cleanup Failed Import” section above)
4. Retry the installation

Import Stuck

If the import is stuck:

1. Watch the DataVolume: oc get datavolume ddve-8.9.0.0-1263812-pvc -n openshift-virtualization-os-images -w
2. Check the phase - it should progress from “Pending” to “Importing” to “Succeeded”
3. If stuck in “Importing” for > 30 minutes, check the importer pod logs
4. Clean up and retry if needed

Namespace Already Has a Release

If you get “invalid ownership metadata” error:

# Error: Namespace "ddve" in namespace "" exists and cannot be imported into the current release
# This means the namespace already has a Helm release

# Option 1: Uninstall the existing release
helm uninstall my-ddve -n ddve

# Option 2: Use a different namespace
helm install my-ddve1 oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-basic.yaml -n ddve1 --create-namespace

# Option 3: Upgrade the existing release
helm upgrade my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-basic.yaml -n ddve

Deploy Multiple VMs in the Same Namespace

The chart supports deploying multiple DDVE VMs in a single Helm release using the vms list configuration.

Deploy Multiple VMs

# Deploy 2 VMs in the same namespace
helm install my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-multivm.yaml -n ddve --create-namespace

# Deploy 3 VMs in the same namespace
helm install my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-multivm-3.yaml -n ddve --create-namespace

Add VMs Over Time

You can add VMs to an existing deployment by upgrading with an updated values file:

# Initial deployment with 1 VM (using single VM mode)
helm install my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-basic.yaml -n ddve --create-namespace

# Later, upgrade to add a second VM (switch to multi-VM mode)
helm upgrade my-ddve oci://quay.io/delldps/charts/ddve --version 8.9.0-0 -f ddve/values-example-multivm.yaml -n ddve

Helm will create the new VM resources without modifying the existing VM.

Start Multiple VMs

# Start all VMs
virtctl start ddve-1 -n ddve
virtctl start ddve-2 -n ddve

# Or start specific VMs
virtctl start ddve-1 -n ddve

Multi-VM Configuration

The multi-VM example files show how to configure multiple VMs:

• values-example-multivm.yaml - 2 VMs with different configurations
• values-example-multivm-3.yaml - 3 VMs with different configurations

Each VM in the list can have:

• Unique name
• Different license tier (CPU/memory)
• Different storage configuration
• Different network configuration

Single VM vs Multi-VM Mode

Single VM mode (backward compatible):

• Uses vm.name in values.yaml
• Deploys one VM per release
• Existing deployments continue to work

Multi-VM mode:

• Uses vms list in values.yaml
• Deploys multiple VMs per release
• Each VM has unique resources (PVCs, DataVolumes, VirtualMachine)
• Namespace labels aggregate all networks from all VMs

Full Documentation

For detailed instructions, see USER_GUIDE.md