Kubernetes deployment is ideal for enterprise environments requiring high availability, scalability, and advanced orchestration. This guide covers production-ready Kubernetes deployment of the Speckle server.

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Overview

Kubernetes deployment provides:

  • High Availability: Multi-node deployment with automatic failover
  • Scalability: Horizontal and vertical scaling capabilities
  • Advanced Orchestration: Rolling updates, health checks, and auto-recovery
  • Enterprise Features: Load balancing, ingress management, and monitoring

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Prerequisites

Before deploying to Kubernetes:

  • Kubernetes cluster (v1.20+) with at least 3 nodes
  • kubectl configured and connected to your cluster
  • Helm (v3.0+) for package management
  • Ingress controller (nginx, traefik, or similar)
  • Storage class for persistent volumes
  • Domain name and SSL certificates
  • Minimum 8GB RAM and 50GB storage per node

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Quick Start with Helm

  1. Add the Speckle Helm repository:
helm repo add speckle https://specklesystems.github.io/speckle-server
helm repo update
  1. Create namespace:
kubectl create namespace speckle
  1. Install Speckle server:
helm install speckle-server speckle/speckle-server \
  --namespace speckle \
  --set server.url=https://your-domain.com \
  --set postgres.enabled=true \
  --set ingress.enabled=true

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Production Configuration

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Values File Configuration

Create a values.yaml file for production deployment:

# Server Configuration
server:
  name: "Production Speckle Server"
  description: "Enterprise Speckle server"
  url: "https://your-domain.com"
  replicas: 3

# Database Configuration
postgres:
  enabled: true
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 100Gi
    storageClass: "fast-ssd"
  resources:
    requests:
      memory: "2Gi"
      cpu: "1"
    limits:
      memory: "4Gi"
      cpu: "2"

# Redis Configuration
redis:
  enabled: true
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 10Gi
  resources:
    requests:
      memory: "512Mi"
      cpu: "250m"
    limits:
      memory: "1Gi"
      cpu: "500m"

# Ingress Configuration
ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: "nginx"
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
  hosts:
    - host: your-domain.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: speckle-tls
      hosts:
        - your-domain.com

# Storage Configuration
storage:
  type: "s3"  # or "local"
  s3:
    bucket: "speckle-data"
    region: "us-west-2"
    accessKey: "${S3_ACCESS_KEY}"
    secretKey: "${S3_SECRET_KEY}"

# Monitoring
monitoring:
  enabled: true
  prometheus:
    enabled: true
  grafana:
    enabled: true

# Backup Configuration
backup:
  enabled: true
  schedule: "0 2 * * *"  # Daily at 2 AM
  retention: 30
  s3:
    bucket: "speckle-backups"
    region: "us-west-2"

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Advanced Deployment

# Install with custom values
helm install speckle-server speckle/speckle-server \
  --namespace speckle \
  -f values.yaml \
  --set secrets.s3AccessKey="${S3_ACCESS_KEY}" \
  --set secrets.s3SecretKey="${S3_SECRET_KEY}"

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Infrastructure Setup

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Cluster Requirements

Minimum cluster configuration:

  • 3 worker nodes with 4+ cores and 8GB+ RAM each
  • Control plane with 2+ cores and 4GB+ RAM
  • Storage: 100GB+ per node for persistent volumes
  • Network: Low-latency inter-node communication

Recommended cluster configuration:

  • 5+ worker nodes with 8+ cores and 16GB+ RAM each
  • High-availability control plane (3+ nodes)
  • SSD storage for database and cache
  • Load balancer for ingress traffic

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Storage Setup

Configure storage classes for different workloads:

apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: fast-ssd
provisioner: kubernetes.io/aws-ebs
parameters:
  type: gp3
  iops: "3000"
  throughput: "125"
---
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: standard-ssd
provisioner: kubernetes.io/aws-ebs
parameters:
  type: gp2

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Ingress and SSL

Set up ingress controller with SSL:

# Install nginx-ingress
helm install nginx-ingress ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx \
  --namespace ingress-nginx \
  --create-namespace

# Install cert-manager for SSL certificates
helm install cert-manager jetstack/cert-manager \
  --namespace cert-manager \
  --create-namespace \
  --set installCRDs=true

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Monitoring and Observability

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Prometheus and Grafana

# Add to values.yaml
monitoring:
  prometheus:
    enabled: true
    retention: 30d
  grafana:
    enabled: true
    adminPassword: "secure-password"
    dashboards:
      speckle: true

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Logging

Configure centralized logging:

# Fluentd configuration
logging:
  fluentd:
    enabled: true
    elasticsearch:
      host: "elasticsearch-cluster"
      port: 9200

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Backup and Disaster Recovery

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Automated Backups

backup:
  enabled: true
  schedule: "0 2 * * *"  # Daily at 2 AM
  retention: 30
  s3:
    bucket: "speckle-backups"
    region: "us-west-2"
  database:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 1 * * *"  # Daily at 1 AM
  storage:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 3 * * *"  # Daily at 3 AM

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Disaster Recovery

  1. Regular backups to multiple regions
  2. Cross-region replication for critical data
  3. Automated failover procedures
  4. Recovery testing schedule

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Scaling and Performance

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Horizontal Pod Autoscaling

autoscaling:
  enabled: true
  minReplicas: 3
  maxReplicas: 10
  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 70
  targetMemoryUtilizationPercentage: 80

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Resource Optimization

resources:
  requests:
    memory: "2Gi"
    cpu: "1"
  limits:
    memory: "4Gi"
    cpu: "2"

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Security

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Network Policies

networkPolicy:
  enabled: true
  ingress:
    - from:
        - namespaceSelector:
            matchLabels:
              name: ingress-nginx
      ports:
        - protocol: TCP
          port: 80
        - protocol: TCP
          port: 443

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RBAC Configuration

rbac:
  enabled: true
  serviceAccount:
    create: true
    annotations: {}

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

Pod startup failures:

kubectl describe pod -n speckle <pod-name>
kubectl logs -n speckle <pod-name>

Database connection issues:

kubectl exec -n speckle -it <postgres-pod> -- psql -U speckle

Ingress problems:

kubectl describe ingress -n speckle
kubectl get events -n ingress-nginx

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Performance Tuning

  • Database optimization: Connection pooling, query optimization
  • Cache tuning: Redis memory and eviction policies
  • Storage optimization: SSD usage, I/O optimization

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Maintenance

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Rolling Updates

# Update to new version
helm upgrade speckle-server speckle/speckle-server \
  --namespace speckle \
  -f values.yaml

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Health Checks

Monitor cluster health:

kubectl get nodes
kubectl top nodes
kubectl top pods -n speckle

Enterprise Support: For enterprise deployments, consider our professional support services and custom deployment assistance.