Compute Resources

IronCore compute resources are Machines, their associated Machineclasses and MachinePools that allow you to define, provision, and manage virtual machines. This guide explains the core compute resource types and how to use them.

Machine

A Machine resource in IronCore is used to represent a compute resource or a virtual machine. It serves as a means to configure network, storage, type of machine and other information needed to create a compute instance.

Example Machine Resource

An example of how to define a Machine resource:

apiVersion: compute.ironcore.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Machine
metadata:
  name: machine-sample
spec:
  machineClassRef:
    name: machineclass-sample
  image: my-image
  volumes:
    - name: rootdisk # first disk is the root disk
      volumeRef:
        name: my-volume
  networkInterfaces:
    - name: primary
      networkInterfaceRef:
        name: networkinterface-sample
  ignitionRef:
    name: my-ignition-secret

Key Fields:

• machineClassRef (string): Is a reference to the MachineClass of the machine.
• machinePoolRef (string): Defines the MachinePool to run the Machine on. If empty, the IronCore scheduler will figure out an appropriate pool to run the Machine on.
• image (string): Image is the optional URL providing the operating system image to memory boot the Machine. A detailed description of OS images can be found in the corresponding section.
• volumes (list): Are list of Volumes attached to this machine. Here the first volume is considered as the root disk. Each volume is defined with a name and a reference to the Volume resource.
• networkInterfaces (list): Define a list of network interfaces present on the machine.
• ignitionRef (string): Is a reference to a Secret containing the ignition YAML for the machine to boot up. If the key value is empty, the DefaultIgnitionKey=ignition will be used as a fallback.

Detailed e2e examples on Machine creation with ephemeral/non-ephemeral Volume and NetworkInterface

• Machine with ephemeral resources
• Machine with non ephemeral resources

MachineClass

A MachineClass is an IronCore resource used to represent a class/flavor of a Machine. It serves as a means to define the number of resources a Machine object can have as capabilities (e.g. CPU, memory) associated with a particular class.

Example MachineClass Resource

An example of how to define a MachineClass resource:

apiVersion: compute.ironcore.dev/v1alpha1
kind: MachineClass
metadata:
  name: machineclass-sample
capabilities:
  cpu: 4
  memory: 16Gi

Key Fields:

• capabilities (ResourceList): Capabilities are used to define a list of resources a Machine can have, along with its capacity.

MachinePool

A MachinePool is a resource in IronCore that represents a pool of compute resources managed collectively. It defines the infrastructure's compute configuration used to provision and manage Machines, ensuring resource availability and compatibility with associated MachineClasses.

Note:One machinepoollet is responsible for one MachinePool.

Details on how MachinePools are announced and used can be found in the Pools and Poollets section.

Example MachinePool Resource

An example of how to define a MachinePool resource:

apiVersion: compute.ironcore.dev/v1alpha1
kind: MachinePool
metadata:
  name: machinepool-sample
spec:
  providerID: ironcore://shared

Key Fields:

• providerID (string): The providerId helps the controller identify and communicate with the correct compute system within the specific backend compute provider.