dynamo_cloud.md

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# 🚀 Dynamo Cloud Kubernetes Platform (Dynamo Deploy)

The Dynamo Cloud platform is a comprehensive solution for deploying and managing Dynamo inference graphs (also referred to as pipelines) in Kubernetes environments. It provides a streamlined experience for deploying, scaling, and monitoring your inference services. You can interface with Dynamo Cloud using the `deploy` subcommand available in the Dynamo CLI (e.g `dynamo deploy`)

## Overview

The Dynamo cloud platform consists of several key components:

- **Dynamo Operator**: A Kubernetes operator that manages the lifecycle of Dynamo inference graphs from build ➡️ deploy.
- **API Store**: Stores and manages service configurations and metadata related to Dynamo deployments. Needs to be exposed externally.
- **Custom Resources**: Kubernetes custom resources for defining and managing Dynamo services

These components work together to provide a seamless deployment experience, handling everything from containerization to scaling and monitoring.

![Dynamo Deploy](../../images/dynamo-deploy.png)

## Prerequisites

Before getting started with the Dynamo cloud platform, ensure you have:

- A Kubernetes cluster (version 1.24 or later)
- [Earthly](https://earthly.dev/) installed for building components
- Docker installed and running
- Access to a container registry (e.g., Docker Hub, NVIDIA NGC, etc.)
- `kubectl` configured to access your cluster
- Helm installed (version 3.0 or later)

## Building Docker Images for Dynamo Cloud Components

The Dynamo cloud platform components need to be built and pushed to a container registry before deployment. You can build these components individually or all at once.

### Setting Up Environment Variables

First, set the required environment variables for building and pushing images:

```bash
# Set your container registry
export DOCKER_SERVER=<CONTAINER_REGISTRY>
# Set the image tag (e.g., latest, 0.0.1, etc.)
export IMAGE_TAG=<TAG>
```

Where:
- `<CONTAINER_REGISTRY>`: Your container registry (e.g., `nvcr.io`, `docker.io/<your-username>`, etc.)
- `<TAG>`: The version tag for your images (e.g., `latest`, `0.0.1`, `v1.0.0`)

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Make sure you're logged in to your container registry before pushing images:
> ```bash
> docker login <CONTAINER_REGISTRY>
> ```

### Building Components

You can build and push all platform components at once:

```bash
earthly --push +all-docker --DOCKER_SERVER=$DOCKER_SERVER --IMAGE_TAG=$IMAGE_TAG
```

## Deploying the Dynamo Cloud Platform

Once you've built and pushed the components, you can deploy the platform to your Kubernetes cluster.

### Prerequisites

Before deploying Dynamo Cloud, ensure your Kubernetes cluster meets the following requirements:

#### 1. Istio Installation
Dynamo Cloud requires Istio for service mesh capabilities. Verify Istio is installed and running:

```bash
# Check if Istio is installed
kubectl get pods -n istio-system

# Expected output should show running Istio pods
# istiod-* pods should be in Running state
```

#### 2. PVC Support with Default Storage Class
Dynamo Cloud requires Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) support with a default storage class. Verify your cluster configuration:

```bash
# Check if default storage class exists
kubectl get storageclass

# Expected output should show at least one storage class marked as (default)
# Example:
# NAME                 PROVISIONER             RECLAIMPOLICY   VOLUMEBINDINGMODE      ALLOWVOLUMEEXPANSION   AGE
# standard (default)   kubernetes.io/gce-pd    Delete          Immediate              true                   1d
```

### Installation

1. Set the required environment variables:
```bash
export DOCKER_USERNAME=<your-docker-username>
export DOCKER_PASSWORD=<your-docker-password>
export DOCKER_SERVER=<your-docker-server>
export IMAGE_TAG=<TAG>  # Use the same tag you used when building the images
export NAMESPACE=dynamo-cloud    # change this to whatever you want!
```

2. [One-time Action] Create a new kubernetes namespace and set it as your default. Create image pull secrets if needed.

```bash
cd deploy/dynamo/helm
kubectl create namespace $NAMESPACE
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=$NAMESPACE

# [Optional] if needed, create image pull secrets
kubectl create secret docker-registry docker-imagepullsecret \
  --docker-server=$DOCKER_SERVER \
  --docker-username=$DOCKER_USERNAME \
  --docker-password=$DOCKER_PASSWORD \
  --namespace=$NAMESPACE
```

3. Deploy the helm chart using the deploy script:

```bash
./deploy.sh
```

4. **Expose Dynamo Cloud Externally**

You must also expose the `dynamo-store` service within the namespace externally. This will be the endpoint the CLI uses to interface with Dynamo Cloud. You might setup an Ingress, use an `ExternalService` with Istio, or simply port-forward. In our docs, we refer to this externally available endpoint as `DYNAMO_CLOUD`.

## Next Steps

After deploying the Dynamo cloud platform, you can:

1. Deploy your first inference graph using the [Dynamo CLI](operator_deployment.md)
2. Deploy Dynamo LLM pipelines to Kubernetes using the [Dynamo CLI](../../../examples/llm/README.md)!
3. Manage your deployments using the Dynamo CLI

For more detailed information about deploying inference graphs, see the [Dynamo Deploy Guide](README.md).