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Understanding how to evacuate pods on nodes

Evacuating pods allows you to migrate all or selected pods from a given node or nodes.

You can only evacuate pods backed by a replication controller. The replication controller creates new pods on other nodes and removes the existing pods from the specified node(s).

Bare pods, meaning those not backed by a replication controller, are unaffected by default. You can evacuate a subset of pods by specifying a pod-selector. Pod selectors are based on labels, so all the pods with the specified label will be evacuated.

Nodes must first be marked unschedulable to perform pod evacuation.

$ oc adm cordon <node1>
NAME        STATUS                        ROLES     AGE       VERSION
<node1>     NotReady,SchedulingDisabled   worker   1d        v1.14.6+c4799753c

Use oc adm uncordon to mark the node as schedulable when done.

$ oc adm uncordon <node1>
  • The following command evacuates all or selected pods on one or more nodes:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> [--pod-selector=<pod_selector>]
  • The following command forces deletion of bare pods using the --force option. When set to true, deletion continues even if there are pods not managed by a replication controller, ReplicaSet, job, daemonset, or StatefulSet:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> --force=true
  • The following command sets a period of time in seconds for each pod to terminate gracefully, use --grace-period. If negative, the default value specified in the pod will be used:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> --grace-period=-1
  • The following command ignores DaemonSet-managed pods using the --ignore-daemonsets flag set to true:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> --ignore-daemonsets=true
  • The following command sets the length of time to wait before giving up using the --timeout flag. A value of 0 sets an infinite length of time:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> --timeout=5s
  • The following command deletes pods even if there are pods using emptyDir using the --delete-local-data flag set to true. Local data is deleted when the node is drained:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2> --delete-local-data=true
  • The following command lists objects that will be migrated without actually performing the evacuation, using the --dry-run option set to true:

    $ oc adm drain <node1> <node2>  --dry-run=true

    Instead of specifying specific node names (for example, <node1> <node2>), you can use the --selector=<node_selector> option to evacuate pods on selected nodes.

Understanding how to update labels on nodes

You can update any label on a node.

Node labels are not persisted after a node is deleted even if the node is backed up by a Machine.

Any change to a MachineSet is not applied to existing machines owned by the MachineSet. For example, labels edited or added to an existing MachineSet are not propagated to existing machines and Nodes associated with the MachineSet.

  • The following command adds or updates labels on a node:

    $ oc label node <node> <key_1>=<value_1> ... <key_n>=<value_n>

    For example:

    $ oc label nodes webconsole-7f7f6 unhealthy=true
  • The following command updates all pods in the namespace:

    $ oc label pods --all <key_1>=<value_1>

    For example:

    $ oc label pods --all status=unhealthy

Understanding how to mark nodes as unschedulable or schedulable

By default, healthy nodes with a Ready status are marked as schedulable, meaning that new pods are allowed for placement on the node. Manually marking a node as unschedulable blocks any new pods from being scheduled on the node. Existing pods on the node are not affected.

  • The following command marks a node or nodes as unschedulable:

    $ oc adm cordon <node>

    For example:

    $ oc adm cordon node1.example.com
    node/node1.example.com cordoned
    
    NAME                 LABELS                                        STATUS
    node1.example.com    kubernetes.io/hostname=node1.example.com      Ready,SchedulingDisabled
  • The following command marks a currently unschedulable node or nodes as schedulable:

    $ oc adm uncordon <node1>

    Alternatively, instead of specifying specific node names (for example, <node>), you can use the --selector=<node_selector> option to mark selected nodes as schedulable or unschedulable.

Configuring master nodes as schedulable

As of OpenShift Container Platform 4.2, you can configure master nodes to be schedulable, meaning that new Pods are allowed for placement on the master nodes. By default, master nodes are not schedulable. However, if your cluster does not contain any worker nodes, then master nodes are marked schedulable by default.

In version 4.2, the ability to create a cluster that does not have worker nodes is available to only clusters that are deployed on bare metal as a technology preview. For all other cluster types, you can set the masters to be schedulable but must retain worker nodes.

You can allow or disallow master nodes to be schedulable by configuring the mastersSchedulable field.

Procedure
  1. Edit the schedulers.config.openshift.io resource.

    $ oc edit schedulers.config.openshift.io cluster
  2. Configure the mastersSchedulable field.

    apiVersion: config.openshift.io/v1
    kind: Scheduler
    metadata:
      creationTimestamp: "2019-09-10T03:04:05Z"
      generation: 1
      name: cluster
      resourceVersion: "433"
      selfLink: /apis/config.openshift.io/v1/schedulers/cluster
      uid: a636d30a-d377-11e9-88d4-0a60097bee62
    spec:
      mastersSchedulable: false (1)
      policy:
        name: ""
    status: {}
    1 Set to true to allow master nodes to be schedulable, or false to disallow master nodes to be schedulable.
  3. Save the file to apply the changes.

Deleting nodes

Deleting nodes from a cluster

When you delete a node using the CLI, the node object is deleted in Kubernetes, but the Pods that exist on the node are not deleted. Any bare Pods not backed by a replication controller become inaccessible to OpenShift Container Platform. Pods backed by replication controllers are rescheduled to other available nodes. You must delete local manifest Pods.

Procedure

To delete a node from the OpenShift Container Platform cluster, edit the appropriate MachineSet:

If you are running cluster on bare metal, you cannot delete a node by editing MachineSets. MachineSets are only available when a cluster is integrated with a cloud provider. Instead you must unschedule and drain the node before manually deleting it.

  1. View the MachineSets that are in the cluster:

    $ oc get machinesets -n openshift-machine-api

    The MachineSets are listed in the form of <clusterid>-worker-<aws-region-az>.

  2. Scale the MachineSet:

    $ oc scale --replicas=2 machineset <machineset> -n openshift-machine-api

For more information on scaling your cluster using a MachineSet, see Manually scaling a MachineSet.

Deleting nodes from a bare metal cluster

When you delete a node using the CLI, the node object is deleted in Kubernetes, but the Pods that exist on the node are not deleted. Any bare Pods not backed by a replication controller become inaccessible to OpenShift Container Platform. Pods backed by replication controllers are rescheduled to other available nodes. You must delete local manifest Pods.

Procedure

Delete a node from a OpenShift Container Platform cluster running on bare metal by completing the following steps:

  1. Mark the node as unschedulable:

    $ oc adm cordon <node_name>
  2. Drain all Pods on your node:

    $ oc adm drain <node_name> --force=true
  3. Delete your node from the cluster:

    $ oc adm delete node <node_name>

Although the node object is now deleted from the cluster, it can still rejoin the cluster after reboot or if the kubelet service is restarted. To permanently delete the node and all its data, you must decommission the node.

Adding kernel arguments to Nodes

In some special cases, you might want to add kernel arguments to a set of nodes in your cluster. This should only be done with caution and clear understanding of the implications of the arguments you set.

Improper use of kernel arguments can result in your systems becoming unbootable.

Examples of kernel arguments you could set include:

  • selinux=0: Disables Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux). While not recommended for production, disabling SELinux can improve performance by 2% - 3%.

  • nosmt: Disables symmetric multithreading (SMT) in the kernel. Multithreading allows multiple logical threads for each CPU. You could consider nosmt in multi-tenant environments to reduce risks from potential cross-thread attacks. By disabling SMT, you essentially choose security over performance.

See Kernel.org kernel parameters for a list and descriptions of kernel arguments.

In the following procedure, you create a MachineConfig that identifies:

  • A set of machines to which you want to add the kernel argument. In this case, machines with a worker role.

  • Kernel arguments that are appended to the end of the existing kernel arguments.

  • A label that indicates where in the list of MachineConfigs the change is applied.

Prerequisites
  • Have administrative privilege to a working OpenShift Container Platform cluster.

Procedure
  1. List existing MachineConfigs for your OpenShift Container Platform cluster to determine how to label your MachineConfig:

    $ oc get MachineConfig
    NAME                                                        GENERATEDBYCONTROLLER                      IGNITIONVERSION   CREATED
    00-master                                                   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    00-worker                                                   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    01-master-container-runtime                                 577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    01-master-kubelet                                           577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    01-worker-container-runtime                                 577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    01-worker-kubelet                                           577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    99-master-1131169f-dae9-11e9-b5dd-12a845e8ffd8-registries   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    99-master-ssh                                                                                          2.2.0             30m
    99-worker-114e8ac7-dae9-11e9-b5dd-12a845e8ffd8-registries   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    99-worker-ssh                                                                                          2.2.0             30m
    rendered-master-b3729e5f6124ca3678188071343115d0            577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
    rendered-worker-18ff9506c718be1e8bd0a066850065b7            577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             30m
  2. Create a MachineConfig file that identifies the kernel argument (for example, 05-worker-kernelarg-selinuxoff.yaml)

    apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: MachineConfig
    metadata:
      labels:
        machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker(1)
      name: 05-worker-kernelarg-selinuxoff(2)
    spec:
      config:
        ignition:
          version: 2.2.0
      kernelArguments:
        - selinux=0(3)
    1 Applies the new kernel argument only to worker nodes.
    2 Named to identify where it fits among the MachineConfigs (05) and what it does (adds a kernel argument to turn off SELinux).
    3 Identifies the exact kernel argument as selinux=0.
  3. Create the new MachineConfig:

    $ oc create -f 05-worker-kernelarg-selinuxoff.yaml
  4. Check the MachineConfigs to see that the new one was added:

    $ oc get MachineConfig
    NAME                                                        GENERATEDBYCONTROLLER                      IGNITIONVERSION   CREATED
    00-master                                                   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    00-worker                                                   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    01-master-container-runtime                                 577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    01-master-kubelet                                           577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    01-worker-container-runtime                                 577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    01-worker-kubelet                                           577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    
    05-worker-kernelarg-selinuxoff                                                                         2.2.0             105s
    
    99-master-1131169f-dae9-11e9-b5dd-12a845e8ffd8-registries   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    99-master-ssh                                                                                          2.2.0             30m
    99-worker-114e8ac7-dae9-11e9-b5dd-12a845e8ffd8-registries   577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    99-worker-ssh                                                                                          2.2.0             31m
    rendered-master-b3729e5f6124ca3678188071343115d0            577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
    rendered-worker-18ff9506c718be1e8bd0a066850065b7            577c2d527b09cd7a481a162c50592139caa15e20   2.2.0             31m
  5. Check the nodes:

    $ oc get node
    NAME                           STATUS                     ROLES    AGE   VERSION
    ip-10-0-136-161.ec2.internal   Ready                      worker   28m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa
    ip-10-0-136-243.ec2.internal   Ready                      master   34m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa
    ip-10-0-141-105.ec2.internal   Ready,SchedulingDisabled   worker   28m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa
    ip-10-0-142-249.ec2.internal   Ready                      master   34m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa
    ip-10-0-153-11.ec2.internal    Ready                      worker   28m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa
    ip-10-0-153-150.ec2.internal   Ready                      master   34m   v1.14.6+90fadebfa

    You can see that scheduling on each worker node is disabled as the change is being applied.

  6. Check that the kernel argument worked by going to one of the worker nodes and listing the kernel command line arguments (in /proc/cmdline on the host):

    $ oc debug node/ip-10-0-141-105.ec2.internal
    Starting pod/ip-10-0-141-105ec2internal-debug ...
    To use host binaries, run `chroot /host`
    
    sh-4.2# cat /host/proc/cmdline
    BOOT_IMAGE=/ostree/rhcos-... console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200n8
    rootflags=defaults,prjquota rw root=UUID=fd0... ostree=/ostree/boot.0/rhcos/16...
    coreos.oem.id=qemu coreos.oem.id=ec2 ignition.platform.id=ec2 selinux=0
    
    sh-4.2# exit

    You should see the selinux=0 argument added to the other kernel arguments.

Additional resources

For more information on scaling your cluster using a MachineSet, see Manually scaling a MachineSet.