FAQ

This document describes FAQs when using OpenFunction.

Q: How to use private image repositories in OpenFunction?

A: OpenFunction uses Shipwright (which utilizes Tekton to integrate with Cloud Native Buildpacks) in the build phase to package the user function to the application image.

Users often choose to access a private image repository in an insecure way, which is not yet supported by the Cloud Native Buildpacks.

We offer a workaround as below to get around this limitation for now:

  1. Use IP address instead of hostname as access address for private image repository.
  2. You should skip tag-resolution when you run the Knative-runtime function.

For references:

buildpacks/lifecycle#524

buildpacks/tekton-integration#31

Q: How to access the Knative-runtime function without introducing a new ingress controller?

A: OpenFunction provides a unified entry point for function accessibility, which is based on the Ingress Nginx implementation. However, for some users, this is not necessary, and instead, introducing a new ingress controller may affect the current cluster.

In general, accessible addresses are for the sync(Knative-runtime) functions. Here are two ways to solve this problem:

  • Magic DNS

    You can follow this guide to config the DNS.

  • CoreDNS

    This is similar to using Magic DNS, with the difference that the configuration for DNS resolution is placed inside CoreDNS. Assume that the user has configured a domain named “openfunction.dev” in the ConfigMap config-domain under the knative-serving namespace (as shown below):

    $ kubectl -n knative-serving get cm config-domain -o yaml
    
    apiVersion: v1
    data:
      openfunction.dev: ""
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      annotations:
        knative.dev/example-checksum: 81552d0b
      labels:
        app.kubernetes.io/part-of: knative-serving
        app.kubernetes.io/version: 1.0.1
        serving.knative.dev/release: v1.0.1
      name: config-domain
      namespace: knative-serving
    

    Next, let’s add an A record for this domain. OpenFunction uses Kourier as the default network layer for Knative Serving, which is where the domain should flow to.

    $ kubectl -n kourier-system get svc
    
    NAME               TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)                      AGE
    kourier            LoadBalancer   10.233.7.202   <pending>     80:31655/TCP,443:30980/TCP   36m
    kourier-internal   ClusterIP      10.233.47.71   <none>        80/TCP                       36m
    

    Then the user only needs to configure this Wild-Card DNS resolution in CoreDNS to resolve the URL address of any Knative Service in the cluster.

    Where “10.233.47.71” is the address of the Service kourier-internal.

    $ kubectl -n kube-system get cm coredns -o yaml
    
    apiVersion: v1
    data:
      Corefile: |
        .:53 {
            errors
            health
            ready
            template IN A openfunction.dev {
              match .*\.openfunction\.dev
              answer "{{ .Name }} 60 IN A 10.233.47.71"
              fallthrough
            }
            kubernetes cluster.local in-addr.arpa ip6.arpa {
              pods insecure
              fallthrough in-addr.arpa ip6.arpa
            }
            hosts /etc/coredns/NodeHosts {
              ttl 60
              reload 15s
              fallthrough
            }
            prometheus :9153
            forward . /etc/resolv.conf
            cache 30
            loop
            reload
            loadbalance
        }
        ...
    

    If the user cannot resolve the URL address for this function outside the cluster, configure the hosts file as follows:

    Where “serving-sr5v2-ksvc-sbtgr.default.openfunction.dev” is the URL address obtained from the command “kubectl get ksvc”.

    10.233.47.71 serving-sr5v2-ksvc-sbtgr.default.openfunction.dev
    

After the above configuration is done, you can get the URL address of the function with the following command. Then you can trigger the function via curl or your browser.

$ kubectl get ksvc

NAME                       URL
serving-sr5v2-ksvc-sbtgr   http://serving-sr5v2-ksvc-sbtgr.default.openfunction.dev

Q: How to enable and configure concurrency for functions?

A: OpenFunction categorizes function types into “sync runtime” and “async runtime” based on the type of request being handled. These two types of functions are driven by Knative Serving and Dapr + KEDA.

Therefore, to enable and configure the concurrency of functions, you need to refer to the specific implementation in the above components.

The following section describes how to enable and configure concurrency of functions in OpenFunction according to the “sync runtime” and “async runtime” sections.

Sync runtime

You can start by referring to this document in Knative Serving on enabling and configuring concurrency capabilities.

Knative Serving has Soft limit and Hard limit configurations for the concurrency feature.

Soft limit

You can refer to the Global(ConfigMap) and Global(Operator) sections of this document to configure global concurrency capabilities.

And for Per Revision you can configure it like this.

apiVersion: core.openfunction.io/v1beta1
kind: Function
metadata:
  name: function-sample
spec:
  serving:
    scaleOptions:
      knative:
        autoscaling:
          target: "200"

Hard limit

OpenFunction currently doesn’t support configuring Hard limit for Per Revision. You can refer to the Global(ConfigMap) and Global(Operator) sections of this document to configure global concurrency capabilities.

In summary

In a nutshell, you can configure Knative Serving’s Autoscaling-related configuration items for each function as follows, just as long as they can be passed in as Annotation, otherwise, you can only do global settings.

# Configuration in Knative Serving
apiVersion: serving.knative.dev/v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: helloworld-go
  namespace: default
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      annotations:
        autoscaling.knative.dev/<key>: "value"

# Configuration in OpenFunction (recommended)
apiVersion: core.openfunction.io/v1beta1
kind: Function
metadata:
  name: function-sample
spec:
  serving:
    scaleOptions:
      knative:
        autoscaling:
          <key>: "value"

# Alternative approach
apiVersion: core.openfunction.io/v1beta1
kind: Function
metadata:
  name: function-sample
spec:
  serving:
    annotations:
      autoscaling.knative.dev/<key>: "value"

Async runtime

You can start by referring to the document in Dapr on enabling and configuring concurrency capabilities.

Compared to the concurrency configuration of sync runtime, the concurrency configuration of async runtime is simpler.

# Configuration in Dapr
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nodesubscriber
  namespace: default
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      annotations:
        dapr.io/app-max-concurrency: "value"

# Configuration in OpenFunction (recommended)
apiVersion: core.openfunction.io/v1beta1
kind: Function
metadata:
  name: function-sample
spec:
  serving:
    annotations:
      dapr.io/app-max-concurrency: "value"

Q: How to create source repository credential for the function image build process?

A: You may be prompted with errors like Unsupported type of credentials provided, either SSH private key or username/password is supported (exit code 110) when using spec.build.srcRepo.credentials, which means you are using an incorrect Secret resource as source repository crendital.

OpenFunction currently implements the function image building framework based on ShipWright, so we need to refer to this document to setup the correct source repository credential.

Q: How to install OpenFunction in an offline environment?

A: You can install and use OpenFunction in an offline environment by following steps:

Pull the Helm Chart

Pull the helm chart in an environment that can access GitHub:

helm repo add openfunction https://openfunction.github.io/charts/
helm repo update
helm pull openfunction/openfunction

Then use tools like scp to copy the helm package to your offline environment, e.g.:

scp openfunction-v0.8.1-v0.4.0.tgz <username>@<your-machine-ip>:/home/<username>/

Synchronize images

You need to sync these images to your private image repository:

# dapr
docker.io/daprio/dashboard:0.10.0
docker.io/daprio/dapr:1.8.3

# keda
openfunction/keda:2.8.1
openfunction/keda-metrics-apiserver:2.8.1

# contour
docker.io/bitnami/contour:1.21.1-debian-11-r5
docker.io/bitnami/envoy:1.22.2-debian-11-r6
docker.io/bitnami/nginx:1.21.6-debian-11-r10

# tekton-pipelines
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-controller:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-kubeconfigwriter:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-git-init:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-entrypoint:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-nop:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-imagedigestexporter:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-pullrequest-init:v0.37.2
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-workingdirinit:v0.37.2
openfunction/cloudsdktool-cloud-sdk@sha256:27b2c22bf259d9bc1a291e99c63791ba0c27a04d2db0a43241ba0f1f20f4067f
openfunction/distroless-base@sha256:b16b57be9160a122ef048333c68ba205ae4fe1a7b7cc6a5b289956292ebf45cc
openfunction/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-webhook:v0.37.2

# knative-serving
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-activator:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-autoscaler:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-queue:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-controller:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-domain-mapping:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-domain-mapping-webhook:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-net-contour-cmd-controller:v1.3.0
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-default-domain:v1.3.2
openfunction/knative.dev-serving-cmd-webhook:v1.3.2

# shipwright-build
openfunction/shipwright-shipwright-build-controller:v0.10.0
openfunction/shipwright-io-build-git:v0.10.0
openfunction/shipwright-mutate-image:v0.10.0
openfunction/shipwright-bundle:v0.10.0
openfunction/shipwright-waiter:v0.10.0

# openfunction
openfunction/openfunction:v0.8.1
openfunction/kube-rbac-proxy:v0.8.0
openfunction/eventsource-handler:v4
openfunction/trigger-handler:v4
openfunction/dapr-proxy:v0.1.1

Create custom values

Create custom-values.yaml in your offline environment:

touch custom-values.yaml

Edit custom-values.yaml, add the following content:

knative-serving:
  activator:
    activator:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-activator
  autoscaler:
    autoscaler:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-autoscaler
  configDeployment:
    queueSidecarImage:
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-queue
  controller:
    controller:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-controller
  domainMapping:
    domainMapping:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-domain-mapping
  domainmappingWebhook:
    domainmappingWebhook:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-domain-mapping-webhook
  netContourController:
    controller:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-net-contour-cmd-controller
  defaultDomain:
    job:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-default-domain
  webhook:
    webhook:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/knative.dev-serving-cmd-webhook
shipwright-build:
  shipwrightBuildController:
    shipwrightBuild:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/shipwright-shipwright-build-controller
      GIT_CONTAINER_IMAGE:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/shipwright-io-build-git
      MUTATE_IMAGE_CONTAINER_IMAGE:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/shipwright-mutate-image
      BUNDLE_CONTAINER_IMAGE:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/shipwright-bundle
      WAITER_CONTAINER_IMAGE:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/shipwright-waiter
tekton-pipelines:
  controller:
    tektonPipelinesController:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-controller
      kubeconfigWriterImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-kubeconfigwriter
      gitImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-git-init
      entrypointImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-entrypoint
      nopImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-nop
      imagedigestExporterImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-imagedigestexporter
      prImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-pullrequest-init
      workingdirinitImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-workingdirinit
      gsutilImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/cloudsdktool-cloud-sdk
        digest: sha256:27b2c22bf259d9bc1a291e99c63791ba0c27a04d2db0a43241ba0f1f20f4067f
      shellImage:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/distroless-base
        digest: sha256:b16b57be9160a122ef048333c68ba205ae4fe1a7b7cc6a5b289956292ebf45cc
  webhook:
    webhook:
      image:
        repository: <your-private-image-repository>/tektoncd-pipeline-cmd-webhook
keda:
  image:
    keda:
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/keda
      tag: 2.8.1
    metricsApiServer:
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/keda-metrics-apiserver
      tag: 2.8.1
dapr:
  registry: <your-private-image-registry>/daprio
  tag: '1.8.3'
contour:
  contour:
    image:
      registry: <your-private-image-registry>
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/contour
      tag: 1.21.1-debian-11-r5
  envoy:
    image:
      registry: <your-private-image-registry>
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/envoy
      tag: 1.22.2-debian-11-r6
  defaultBackend:
    image:
      registry: <your-private-image-registry>
      repository: <your-private-image-repository>/nginx
      tag: 1.21.6-debian-11-r10

Install OpenFunction

Run the following command in an offline environment to try to install OpenFunction:

kubectl create namespace openfunction
helm install openfunction openfunction-v0.8.1-v0.4.0.tgz -n openfunction -f custom-values.yaml

Q: How to build and run functions in an offline environment

A: Let’s take Java functions as an example to illustrate how to build and run functions in an offline environment:

  • Synchronize https://github.com/OpenFunction/samples.git to your private code repository

  • Follow this prerequisites doc to create push-secret and git-repo-secret

  • Change public maven repository to private maven repository:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
             xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
             xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
        <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    
        <groupId>dev.openfunction.samples</groupId>
        <artifactId>samples</artifactId>
        <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    
        <properties>
            <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
            <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
        </properties>
    
        <repositories>
            <repository>
                <id>snapshots</id>
                <name>Maven snapshots</name>
                    <!--<url>https://s01.oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/</url>-->
                    <url>your private maven repository</url>
                <releases>
                    <enabled>false</enabled>
                </releases>
                <snapshots>
                    <enabled>true</enabled>
                </snapshots>
            </repository>
        </repositories>
    
        <dependencies>
            <dependency>
                <groupId>dev.openfunction.functions</groupId>
                <artifactId>functions-framework-api</artifactId>
                <version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
            </dependency>
        </dependencies>
    
    </project>
    

    Make sure to commit the changes to the code repo.

  • Synchronize openfunction/buildpacks-java18-run:v1 to your private image repository

  • Modify functions/knative/java/hello-world/function-sample.yaml according to your environment:

    apiVersion: core.openfunction.io/v1beta1
    kind: Function
    metadata:
      name: function-http-java
    spec:
      version: "v2.0.0"
      image: "<your private image repository>/sample-java-func:v1"
      imageCredentials:
        name: push-secret
      port: 8080 # default to 8080
      build:
        builder: <your private image repository>/builder-java:v2-18
        params:
          RUN_IMAGE: "<your private image repository>/buildpacks-java18-run:v1"
        env:
          FUNC_NAME: "dev.openfunction.samples.HttpFunctionImpl"
          FUNC_CLEAR_SOURCE: "true"
        srcRepo:
          url: "https://<your private code repository>/OpenFunction/samples.git"
          sourceSubPath: "functions/knative/java"
          revision: "main"
          credentials:
           name: git-repo-secret
      serving:
        template:
          containers:
            - name: function # DO NOT change this
              imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent 
        runtime: "knative"
    

    If your private mirror repository is insecure, please refer to Use private image repository in an insecure way

  • Run the following commands to build and run the function:

    kubectl apply -f functions/knative/java/hello-world/function-sample.yaml