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| 1 | +# KEP-3902: Decouple Taint-based Pod Eviction from Node Lifecycle Controller |
| 2 | +<!-- toc --> |
| 3 | +- [Release Signoff Checklist](#release-signoff-checklist) |
| 4 | +- [Summary](#summary) |
| 5 | +- [Motivation](#motivation) |
| 6 | + - [Goals](#goals) |
| 7 | + - [Non-Goals](#non-goals) |
| 8 | +- [Proposal](#proposal) |
| 9 | + - [User Stories (Optional)](#user-stories-optional) |
| 10 | + - [Story](#story) |
| 11 | + - [Notes/Constraints/Caveats (Optional)](#notesconstraintscaveats-optional) |
| 12 | + - [Risks and Mitigations](#risks-and-mitigations) |
| 13 | +- [Design Details](#design-details) |
| 14 | + - [Proposed Controllers](#proposed-controllers) |
| 15 | + - [Implementation](#implementation) |
| 16 | + - [Test Plan](#test-plan) |
| 17 | + - [Prerequisite testing updates](#prerequisite-testing-updates) |
| 18 | + - [Unit tests](#unit-tests) |
| 19 | + - [Integration tests](#integration-tests) |
| 20 | + - [E2E tests](#e2e-tests) |
| 21 | + - [Graduation Criteria](#graduation-criteria) |
| 22 | + - [Alpha](#alpha) |
| 23 | + - [Beta](#beta) |
| 24 | + - [GA](#ga) |
| 25 | + - [Upgrade / Downgrade Strategy](#upgrade--downgrade-strategy) |
| 26 | + - [Version Skew Strategy](#version-skew-strategy) |
| 27 | +- [Production Readiness Review Questionnaire](#production-readiness-review-questionnaire) |
| 28 | + - [Feature Enablement and Rollback](#feature-enablement-and-rollback) |
| 29 | + - [Rollout, Upgrade and Rollback Planning](#rollout-upgrade-and-rollback-planning) |
| 30 | + - [Monitoring Requirements](#monitoring-requirements) |
| 31 | + - [Dependencies](#dependencies) |
| 32 | + - [Scalability](#scalability) |
| 33 | + - [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) |
| 34 | +- [Implementation History](#implementation-history) |
| 35 | +- [Drawbacks](#drawbacks) |
| 36 | +- [Alternatives](#alternatives) |
| 37 | +- [Infrastructure Needed (Optional)](#infrastructure-needed-optional) |
| 38 | +- [Note](#note) |
| 39 | +<!-- /toc --> |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +## Release Signoff Checklist |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +Items marked with (R) are required *prior to targeting to a milestone / release*. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +- [X] (R) Enhancement issue in release milestone, which links to KEP dir in [kubernetes/enhancements](https://git.k8s.io/enhancements) (not the initial KEP PR) |
| 46 | +- [X] (R) KEP approvers have approved the KEP status as `implementable` |
| 47 | +- [X] (R) Design details are appropriately documented |
| 48 | +- [ ] (R) Test plan is in place, giving consideration to SIG Architecture and SIG Testing input (including test refactors) |
| 49 | + - [ ] e2e Tests for all Beta API Operations (endpoints) |
| 50 | + - [ ] (R) Ensure GA e2e tests meet requirements for [Conformance Tests](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/sig-architecture/conformance-tests.md) |
| 51 | + - [ ] (R) Minimum Two Week Window for GA e2e tests to prove flake free |
| 52 | +- [ ] (R) Graduation criteria is in place |
| 53 | + - [ ] (R) [all GA Endpoints](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/pull/1806) must be hit by [Conformance Tests](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/sig-architecture/conformance-tests.md) |
| 54 | +- [ ] (R) Production readiness review completed |
| 55 | +- [ ] (R) Production readiness review approved |
| 56 | +- [ ] "Implementation History" section is up-to-date for milestone |
| 57 | +- [ ] User-facing documentation has been created in [kubernetes/website](https://git.k8s.io/website), for publication to [kubernetes.io](https://kubernetes.io/) |
| 58 | +- [ ] Supporting documentation—e.g., additional design documents, links to mailing list discussions/SIG meetings, relevant PRs/issues, release notes |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +## Summary |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +In Kubernetes, `NodeLifecycleController` applies predefined `NoExecute` taints (e.g., `Unreachable`, `NotReady`) when the nodes are determined to be unhealthy. After the nodes get tainted, `TaintManager` does its due diligence to start deleting running pods on those nodes based on `NoExecute` taints, which can be added by anyone. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +In this KEP, we propose to decouple `TaintManager` that performs taint-based pod eviction from `NodeLifecycleController` and make them two separate controllers: `NodeLifecycleController` to add taints to unhealthy nodes and `TaintManager` to perform pod deletion on nodes tainted with NoExecute effect. |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +This separation not only improves code organization but also makes it easier to improve `TaintManager` or build custom `TaintManager`. |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +## Motivation |
| 69 | +`NodeLifecycleController` combines two independent functions: |
| 70 | + * Adding a pre-defined set of `NoExecute` taints to nodes based on the node conditions |
| 71 | + * Performing pod eviction on `NoExecute` taints |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +Splitting the `NodeLifecycleController` based on the above functionalities will help to disentangle code and make future extensions to either component manageable. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +### Goals |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +* Move taint-based eviction implementation out of `NodeLifecycleController` into a separate and independent taint-manager to enhance separation of concerns, maintainability. |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +### Non-Goals |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +The main focus of the KEP is on the separation of concerns between `NodeLifecycleController` and `TaintManager`, which will improve code organization and enable future extensions to `TaintManager`. While it is true that the separation allows cluster operators to build custom `TaintManager` and disable the default `TaintManager`, this is a side-effect of the change rather than the main goal. the KEP emphasizes the benefits of the separation of concerns and briefly mention the option to disable the default TaintManager as a potential side-effect. |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +The non-goals are the following. |
| 84 | +* Introduce extra maintenance burden or regression after the code reorganization |
| 85 | +* Introduce incompatible behavior of `NodeLifecycleController` or `TaintManager` |
| 86 | +* Extend and enhance the current built-in APIs for customization of node taint-based eviction, including additional fields, more flexible communication protocols, webhooks and CRD references, etc. |
| 87 | +* Actual extension and enhancement of the current `TaintManager`. |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +## Proposal |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +### User Stories (Optional) |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +While this split is for improving the code maintainability, an effect of this change is that it allows cluster-admins to extend and enhance the default `TaintManager` and even replace the default `TaintManager` with a custom implementation. However, discussing such use-cases for extending `TaintManager` or writing custom `TaintManager` is beyond the scope of this KEP. |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +#### Story |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +### Notes/Constraints/Caveats (Optional) |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +### Risks and Mitigations |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +Compared with a single combined controller, the risks of using two separate controllers include the following. |
| 102 | +* Slightly increase the communication overhead from applying node taints to performing pod eviction. |
| 103 | +* Make cancellation of pod eviction and un-tainting nodes harder. |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +However, the performance overhead of the split controllers is expected to be small, and pod eviction cancellation and un-tainting nodes are not common use cases. Splitting `NodeLifecycleController` is more beneficial by promoting a cleaner design and enhancing the overall maintainability and extensibility in the long term. |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +## Design Details |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +In Kubernetes version 1.27 and earlier, the `NoExecuteTaintManager` component is included within the `NodeLifecycleController`. |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +### Proposed Controllers |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +The proposed design refactors `NodeLifecycleController` into two independent controllers, which are managed by `kube-controller-manager`. |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +1. `NodeLifecycleController` monitors node health and adds `NotReady` and `Unreachable` taints to nodes |
| 118 | +2. `NoExecuteTaintManager` watches for node and pod updates, and performs `NoExecute` taint based pod eviction |
| 119 | + |
| 120 | +The existing kube-controller-manager flag `--controllers` can be used to optionally disable the `NoExecuteTaintManager`. |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +### Implementation |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +A new `NodeLifecycleManager` is implemented by removing taint-manager related code from `controller/nodelifecycle/node_lifecycle_controller.go`. |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | +A new `NoExecuteTaintManager` is created as a top-level controller managed by` kube-controller-manager`. Its implementation is based on the current taint-manager from `controller/nodelifecycle/taint-manager.go`. |
| 129 | + |
| 130 | +The creation and startup of the default taint-manager is performed by `kube-controller-manager`. A feature gate `SeparateTaintManager` controls whether to use the split `TaintManager` or roll back to the old `NodeLifecycleController`. |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +### Test Plan |
| 133 | + |
| 134 | +[x] I/we understand the owners of the involved components may require updates to existing tests to make this code solid enough prior to committing the changes necessary to implement this enhancement. |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | +##### Prerequisite testing updates |
| 137 | + |
| 138 | +Kubernetes already has a good coverage of node `No-Execute` eviction. We will add tests only for the changed code. |
| 139 | + |
| 140 | +##### Unit tests |
| 141 | +- `pkg/controller/taintmanager`: 2023-06-03 - 0% (to add) |
| 142 | + - Enable and disable the new `TaintManager` |
| 143 | + - The new `TaintManager` acts on node taints properly |
| 144 | +- `pkg/controller/apis/config/v1alpha1`: 2023-06-03 - 0% |
| 145 | + - Test new configuration |
| 146 | +- `pkg/controller/nodelifecycle`: 2023-06-03 - 74.8% |
| 147 | + - Test the combined controller |
| 148 | +- `pkg/controller/nodelifecycle/scheduler`: 2023-06-03 - 90% |
| 149 | + - Test the combined controller |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | +##### Integration tests |
| 152 | +- Verify the ability to enable and disable the default `TaintManager`. |
| 153 | +- Verify the new `TaintManager`to act on node taints properly. |
| 154 | + |
| 155 | +##### E2E tests |
| 156 | +- Verify the new controllers to pass the existing E2E and conformance tests using the split `TaintManager`. |
| 157 | +- Manually test rollback and the `upgrade->downgrade->upgrade` path to verify it can pass the existing e2e tests. |
| 158 | + |
| 159 | +### Graduation Criteria |
| 160 | + |
| 161 | +#### Alpha |
| 162 | + |
| 163 | +Since there are no new API changes, we can skip Alpha and go to Beta directly. |
| 164 | + |
| 165 | +#### Beta |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +* Support `kube-controller-manager` flag `--controllers=-taint-manager` to disable the default taint-manager. |
| 168 | +* Unit and e2e tests completed and passed. |
| 169 | +* Performance and scalability tests to verify there is non-negligible performance degradation in node taint-based eviction. |
| 170 | +* Update documents to reflect the changes. |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | +#### GA |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +* Fix all reported bugs if any. |
| 175 | + |
| 176 | +### Upgrade / Downgrade Strategy |
| 177 | + |
| 178 | +A feature gate `SeparateTaintManager` enables and disables the new feature. When the feature is turned on, a user can use `kube-controller-manager`'s flag to disable the default `TaintManager`. |
| 179 | + |
| 180 | +### Version Skew Strategy |
| 181 | + |
| 182 | +## Production Readiness Review Questionnaire |
| 183 | + |
| 184 | +### Feature Enablement and Rollback |
| 185 | + |
| 186 | +###### How can this feature be enabled / disabled in a live cluster? |
| 187 | + |
| 188 | +- [X] Feature gate (also fill in values in `kep.yaml`) |
| 189 | + - Feature gate name: SeparateTaintManager |
| 190 | + - Components depending on the feature gate: kube-controller-manager |
| 191 | + |
| 192 | +###### Does enabling the feature change any default behavior? |
| 193 | +No, the default `NodeLifecycleManager` and `TaintManager` behavior will stay the same. |
| 194 | + |
| 195 | +###### Can the feature be disabled once it has been enabled (i.e. can we roll back the enablement)? |
| 196 | +Yes. Once rolled back, `TaintManager` is enabled along with `NodeLifecycleController`. |
| 197 | + |
| 198 | +###### What happens if we reenable the feature if it was previously rolled back? |
| 199 | +The feature will work as usual. |
| 200 | + |
| 201 | +###### Are there any tests for feature enablement/disablement? |
| 202 | +No enablement/disablement tests are needed since this is in-memory feature and just regular tests with the feature being enabled/disabled do the job. |
| 203 | + |
| 204 | +### Rollout, Upgrade and Rollback Planning |
| 205 | + |
| 206 | +<!-- |
| 207 | +This section must be completed when targeting beta to a release. |
| 208 | +--> |
| 209 | + |
| 210 | +###### How can a rollout or rollback fail? Can it impact already running workloads? |
| 211 | +This is an opt-in feature, and it does not change any default behavior. Unless there is a bug in the implementation, a rollout can not fail. If a rollout does fail, running workloads will not be evicted properly on tainted nodes. We don't except a rollback can fail. |
| 212 | + |
| 213 | +###### What specific metrics should inform a rollback? |
| 214 | +A significantly changing number of pod evictions (`taint_manager_pod_evictions_total`) and/or a substantial increase in pod eviction latency (`taint_manager_pod_eviction_latency`) in Kubernetes. |
| 215 | + |
| 216 | +###### Were upgrade and rollback tested? Was the upgrade->downgrade->upgrade path tested? |
| 217 | +The upgrade will be tested in the planned unit and e2e tests. The rollback and upgrade-downgrade-upgrade path will |
| 218 | +be tested manually (see [Test Plan](#test-plan) section). |
| 219 | + |
| 220 | +###### Is the rollout accompanied by any deprecations and/or removals of features, APIs, fields of API types, flags, etc.? |
| 221 | +No |
| 222 | + |
| 223 | +### Monitoring Requirements |
| 224 | + |
| 225 | +###### How can an operator determine if the feature is in use by workloads? |
| 226 | +It can be determined by if the feature gate `SeparateTaintManager` is used or not. |
| 227 | + |
| 228 | +###### How can someone using this feature know that it is working for their instance? |
| 229 | +- [x] Other (treat as last resort) |
| 230 | + - Details: Node taints and taint-based pod eviction should work as usual and there is no significant change in the number pod evictions and pod eviction latency. |
| 231 | + |
| 232 | +###### What are the reasonable SLOs (Service Level Objectives) for the enhancement? |
| 233 | +The performance of node taint-based eviction should remain the same level as before. |
| 234 | + |
| 235 | +###### What are the SLIs (Service Level Indicators) an operator can use to determine the health of the service? |
| 236 | +The metrics for both `NodeLifecycleController` and `TaintManager`'s queues should stay the same levels as before, the number of pod evictions and pod eviction latency. |
| 237 | + |
| 238 | +- [X] Metrics |
| 239 | + - Metric name: `taint_manager_pod_evictions_total`, `taint_manager_pod_eviction_latency` |
| 240 | + - Components exposing the metric: `kube-controller-manager` |
| 241 | + |
| 242 | +###### Are there any missing metrics that would be useful to have to improve observability of this feature? |
| 243 | +No |
| 244 | + |
| 245 | +### Dependencies |
| 246 | + |
| 247 | +###### Does this feature depend on any specific services running in the cluster? |
| 248 | +No |
| 249 | + |
| 250 | +### Scalability |
| 251 | + |
| 252 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in any new API calls? |
| 253 | +No |
| 254 | + |
| 255 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in introducing new API types? |
| 256 | +No |
| 257 | + |
| 258 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in any new calls to the cloud provider? |
| 259 | +No |
| 260 | + |
| 261 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in increasing size or count of the existing API objects? |
| 262 | +No |
| 263 | + |
| 264 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in increasing time taken by any operations covered by existing SLIs/SLOs? |
| 265 | +It may slightly increase the time of pod eviction. |
| 266 | + |
| 267 | +###### Will enabling / using this feature result in non-negligible increase of resource usage (CPU, RAM, disk, IO, ...) in any components? |
| 268 | +No |
| 269 | + |
| 270 | +###### Can enabling / using this feature result in resource exhaustion of some node resources (PIDs, sockets, inodes, etc.)? |
| 271 | +No |
| 272 | + |
| 273 | +### Troubleshooting |
| 274 | + |
| 275 | +###### How does this feature react if the API server and/or etcd is unavailable? |
| 276 | +The same behavior as the current version: fail to add taint and/or evict pods on tainted nodes. |
| 277 | + |
| 278 | +###### What are other known failure modes? |
| 279 | +No |
| 280 | + |
| 281 | +###### What steps should be taken if SLOs are not being met to determine the problem? |
| 282 | +If the pod eviction latency increases significantly, validate if the communication between `NodeLifecycleController` and `TaintManager` works. If the number of pod evictions is abnormal, run tests to verify the `TaintManager` works properly. |
| 283 | + |
| 284 | +## Implementation History |
| 285 | + |
| 286 | +* 2023-03-06: Initial KEP published. |
| 287 | + |
| 288 | +## Drawbacks |
| 289 | + |
| 290 | +## Alternatives |
| 291 | + |
| 292 | +Keeping the code as-is is an option, but it will make future extension of `TaintManager` harder and less flexible. |
| 293 | + |
| 294 | + |
| 295 | +## Infrastructure Needed (Optional) |
| 296 | + |
| 297 | +N/A |
| 298 | + |
| 299 | +## Note |
| 300 | +`taint-manager`, `TaintManager` and `NoExecuteTaintManager` are used interchangeably in this doc. |
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