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Install Torque Agent

Torque Control plane offers centralized orchestration and management for Kubernetes orchestration tools such as Kubernetes manifest, Helm and Crossplane. In this guide, we will go over some of Torque basic features allowing quick onboarding of Kubernetes automation assets into the platform, standardization of Kubernetes orchestration using blueprints and securing deployment process using tagging, policies and RBAC.

In this quick-start guide, we will cover the following topics:

  1. Create a new Torque Space
  2. Connect a Git repository and let Torque discover the automation assets in it
  3. Install an agent on your Kubernetes cluster and associate it with the space
  4. Launch a blueprint and get access to the deployed resources in the newly created environment

NOTE: This guide will focus on Kubernetes manifest and Helm orchestration, click here for more information about Torque supported platform.

Step #1: Create a space​

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Spaces are logically separate areas that contain an association to one or more agents, asset and blueprint repositories, and a set of permitted users. Spaces can be used to logically separate teams, projects, or even development lifecycle stages, and allow the relevant end-users, administrators, and blueprint designers to access only the relevant blueprints and environments.

  1. To create a new space, use one of the following methods:

    • Expand the Admin section at the bottom of the left sidebar, click Spaces, and click Create Space. This is the account space management page where you can create, edit, and delete spaces.
    • Open the space selector at the top of the page and click Create a new Space.

  2. In the Create your Space dialog, fill in the Space Details: the Space Name, a Space Color, and a Space Icon, then click Create.

    Torque switches to the new space, opens its (empty) Self-Service catalog, and immediately opens the Connect a repository dialog described in Step #2. If you close that dialog, the space still exists and you can connect the repository later from Automation > Repositories.

    The space name, icon, and color can always be changed later from Admin > Spaces using the space's ⋮ menu.

Step #2: Connect a repository​

Now that you have a new space configured, we will connect a repository to the space and let Torque discover the automation assets in it. We recommend using your own repository hosted in one of the supported Git providers. For on-prem/hosted versions of the supported version control systems, see Repository Setup and Self Hosted Repositories.

  1. In the Connect a repository dialog that opens after the space is created (or, later, in your space under Automation > Repositories by clicking Add Repository), select your Git provider: BitBucket, GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, CodeCommit, or CloudShell.
  2. In the Repository details step, enter the Repository URL, a Repository Name, and optionally a Branch.
  3. Under Credentials, choose Select from Credentials Store and pick existing credentials for this provider, or choose Create New Credentials and enter a Credentials Name and the provider's access token. For the provider-specific fields, see Repository Setup.
  4. Click Connect. Torque scans the repository and shows a Successfully connected to summary with the number of assets that were discovered and are now managed in the space. Blueprint YAML files under the repository's blueprints folder are added to the space automatically.
  5. Click Explore in IaC Assets Page (or go to Automation > Automation Inventory and open the IaC Assets tab). Each discovered asset is listed with its Type, Self-Service and Building Block toggles, Status, IaC Local Path, and Repository Name. Toggle Self-Service for the asset you want to launch. Torque wraps the asset in a blueprint behind the scenes and adds it to the Self-Service catalog. For details, see Blueprint Design.

Step #3: Install an Agent​

In this step, we will connect a Torque agent that will execute, manage, and monitor the Kubernetes workloads we discovered and plan to deploy. A new space has no agent yet: its Resources → Agents page shows Connect an Agent ("To eventually launch environments, an Agent is required").

  1. In the space, go to Resources → Agents and click New Agent to open the Connect an Agent wizard.
  2. In the Setup step, choose Cloud, then Public Cloud, and select the tile of your managed Kubernetes provider (Azure, AWS, GCP, or Oracle) or the generic Kubernetes tile for a self-managed cluster. In this example, we use AWS EKS. Click Next.
  3. In the Generate Agent step, fill in the Agent Name and optionally the Location, then click Next.
  4. In the Installation Instructions step, copy the generated kubectl command and run it against your Kubernetes cluster.
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The command creates a new namespace and deploys the Torque agent in it. It might take up to 2 minutes for the agent to get up and running, so wait for the Connected indication in the Connections Status panel.

  1. Click Associate to Space. In the Associate the Agent to your Space dialog, select the Space, and set the Default Namespace and Default Service Account that Torque will use to deploy workloads into the cluster, then click Associate. You can change these defaults later from the agent's ⋮ > Manage Spaces menu in Resources → Agents. For details, see Install an Agent on your Kubernetes Cluster.

Step #4: Launch an Environment​

🚀🚀 Congrats! You are now ready to launch your first environment! 🚀🚀

  1. Make sure the blueprint or IaC asset is published: in Automation > Automation Inventory, the Self-Service toggle of the item must be on (inside a blueprint, the Self Service button reads Hide from Catalog while it is published). See Publishing to the Self-Service Catalog.
  2. Go to Self-Service and click Launch on the blueprint card.
  3. Specify the environment's name, duration, tags, and inputs. Some of the inputs may be the credentials or agent required to deploy, as described in Step #3.
  4. Optionally assign collaborators to the environment. While everyone in the space has "read" permission to its environments, only the environment's owner and collaborators can perform actions that change the environment: extend or end the environment, reconcile or update resource changes, and so on. When launching the environment, the new owner/collaborators receive a notification email if you have Notifications configured in the space.
  5. Finally, click Launch.
  6. Wait until the environment is active and use it as needed. URLs to the environment's applications are typically provided as outputs - these can be found in the environment's Quick Access links.
  7. Check out the Resources tab to get details about your environment's resources. Use this tab to understand what assets each grain spun up, get connection details to specific resources, and more.