chatqna-helm-deploy

ChatQnA Helm Deploy

Deploy the Chat Question and Answer Core sample application Helm chart at sample-applications/chat-question-and-answer-core/chart/ to Kubernetes using Helm. The chart's dependencies are chatqna-core and chatqna-ui, which are built from the same source code as the Docker Compose deployment. Also it includes nginx as a reverse proxy for the backend and UI.

Codebase root: sample-applications/chat-question-and-answer-core/

Prerequisites

1. Confirm a reachable Kubernetes cluster is available and kubectl is configured to access it.

     kubectl get nodes
   

2. For GPU, discover resource keys before writing values:

     kubectl get nodes -o json | jq -r '.items[] | "\(.metadata.name):\n" + (.status.allocatable | to_entries | map(select(.key | test("gpu|npu|vpu|accel";"i"))) | map("  \(.key): \(.value)") | join("\n"))'
   

   Common Intel keys are gpu.intel.com/i915, gpu.intel.com/xe

What This Skill Produces

• A running ChatQnA Core Helm release in a target namespace for one runtime:
  • OpenVINO CPU
  • OpenVINO GPU
  • Ollama
• A generated override file (values-override.yaml) that translates Docker Compose and setup_env.sh style inputs to Helm values keys.
• A verified deployment state using pods, services, and health endpoint checks.
• A concise deployment report containing:
  • runtime selected and GPU mode
  • chart source (local path or OCI chart)
  • values files used and major override keys
  • access URL and API docs URL
  • warnings (missing token, GPU key, model constraints)

When to Use

• "Deploy chatqna core to Kubernetes"
• "Helm install chatqna-core"
• "Configure values.yaml for chatqna core"
• "Translate docker compose setup_env.sh into helm values"
• "Deploy OpenVINO GPU profile with Helm"
• "Deploy Ollama with chart values"

Inputs To Confirm

Before running commands, confirm or infer these values:

1. Runtime: openvino or ollama
2. Device target: cpu or gpu (GPU valid only for OpenVINO)
3. Namespace and release name (default release: chatqna-core)
4. Chart source:
   • local chart path (./chart), or
   • OCI chart (oci://registry-1.docker.io/intel/chat-question-and-answer-core)
5. Image source and tags:
   • prebuilt registry tags, or
   • custom/private registry and tags
6. Model settings (EMBEDDING_MODEL, LLM_MODEL, optional RERANKER_MODEL)
7. Optional Hugging Face token (HUGGINGFACEHUB_API_TOKEN) for OpenVINO
8. Optional proxy values (http_proxy, https_proxy, no_proxy)

If runtime/device values are missing, default to openvino + cpu.

If prebuilt images are used and tags are not specified by the user, default to the tags in chart/values.yaml.

Use Helm and kubectl commands for deployment actions in this skill.

Decision Logic

• If runtime is ollama:
  • select -f values.yaml -f values-ollama.yaml
  • force CPU-only devices
• If runtime is openvino and device is gpu:
  • select -f values.yaml -f values-openvino.yaml
  • set gpu.enabled=true
  • require gpu.key from cluster labels
• If runtime is openvino and device is cpu:
  • select -f values.yaml -f values-openvino.yaml
  • set gpu.enabled=false
• If requested values conflict with chart validation (for example GPU model device with gpu.enabled=false), correct values before install.

Compose and setup_env.sh Translation

Use the reference mapping in ./references/compose-setupenv-to-helm-mapping.md if the user asks to map Compose or setup_env.sh inputs to Helm values.

Deployment Workflow

Run from sample-applications/chat-question-and-answer-core.

1. Preflight

kubectl version --client
helm version
kubectl config current-context

If using local source chart:

cd chart
helm dependency build

If using OCI chart:

helm pull oci://registry-1.docker.io/intel/chat-question-and-answer-core --version <version>
tar -xvf chat-question-and-answer-core-<version>.tgz
cd chat-question-and-answer-core
helm dependency build

Ensure namespace exists:

kubectl create namespace <namespace> --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -

2. Build values override file

Create or update values-override.yaml by translating user intent or Compose/setup_env style inputs using the reference mapping. Do not commit filled secrets or tokens.

If running behind a proxy, include these keys in values-override.yaml using the values from your current system environment:

global:
	http_proxy: "${http_proxy}"
	https_proxy: "${https_proxy}"
	no_proxy: "${no_proxy}"

Select base files by runtime:

• OpenVINO: values.yaml + values-openvino.yaml + values-override.yaml
• Ollama: values.yaml + values-ollama.yaml + values-override.yaml

3. Validate rendered manifests

helm template chatqna-core \
	-f values.yaml \
	-f values-<runtime>.yaml \
	-f values-override.yaml \
	.

4. Install or upgrade release

helm upgrade --install chatqna-core \
	-f values.yaml \
	-f values-<runtime>.yaml \
	-f values-override.yaml \
	. \
	--namespace <namespace>

5. Verify deployment

kubectl get pods -n <namespace>
kubectl get services -n <namespace>
kubectl get events -n <namespace> --sort-by=.lastTimestamp | tail -n 30
kubectl rollout status deploy/chatqna-core -n <namespace>
kubectl rollout status deploy/chatqna-core-nginx -n <namespace>

Health endpoint evidence:

chatqna_hostip=$(kubectl get pods -l app=chatqna-core-nginx -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.items[0].status.hostIP}')
chatqna_port=$(kubectl get service chatqna-core-nginx -n <namespace> -o jsonpath='{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}')
curl -sS -w "\nHTTP_STATUS:%{http_code}\n" "http://${chatqna_hostip}:${chatqna_port}/v1/chatqna/health"

6. Access and teardown

# UI
echo "http://${chatqna_hostip}:${chatqna_port}"

# API docs
echo "http://${chatqna_hostip}:${chatqna_port}/v1/chatqna/docs"

# Uninstall
helm uninstall chatqna-core -n <namespace>

Failure Handling

• Helm template validation fails:
  • report exact key causing failure and propose corrected key/value.
• GPU requested but gpu.key missing:
  • instruct user to run kubectl describe node and provide device plugin key, then re-run with gpu.enabled=true.
• Pods not ready:
  • collect kubectl describe pod and kubectl logs for failing pods.
• Health check non-200:
  • inspect chatqna-core logs for model download/config issues.
  • note first startup can take longer due to model pull/conversion.
• PVC stuck:
  • list and optionally delete stuck PVC only when explicitly requested.
• Need larger storage:
  • increase PVC size in values-override.yaml and re-run helm upgrade.

Completion Criteria

1. Runtime-specific install command is executed with correct values files.
2. Compose/setup_env inputs (if provided) are translated into a concrete values-override.yaml.
3. Pods/services are healthy in the target namespace.
4. Health endpoint returns HTTP_STATUS:200.
5. User receives UI URL, API docs URL, release/namespace, and uninstall command.
6. Response includes raw verification evidence (kubectl get, rollout status, health check output).