Deploy on Kubernetes with Helm

Install Routr Connect on a Kubernetes cluster with the routr/routr-connect chart. The chart runs each component as its own workload and installs PostgreSQL and Redis as dependencies.

Prerequisites

A Kubernetes cluster (v1.25.4 or later) with a persistent volume provisioner. Minikube or Docker Desktop work for local testing.
Helm v3.11.1 or later and kubectl.
The address SIP clients use to reach the cluster: a node IP, a load balancer IP, or a DNS name.

Install the chart

Add the Helm repository

Add the Routr chart repository and refresh your local cache.

helm repo add routr https://routr.io/charts
helm repo update

Create a namespace

Use a dedicated namespace to keep upgrades and cleanup simple.

kubectl create namespace sipnet

Write a values file

Create a values.yaml file. At minimum, set edgeport.externalAddrs so the EdgePort advertises an address clients can reach.

values.yaml

edgeport:
  # Address SIP clients use to reach the EdgePort
  externalAddrs: [192.168.1.3]

apiserver:
  # Only for local testing. Leave TLS on in production.
  tlsOn: false

See Choose key values for the settings you are most likely to change.

Install the release

Install the chart with the release name sipnet.

helm install sipnet routr/routr-connect --namespace sipnet -f values.yaml

The output looks similar to this:

NAME: sipnet
LAST DEPLOYED: Sun May 21 17:47:48 2023
NAMESPACE: sipnet
STATUS: deployed
REVISION: 1
TEST SUITE: None

Wait for the pods

List the pods and wait until they are all running. The first start takes a few minutes while PostgreSQL initializes and migrations run.

kubectl get pods -n sipnet

When every pod shows Running, the release is ready. The migrations pod runs as a post-install hook and is removed when it succeeds.

Reach the API Server

The API Server isn’t exposed outside the cluster. Forward its external port to your machine.

kubectl -n sipnet port-forward svc/sipnet-routr-apiserver 51908

In another terminal, create a Domain with rctl. Use --insecure only because apiserver.tlsOn is false in this example.

rctl domains create --insecure

Choose key values

Pass values with -f values.yaml or --set key=value. These are the ones most deployments touch. For every parameter and its default, see Helm values.

Value	Default	When to change it
`edgeport.externalAddrs`	`[]`	Always. The addresses advertised to SIP clients.
`edgeport.localnets`	OS-reported networks	When the pod networks aren’t detected correctly. Use with `externalAddrs`.
`edgeport.serviceTypeUDP`	`NodePort`	Set to `LoadBalancer` on a cloud provider to get an external IP for UDP.
`edgeport.serviceTypeTCP`	`NodePort`	Same as above for TCP, TLS, WS, and WSS.
`edgeport.transport.<protocol>.enabled`	only `udp` is `true`	Enable `tcp`, `tls`, `ws`, or `wss`. Ports default to `5060`, `5061`, `5062`, and `5063`.
`edgeport.replicas`	`2`	Number of EdgePort pods.
`edgeport.pkcs12Password`	`changeme`	Change it in production. It protects the signaling keystore.
`apiserver.tlsOn`	`true`	Keep `true` in production. See Secure the server.
`apiserver.databaseUrl`	bundled PostgreSQL	Point to an external PostgreSQL database.
`postgresql.enabled`	`true`	Set to `false` when you use an external database.
`postgresql.auth.username` / `password`	`routr` / `changeme`	Change the credentials of the bundled database.
`location.cache.provider`	`redis`	`redis` or `memory`. See Scale the Location Service with Redis.
`redis.enabled`	`true`	Set to `false` if you run your own Redis and set `location.cache.parameters`.
`rtprelay.enabled`	`false`	Enable for WebRTC. See Enable WebRTC clients.

The following example exposes UDP and TCP through cloud load balancers and uses an external database.

values.yaml

edgeport:
  externalAddrs: [sip.example.com]
  serviceTypeUDP: LoadBalancer
  serviceTypeTCP: LoadBalancer
  transport:
    tcp:
      enabled: true

apiserver:
  databaseUrl: postgresql://routr:secret@dbserver:5432/routr?schema=public

postgresql:
  enabled: false

Every EdgePort replica can receive any request. When a request lands on an EdgePort that doesn’t hold the callee’s connection, Routr forwards it to the EdgePort that does. See EdgePort cooperation.

Upgrade the release

Refresh the repository and apply the new chart version with the same values file. The chart runs database migrations in a post-upgrade hook.

helm repo update
helm upgrade sipnet routr/routr-connect --namespace sipnet -f values.yaml

Check the changelog before upgrading across major versions. When an EdgePort pod restarts, the clients connected to it register again.

Uninstall the release

Remove the release and its Kubernetes objects.

helm uninstall sipnet --namespace sipnet

Helm keeps the persistent volume claims, so your database survives. To delete them as well, remove the PVCs for the release.

kubectl delete pvc -l release=sipnet -n sipnet

Deleting the PVCs deletes the PostgreSQL data. Back it up first.

Troubleshooting

Clients register but calls have no audio or replies are lost. edgeport.externalAddrs doesn’t match the address clients use.
No external IP for SIP. With the default NodePort service type, clients must use a node IP and the assigned node port. Use LoadBalancer on cloud providers.
rctl can’t connect. Check that the port-forward is still running and that you match the TLS mode: --insecure when apiserver.tlsOn is false.

Next steps

Helm values

Every chart parameter and its default.

Deploy to Civo with Helm

A full walkthrough on a managed cluster.

Scale with Redis

Share registrations across Location Service replicas.

Deployment topologies

How the components fit together on Kubernetes.

Get started

Concepts

How-to guides

Tutorials

Community

Deploy on Kubernetes with Helm

Prerequisites

Install the chart

Choose key values

Upgrade the release

Uninstall the release

Troubleshooting

Next steps

Helm values

Deploy to Civo with Helm

Scale with Redis

Deployment topologies

​Prerequisites

​Install the chart

​Choose key values

​Upgrade the release

​Uninstall the release

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Helm values

Deploy to Civo with Helm

Scale with Redis

Deployment topologies

Prerequisites

Install the chart

Choose key values

Upgrade the release

Uninstall the release

Troubleshooting

Next steps