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Pulse on Kubernetes

This guide explains how to deploy the Pulse Server (Hub) and Pulse Agents on Kubernetes clusters, including immutable distributions like Talos Linux.

Prerequisites

  • A Kubernetes cluster (v1.19+)
  • helm (v3+) installed locally
  • kubectl configured to talk to your cluster

1. Deploying the Pulse Server

The Pulse Server is the central hub that collects metrics and manages agents.

Option A: Using Helm (Recommended)

  1. Add the Pulse Helm repository:

    helm repo add pulse https://rcourtman.github.io/Pulse
helm repo update

  2. Install the chart:

    helm upgrade --install pulse pulse/pulse \
  --namespace pulse \
  --create-namespace \
  --set persistence.enabled=true \
  --set persistence.size=10Gi

    Note: For production, ensure you configure a proper storageClass or deployment.strategy.type=Recreate if using ReadWriteOnce (RWO) volumes.

Option B: Generating Static Manifests (For Talos / GitOps)

If you cannot use Helm directly on the cluster (e.g., restricted Talos environment), you can generate standard Kubernetes YAML manifests:

helm repo add pulse https://rcourtman.github.io/Pulse
helm repo update
helm template pulse pulse/pulse \
  --namespace pulse \
  --set persistence.enabled=true \
  > pulse-server.yaml
```text

You can then apply this file:

```bash
kubectl apply -f pulse-server.yaml

2. Deploying the Pulse Agent

Important: Helm Chart Agent Is Legacy Docker-Only

The Helm chart includes an agent section, but it deploys the deprecated pulse-docker-agent (Docker socket metrics only). It does not deploy the unified pulse-agent.

If you need the unified agent on Kubernetes, use a custom DaemonSet as shown below.

Unified Agent on Kubernetes (DaemonSet)

To monitor Kubernetes resources, run the unified agent as a DaemonSet and enable the Kubernetes module.

Recommended options:

  • Kubernetes-only monitoring: PULSE_ENABLE_KUBERNETES=true and PULSE_ENABLE_HOST=false (no host mounts required).
  • Kubernetes + node metrics: PULSE_ENABLE_KUBERNETES=true and PULSE_ENABLE_HOST=true (requires host mounts and privileged mode).

Minimal DaemonSet Example

This uses the main rcourtman/pulse image but runs the pulse-agent binary directly.

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: DaemonSet
metadata:
  name: pulse-agent
  namespace: pulse
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: pulse-agent
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: pulse-agent
    spec:
      serviceAccountName: pulse-agent
      containers:
        - name: pulse-agent
          image: rcourtman/pulse:latest
          command: ["/opt/pulse/bin/pulse-agent-linux-amd64"]
          args:
            - --enable-kubernetes
          env:
            - name: PULSE_URL
              value: "http://pulse-server.pulse.svc.cluster.local:7655"
            - name: PULSE_TOKEN
              value: "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
            - name: PULSE_AGENT_ID
              value: "my-k8s-cluster"
            - name: PULSE_ENABLE_HOST
              value: "false"
            - name: PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_PODS
              value: "true"
            - name: PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_DEPLOYMENTS
              value: "true"
          securityContext:
            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
          resources:
            requests:
              cpu: 50m
              memory: 128Mi
            limits:
              memory: 512Mi
      tolerations:
        - operator: Exists

Note for ARM64 clusters: Replace pulse-agent-linux-amd64 with pulse-agent-linux-arm64.

Use a token scoped for the agent:

  • kubernetes:report for Kubernetes reporting
  • host-agent:report if you enable host metrics

Important DaemonSet Configuration

PULSE_AGENT_ID (Required for DaemonSets)

When running as a DaemonSet, all pods share the same API token but need a unified identity. Without PULSE_AGENT_ID, each pod auto-generates a unique ID (e.g., mac-xxxxx), causing token conflicts:

API token is already in use by agent "mac-aa5496fed726". Each Kubernetes agent must use a unique API token.

Set PULSE_AGENT_ID to a shared cluster name so all pods report as one logical agent:

- name: PULSE_AGENT_ID
  value: "my-k8s-cluster"
Resource Visibility Flags

By default, Pulse only shows resources with problems (unhealthy pods, failing deployments). To see all resources:

Environment Variable Description Default
PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_PODS Show all non-succeeded pods, not just problematic ones false
PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_DEPLOYMENTS Show all deployments, not just those with issues false

For most monitoring use cases, set both to true:

- name: PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_PODS
  value: "true"
- name: PULSE_KUBE_INCLUDE_ALL_DEPLOYMENTS
  value: "true"

See UNIFIED_AGENT.md for all available configuration options.

Add Host Metrics (Optional)

If you want node CPU/memory/disk metrics, add privileged mode plus host mounts:

          env:
            - name: PULSE_ENABLE_HOST
              value: "true"
            - name: HOST_PROC
              value: "/host/proc"
            - name: HOST_SYS
              value: "/host/sys"
            - name: HOST_ETC
              value: "/host/etc"
          securityContext:
            privileged: true
          volumeMounts:
            - name: host-proc
              mountPath: /host/proc
              readOnly: true
            - name: host-sys
              mountPath: /host/sys
              readOnly: true
            - name: host-root
              mountPath: /host/root
              readOnly: true
      volumes:
        - name: host-proc
          hostPath:
            path: /proc
        - name: host-sys
          hostPath:
            path: /sys
        - name: host-root
          hostPath:
            path: /

RBAC

The Kubernetes agent uses the in-cluster API and needs read access to cluster resources (nodes, pods, deployments, etc.). Create a read-only ClusterRole and bind it to the pulse-agent service account.

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: pulse-agent
  namespace: pulse
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: pulse-agent-read
rules:
  - apiGroups: [""]
    resources: ["nodes", "pods"]
    verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
  - apiGroups: ["apps"]
    resources: ["deployments"]
    verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: pulse-agent-read
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: pulse-agent
    namespace: pulse
roleRef:
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: pulse-agent-read
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

3. Talos Linux Specifics

Talos Linux is immutable, so you cannot install the agent via the shell script. Use the DaemonSet approach above.

Agent Configuration for Talos

  • Storage: Talos mounts the ephemeral OS on /. Persistent data is usually in /var. The Pulse agent generally doesn't store state, but if it did, ensure it maps to a persistent path.

  • Network: The agent will report the Pod IP by default. To report the Node IP, set PULSE_REPORT_IP using the Downward API:

    Add this to the DaemonSet env section:

    - name: PULSE_REPORT_IP
  valueFrom:
    fieldRef:
      fieldPath: status.hostIP

4. Troubleshooting

  • Agent not showing in UI: Check logs for the DaemonSet pods, for example: kubectl logs -l app=pulse-agent -n pulse.
  • "Permission Denied" on metrics: Ensure securityContext.privileged: true is set or proper capabilities are added.
  • Connection Refused: Ensure PULSE_URL is correct and reachable from the agent pods.