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catalog-deployment
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Created
Mar 5, 2026
Updated
Mar 20, 2026
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This guide covers deploying Porch in production environments using the Nephio catalog.

Configuration Planning#

Before deploying Porch, determine which features you need.

Cache Mode Selection#

Choose your cache backend based on deployment scale and requirements:

  • CR Cache (default): Development and small deployments (<100 repositories)
  • DB Cache: Production deployments requiring scale and reliability

{{% alert title="Important" color="warning" %}}
If using DB Cache, you must configure database settings for both Porch Server and Repository Controller before deployment. See [Cache Configuration]({{% relref "/docs/6_configuration_and_deployments/configurations/cache" %}}) for complete setup instructions including database initialization.
{{% /alert %}}

Optional Pre-deployment Configuration#

These optional features must be configured before deployment if you need them:

Porch Server#

  • [Cert-Manager Webhooks]({{% relref "../configurations/components/porch-server-config/cert-manager-webhooks" %}}) - Enable cert-manager webhook integration (requires deployment env vars)
  • [Jaeger Tracing]({{% relref "../configurations/components/porch-server-config/jaeger-tracing" %}}) - Enable distributed tracing (requires deployment env vars)
  • [Git Custom TLS]({{% relref "../configurations/components/porch-server-config/git-authentication#3-httpstls-configuration" %}}) - Enable custom TLS certificates for Git repositories (requires --use-git-cabundle=true arg)

Function Runner#

  • [Private Registries]({{% relref "../configurations/components/function-runner-config/private-registries-config" %}}) - Configure private container registries (requires deployment args and volume mounts)

Post-deployment Configuration#

These features can be configured after deployment:

  • [Git Authentication]({{% relref "../configurations/components/porch-server-config/git-authentication" %}}) - Configure Porch Server authentication for private Git repositories

{{% alert title="Note" color="primary" %}}
[Repository Sync]({{% relref "../configurations/repository-sync" %}}) configuration is currently located in the system configuration section but should be moved to a more logical location as it's about configuring individual Repository resources, not system-wide settings.
{{% /alert %}}

Prerequisites#

  • Kubernetes cluster (v1.25+)
  • kubectl configured for your cluster
  • kpt CLI tool
  • Cluster admin permissions

Installation Steps#

1. Get the Porch Package#

kpt pkg get https://github.com/nephio-project/catalog/tree/main/nephio/core/porch

2. Customize Configuration (Optional)#

If you need any pre-deployment features from the Configuration Planning section above, modify the package now:

cd porch/

# Example: Configure database cache for Porch Server
kpt fn eval --image gcr.io/kpt-fn/set-annotations:v0.1 -- \
  annotations='cache-type=DB'

# Review your changes
kpt pkg tree

3. Render and Apply#

# Render the package with any customizations
kpt fn render porch

# Initialize the package for lifecycle management
kpt live init porch

# Apply to your cluster
kpt live apply porch

Verification#

Check Pod Status#

Verify all Porch components are running:

kubectl get pods -n porch-system

Expected output:

NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
function-runner-xxx-xxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
function-runner-xxx-xxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
porch-controllers-xxx-xxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
porch-server-xxx-xxx 1/1 Running 0 2m

Verify API Resources#

Confirm Porch CRDs are registered:

kubectl api-resources | grep porch

Troubleshooting#

Common Issues#

Pods not starting:

kubectl describe pods -n porch-system
kubectl logs -n porch-system -l app=porch-server

CRDs not registered:

kubectl get crd | grep porch

Getting Help#

For additional support: