ComputePool Configuration Reference

This page provides technical reference information for configuring ComputePools.

Complete ComputePool Example

The following example shows a complete, production-ready ComputePool manifest with all major fields. Use this as a template and refer to the detailed sections below for field-specific guidance.

apiVersion: spectrocloud.com/v1alpha1
kind: ComputePool
metadata:
  name: ml-cluster
  namespace: my-project
  labels:
    environment: production
    team: ml-platform
  annotations:
    description: 'Production ML compute cluster'
    owner: 'ml-platform-team'
spec:
  # ProfileBundle reference - defines infrastructure and application stacks
  profileBundleRef:
    name: edge-profilebundle
    namespace: my-project
    cloudType: edge-native

  # Cluster variant configuration
  clusterVariant:
    # Optional: Resource groups filter which hosts are eligible for this cluster
    controlPlaneResourceGroups:
      'palette.ai': 'true'
    workerResourceGroups:
      'palette.ai': 'true'
      'gpu-enabled': 'true'

    # Dedicated cluster configuration
    dedicated:
      paletteClusterDeploymentConfig:
        # Cloud type for deployment
        cloudType: edge-native

        # Node pool requirements
        nodePoolRequirements:
          # Control plane configuration
          controlPlanePool:
            nodeCount: 3
            workerNodeEligible: false
            architecture: amd64
            cpu:
              cpuCount: 4
            memory:
              memoryMiB: 16384
            labels:
              node-role: control-plane
            annotations:
              description: 'Control plane node'

          # Worker pools
          workerPools:
            - name: cpu-pool
              architecture: amd64
              cpu:
                cpuCount: 8
              memory:
                memoryMiB: 32768
              labels:
                workload-type: cpu-intensive
              annotations:
                description: 'CPU worker pool'
            - name: gpu-pool
              architecture: amd64
              cpu:
                cpuCount: 16
              memory:
                memoryMiB: 65536
              gpu:
                family: NVIDIA-A100
                gpuCount: 2
                gpuMemory: 40960
              labels:
                workload-type: gpu-training
              annotations:
                description: 'GPU worker pool for ML training'

        # Deletion policy - what happens when ComputePool is deleted
        deletionPolicy: delete

        # Optional: SSH keys for cluster node access
        sshKeys:
          - 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza... your-ssh-key'

        # Edge configuration (overrides ComputeConfig defaults)
        edge:
          # Required: Virtual IP for cluster control plane
          vip: '10.10.162.130'
          # Optional: NTP servers for time synchronization
          ntpServers:
            - time.google.com
            - time.cloudflare.com
          # Optional: Network overlay configuration
          networkOverlayConfig:
            enabled: false
            staticIp: false
            cidr: '192.168.1.0/24'
            overlayNetworkType: VXLAN
          # Optional: Two-node deployment mode
          isTwoNode: false

YAML Structure

All configuration shown in the sections below fits into the structure shown in this complete example. Pay special attention to the nesting hierarchy to avoid placement errors.

Key nesting paths:

Control plane config: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.nodePoolRequirements.controlPlanePool
Worker pools config: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.nodePoolRequirements.workerPools
Edge config: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.edge
Deletion policy: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.deletionPolicy

Control Plane Configuration

Use nodePoolRequirements.controlPlanePool to configure the control plane node pool.

Node count: 1, 3, or 5.
Worker eligibility: For single-node clusters (nodeCount: 1), you must set workerNodeEligible: true. Without this setting, single-node clusters cannot schedule workloads and will not become Ready. For multi-node clusters (3 or 5 nodes), set this to false to keep the control plane dedicated.
Architecture: amd64 or arm64.
Resource requirements: Set cpu.cpuCount and optional memory.memoryMiB.

Example for a single-node cluster:

controlPlanePool:
  nodeCount: 1
  workerNodeEligible: true
  architecture: amd64
  cpu:
    cpuCount: 4
  memory:
    memoryMiB: 16384

Example for a multi-node cluster:

controlPlanePool:
  nodeCount: 3
  workerNodeEligible: false
  architecture: amd64
  cpu:
    cpuCount: 4
  memory:
    memoryMiB: 16384

Worker Pool Configuration

Use nodePoolRequirements.workerPools to define worker pools.

Create multiple worker pools to separate workload types (for example, CPU-only and GPU-enabled).
Each worker pool can have different resource requirements.
Set gpu values for GPU-enabled worker pools.

workerPools:
  - name: cpu-pool
    architecture: amd64
    cpu:
      cpuCount: 4
  - name: gpu-pool
    architecture: amd64
    cpu:
      cpuCount: 8
    gpu:
      family: NVIDIA-A100
      gpuCount: 2
      gpuMemory: 40960

GPU fields:

family. GPU family name (for example, NVIDIA-A100).
gpuCount. Number of GPUs per node.
gpuMemory. GPU memory in MiB.

Edge Configuration

Use edge to configure edge clusters.

VIP Requirements

The Virtual IP (VIP) is the control plane endpoint for the Kubernetes cluster. Proper VIP planning is critical for successful cluster deployment.

VIP Planning Checklist:

Before provisioning a Compute Pool, complete the following VIP requirements:

Reserve the VIP from your network team or IPAM system. The VIP must be allocated and documented before cluster creation.
Verify network placement:
- The VIP must be in the same Layer 2 network segment as the control plane nodes.
- The VIP must be reachable from all edge hosts that will join the cluster.
- The VIP must not be in a CIDR range routed through a proxy.
Confirm VIP availability:
- The VIP must not be assigned to any other device or cluster.
- Verify no IP conflicts exist using Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) or ping tests.
VIP format:
- The VIP can be an IPv4 address (for example, 10.10.162.130) or a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) that resolves to an IP address.
- Ensure DNS resolution is configured if using an FQDN.
VIP advertisement mechanism:
- PaletteAI edge clusters use kube-vip to advertise the VIP using Layer 2 ARP or BGP.
- Layer 2 (ARP) mode is the default and most common configuration:
  - The VIP is advertised via ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)
  - Requires that control plane nodes are on the same L2 network segment
  - Confirm that your network allows ARP traffic between control plane nodes
  - No additional configuration needed in the ComputePool manifest
- BGP mode (advanced) requires additional Palette cluster profile configuration:
  - The VIP is advertised via BGP peering with network routers
  - Requires BGP configuration in the Palette cluster profile (not in the ComputePool manifest)
  - Use when control plane nodes span multiple L2 segments
  - Requires coordination with your network team for BGP peering setup
- How to determine which mode is used:
  - By default, kube-vip operates in Layer 2 (ARP) mode
  - BGP mode must be explicitly configured in the Palette infrastructure profile
  - Check your ProfileBundle's referenced Palette cluster profile for kube-vip BGP settings
  - If no BGP configuration exists, Layer 2 mode is active

Pre-flight VIP validation:

Before applying the Compute Pool manifest, validate the VIP from each edge host:

# Verify VIP is not in use (should timeout or fail)
ping -c 3 <vip-address>

# Check ARP table for conflicts (should return no results)
arp -a | grep <vip-address>

# Verify VIP is in same subnet as control plane nodes
ip route get <vip-address>

# If using FQDN, verify DNS resolution
nslookup <vip-fqdn>

VIP constraints:

The VIP is immutable after cluster creation. You cannot change the VIP without deleting and recreating the cluster.
The VIP must be unique across all Compute Pools in your environment.
The VIP must not be used by any other device, service, or load balancer on your network.

Example edge configuration with VIP:

# This configuration goes under:
# spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.edge
edge:
  vip: '10.10.162.130'
  ntpServers:
    - time.google.com
    - time.cloudflare.com
  networkOverlayConfig:
    enabled: true
    cidr: '192.168.1.0/24'
    overlayNetworkType: VXLAN

Optional Edge Settings

YAML path: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.edge

Additional edge configuration options (all are optional except VIP):

NTP servers (ntpServers): Configure time synchronization servers. Use this when edge hosts do not have default NTP configuration or when specific time sources are required.
```
edge:
  ntpServers:
    - time.google.com
    - time.cloudflare.com
```
Network overlay (networkOverlayConfig): Configure VXLAN overlay network for pod-to-pod communication across nodes. Use this for advanced networking scenarios or when the underlying network does not support native pod routing.
```
edge:
  networkOverlayConfig:
    enabled: true
    staticIp: false
    cidr: '192.168.1.0/24'
    overlayNetworkType: VXLAN
```
Fields:
- enabled (boolean) - Enable or disable overlay network
- staticIp (boolean) - Use static IP assignment for overlay
- cidr (string) - CIDR range for overlay network
- overlayNetworkType (string) - Type of overlay (typically VXLAN)
SSH keys (sshKeys): Configure SSH access to cluster nodes. Use this for operational access and troubleshooting. This is under paletteClusterDeploymentConfig (sibling to edge), not inside edge.
```
paletteClusterDeploymentConfig:
  sshKeys:
    - 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza... your-key-1'
    - 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza... your-key-2'
```
Two-node deployment (isTwoNode): Enable two-node cluster mode. Special configuration for edge deployments with exactly two nodes.
```
edge:
  isTwoNode: true
```

ProfileBundle Reference

profileBundleRef defines the infrastructure stack and, optionally, application stacks for deployment. This is a top-level field under spec.

YAML path: spec.profileBundleRef

Required fields:

name - Name of the ProfileBundle resource
namespace - Namespace of the ProfileBundle (must match the Project namespace)

Optional fields:

cloudType - Cloud provider type (edge-native or maas)

ProfileBundle types:

infrastructure - Contains only infrastructure profiles (Kubernetes, networking, storage)
fullstack - Contains both infrastructure and application profiles
application - Contains only application profiles (for Imported clusters only)

Example:

spec:
  profileBundleRef:
    name: edge-profilebundle
    namespace: my-project
    cloudType: edge-native

Deletion Policy

deletionPolicy controls what happens to the Palette cluster when you delete the Compute Pool resource from PaletteAI.

YAML path: spec.clusterVariant.dedicated.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig.deletionPolicy

delete (default). Deletes the cluster from Palette when the Compute Pool is deleted. Use this for ephemeral or development clusters where you want complete cleanup.
orphan. Keeps the cluster running in Palette when the Compute Pool is deleted. The cluster becomes unmanaged by PaletteAI. Use this when you want to preserve the cluster infrastructure but stop managing it through PaletteAI.

Example:

spec:
  clusterVariant:
    dedicated:
      paletteClusterDeploymentConfig:
        deletionPolicy: delete

Orphan mode cleanup:

When using deletionPolicy: orphan, you must manually clean up resources:

The Kubernetes cluster remains running in Palette and continues to consume infrastructure resources.
Any workloads deployed by PaletteAI remain running but are no longer managed.
You must manually delete the cluster from Palette if you no longer need it.
Edge hosts remain allocated to the cluster until you delete the cluster from Palette.

UI Field to YAML Mapping

The following table maps User Interface wizard fields to their corresponding YAML paths in the ComputePool manifest. Use this when translating UI configurations created in Canvas to Kubernetes manifests for kubectl or GitOps workflows.

UI Wizard Step	UI Field Name	YAML Path	Notes
General	Compute pool name	`metadata.name`	Must be unique in namespace
General	Description	`metadata.annotations.description`	Optional annotation
General	Labels / Annotations	`metadata.labels` / `metadata.annotations`	Key-value pairs
Mode	Dedicated resources	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated`	Mutually exclusive with `shared`
Profile Bundle	Profile Bundle	`spec.profileBundleRef.name`	Must exist in same namespace
Profile Bundle	Cloud Type	`spec.profileBundleRef.cloudType`	Typically `edge-native`
Profile Bundle	Version	`spec.profileBundleRef.name`	To select a specific revision, use the format `<profile-bundle-name>@v<revision>` (for example, `edge-profilebundle@v3`).
Node Config	Node Count (control plane)	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.controlPlanePool.nodeCount`	Values: 1, 3, or 5
Node Config	Workload Eligible	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.controlPlanePool.workerNodeEligible`	Boolean: `true` for single-node
Node Config	Architecture	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.controlPlanePool.architecture`	Values: `amd64`, `arm64`
Node Config	CPU Count	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.controlPlanePool.cpu.cpuCount`	Integer
Node Config	Memory	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.controlPlanePool.memory.memoryMiB`	Integer in MiB. UI may accept GB notation which is converted.
Node Config	Worker Pool Architecture	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].architecture`	Array element
Node Config	Worker Pool CPU Count	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].cpu.cpuCount`	Integer
Node Config	Worker Pool Memory	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].memory.memoryMiB`	Integer in MiB
Node Config	Min Worker Nodes	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].minWorkerNodes`	Minimum nodes to provision
Node Config	GPU Family	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].gpu.family`	e.g., `NVIDIA-A100`
Node Config	GPU Count	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].gpu.gpuCount`	Integer
Node Config	GPU Memory	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.nodePoolRequirements` `.workerPools[].gpu.gpuMemory`	Integer in MiB
Deployment	Deletion Policy	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.deletionPolicy`	Values: `delete`, `orphan`
Deployment	Settings Ref	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.settingsRef.name`	Settings resource name used for Palette integration.
Deployment	SSH Keys	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.sshKeys`	Array of SSH public keys
Deployment	VIP	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.edge.vip`	Required. Immutable.
Deployment	Network Overlay (enabled)	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.edge.networkOverlayConfig` `.enabled`	Boolean
Deployment	Network Overlay CIDR	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.edge.networkOverlayConfig` `.cidr`	CIDR notation
Deployment	Overlay Network Type	`spec.clusterVariant.dedicated` `.paletteClusterDeploymentConfig` `.edge.networkOverlayConfig` `.overlayNetworkType`	Typically `VXLAN`

Complete ComputePool Example​

Control Plane Configuration​

Worker Pool Configuration​

Edge Configuration​

VIP Requirements​

Optional Edge Settings​

ProfileBundle Reference​

Deletion Policy​

UI Field to YAML Mapping​

Related Resources​