Hiro Systems Helm Charts

This repository contains Helm charts for deploying Hiro Systems infrastructure components, including the Stacks blockchain node and associated services.

⚠️ Important Notice

These Helm charts are primarily designed and optimized for Hiro's internal infrastructure. While they are publicly available, they are:

• Highly tailored to Hiro's specific deployment environment
• Not intended as authoritative guides for running Hiro software
• Not guaranteed to account for all deployment scenarios

If you're experiencing performance issues, it's likely due to using default configurations without proper tuning for your specific environment.

Available Charts

• stacks-blockchain - Deploys a Stacks blockchain node
• stacks-blockchain-api - Deploys the Stacks Blockchain API service
• Additional supporting services and components

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes 1.19+
• Helm 3.x
• Understanding of Kubernetes resource management and configuration
• Familiarity with the Stacks blockchain architecture

Getting Started

Adding the Repository

helm repo add hirosystems https://hirosystems.github.io/charts
helm repo update

Installing Charts

# Install with default values (NOT recommended for production)
helm install my-stacks-node hirosystems/stacks-blockchain

# Install with custom values (RECOMMENDED)
helm install my-stacks-node hirosystems/stacks-blockchain -f my-values.yaml

⚡ Performance Considerations

Chart configuration does not determine application performance. Performance depends on:

1. Resource Allocation

   • CPU and memory limits/requests
   • Storage class and IOPS
   • Network bandwidth

2. Application Configuration

   • Node settings and parameters
   • Cache sizes
   • Connection pools
   • Indexing strategies

3. Infrastructure

   • Node types and specifications
   • Cluster networking setup
   • Storage backend performance

Tuning for Production

If you're deploying these charts in production, you MUST:

1. Review and modify resource requests/limits based on your workload
2. Configure application-specific settings for optimal performance
3. Use appropriate storage classes with sufficient IOPS
4. Monitor and adjust based on actual usage patterns

Example custom values for production:

# my-values.yaml
resources:
  requests:
    memory: "8Gi"
    cpu: "4"
  limits:
    memory: "16Gi"
    cpu: "8"

persistence:
  size: 500Gi
  storageClass: fast-ssd

config:
  # Application-specific tuning parameters
  # Consult Stacks documentation for optimal values
  cache_size: 4096
  max_connections: 1000
  # ... other configuration

Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV)

Since these charts are optimized for Hiro's infrastructure:

• Network policies may reference internal services
• Default values assume specific cluster configurations
• Some features may require Hiro-specific resources
• Monitoring and observability integrations may not work out-of-the-box

Experienced Kubernetes operators can adapt these charts by:

• Overriding values extensively
• Modifying templates if necessary
• Understanding the underlying application requirements

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Poor Performance

   • Check resource allocation
   • Review application logs for bottlenecks
   • Ensure storage performance meets requirements
   • Verify network connectivity and latency

2. Deployment Failures

   • Verify all dependencies are met
   • Check for namespace-specific resources
   • Review security contexts and permissions

3. Connection Issues

   • Confirm service discovery is working
   • Check network policies
   • Verify ingress/load balancer configuration

Documentation

For comprehensive information about running Stacks infrastructure:

• Stacks Documentation
• Hiro Developer Docs
• Stacks Blockchain Configuration

Support

• For Helm chart issues: Open an issue in this repository
• For application-specific questions: Consult the official documentation
• For performance tuning: Review the Stacks performance tuning guide

Contributing

We welcome contributions that:

• Improve compatibility across different environments
• Add better documentation and examples
• Fix bugs or security issues

Please ensure any changes maintain backward compatibility with Hiro's infrastructure needs.

Remember: These charts are tools to help deploy the software, not prescriptive guides on how to run it. Successful deployment requires understanding both Kubernetes and the Stacks blockchain ecosystem.