Installing, patching, or updating Pega software
After you push the required docker images to your preferred Docker repository, you install Pega Platform software into your database when you initially deploy Pega Platform into your Kubernetes environment. After you have a deployment running, you can update your Pega software using the standard update process for any on-premises Pega software installation.
Using Pega runbooks specific to your environment
Pega provides step-by-step guidance in example runbooks that are customized for each supported Kubernetes environment. These runbooks guide you through preparation of your local system for the prerequisite configurations that Kubernetes deployments in your preferred environment require; requesting and subsequently downloading Pega-provided Docker images; and installing or patching, with zero downtime, your Pega software deployment. To get started deploying in your environment, access the appropriate runbook in Supported Kubernetes environments.
Getting the Pega charts
To deploy Pega Platform, Pega provides Helm charts in which you specify the requirements of the Pega deployment for your environment. You then use Helm to deploy all the required Kubernetes resources automatically.
Pega maintains a repository of Helm charts that are required to deploy Pega Platform using Helm. After you add the repository to your local system, you can customize these Pega configuration files for your Pega Platform deployment. To get started using the Pega-provided Helm charts for deploying Pega Platform into the cloud environment of your choice, see Pega deployment on Kubernetes.
Helm Chart parameters
To deploy Pega Platform by using the Pega-provided Helm charts you must update the parameters in the following three charts:
- To reflect the requirements for your Pega Platform deployment, edit the Pega Helm chart. For details about the Pega Helm chart configuration, see the Pega Helm chart readme.
- To configure the supporting services and tools, edit the Addons Helm chart. For more information, see Addons Helm chart readme.
For more general details about how to use Helm and Helm charts to manage Kubernetes orchestrations, see the Helm Quickstart Guide.
Best practices for managing configuration using secrets
Pega supports using Kubernetes secrets to secure credentials and related information. Use secrets to represent credentials for your database, Docker registry, or any other token or key that you need to pass to a deployed application. To create a secret, see Distributing Credentials Securely Using Secrets.
Pega supports passing secrets in the following ways:
| Type | Configuration Example |
|---|---|
| Credentials using environment variables | env:
secretKeyRef:
|
| Credentials using volume mount | containers:
volumes:
secret:
|
| Docker registry secret | imagePullSecrets:
|
Installing other Pega applications
After you install Pega Platform using the installer Docker that you built, you can install additional Pega applications using the standard application installation process with an application distribution image you download from the Pega Digital Software Delivery site. For the installation instructions, see the industry application section of the Pega Community Product page.Patching a Pega deployment
Pega supports using the latest Pega Infinity Docker images that include the latest cumulative bundle of bug and security fixes since the last minor release to apply patches with a zero-time patch process:
- For releases 8.4 and later, the Pega zero-downtime patch scripts use a new rules schema and a temporary data schema and the patch migration script moves the rules between the appropriate schemas in your deployment. At the end of the process the new rules schema becomes the Pega rules schema for your deployment. For more details about this specific patch process, see Applying a patch without downtime.
- For releases 8.3 and earlier, the Pega zero-downtime patch scripts use a new rules schema and the patch migration script moves the rules between the appropriate schemas. At the end of the process the new rules schema becomes the Pega rules schema for your deployment. For more details about this specific patch process, see Patching systems without downtime (Pega 8.3 and earlier).
To get started applying a Pega software patch, see Patching Pega Platform in your deployment.
Updating the Pega software in your deployment
The Pega Helm charts support a zero-downtime updates process using the latest Pega Infinity Docker images. The zero-downtime update process synchronizes the required process steps to minimize downtime so you and your customers can continue to access and use their applications in your environment with minimal disruption while you patch or update your system.
To update Pega Platform software deployed in a Kubernetes environment in zero-downtime, you must download the latest Pega-provided images for the version to which you are updating from Pega Digital Software Delivery and use the Helm chart with versions 1.6.0 or later to complete the update. To learn about how the update process works and its requirements and the steps you must complete, see the Pega-provided runbook, Updating Pega Platform in your deployment with zero-downtime.
To complete your Pega Infinity update, after you update your Pega Platform software using the Pega Helm charts and Docker images, you must use the latest Pega application software update guide that is separate from Pega Platform software. You can locate the appropriate update guide for your installed application from the page, All Products.
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