Configuring Digital.ai Release Runner Registry Settings

Overview

When deploying Digital.ai Release in enterprise environments, you may need to configure custom registry settings for your Release runner to handle container images effectively. This guide walks you through the process of configuring registry settings for air-gapped networks and private registries.

important

These registry settings only apply to plugin execution pods created by the Release Runner. The Runner installation itself, including its container images, is handled during the installation process using the xl kube install command.

Understanding the Need for Custom Registry Settings

There are several key scenarios where custom registry settings become essential for your Digital.ai Release deployment, and understanding these scenarios will help you implement the right configuration for your environment.

Common Scenarios

1. Air-gapped Networks: In environments without internet access, external registry URLs (like docker.io) are not accessible to fetch images for integration plugins.
2. Private Registries: Organizations often maintain internal registries that require proper authentication and routing configurations.
3. Security Requirements: Companies may need to ensure all container images come from approved, internal sources.

How Registry Settings Help

The Digital.ai Release runner registry settings provide solutions by:

• Redirecting container image requests from public repositories to your internal registry
• Configuring authentication for private registries using Kubernetes secrets
• Setting up image mappings to maintain consistency across your deployment
• Ensuring seamless operation of integration plugins in restricted network environments

Setting Up Custom Registry Settings

Follow these steps to configure your registry settings, starting with creating a connection and then configuring the necessary mappings and authentication.

Creating a Registry Settings Connection

1. Click Connections from the sidebar.

2. Click New Connection and select Digital.ai Release runner registry settings.

   

3. Provide a Title for the configuration.

4. Define Image Mappings and Registry Pull Secret Mappings (detailed in sections below).

5. Click Save.

Configuring Image Mappings

Image mappings redirect Docker image requests to your internal registry locations.

Steps to Add Image Mappings:

1. In the Image Mappings table, click the + button.
2. Configure the mapping:
   • Key: Original image URL/pattern (for example, docker.io/digitalai)
   • Value: Internal image URL (for example, internal-registry.local/digitalai)
3. Click Save.

Setting Up Registry Authentication

If your internal registry requires authentication, you'll need to configure registry pull secrets.

Steps to Configure Authentication:

1. Create a Kubernetes Secret:

   kubectl create secret docker-registry my-registry-secret \
     --docker-server=internal-registry.local \
     --docker-username=<username> \
     --docker-password=<password> \
     --docker-email=<email>

2. Add Registry Pull Secret Mapping:

   • In the Registry Pull Secret Mappings table, click +
   • Key: Image URL requiring authentication
   • Value: SecretRef name (for example, my-registry-secret)

caution

Create the Kubernetes secret in the same namespace as your Digital.ai Release runner to ensure proper access to credentials.

Example Configurations

Let's look at some practical examples of how to configure both image mappings and registry authentication for common scenarios.

Image Mapping Example

Key	Value
docker.io/digitalai	internal-registry.local/digitalai

Registry Pull Secret Mapping Example

Key	Value
internal-registry.local/digitalai	my-registry-secret

Here's how the complete configuration looks:

Applying Settings to Your Runner

1. Select Settings ( ) > Runners from the top navigation bar.

2. Click the Actions ellipsis icon for the runner and select Edit.

   

3. Choose your registry setting from the Registry Settings drop-down list.

   

4. Click Save.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter issues while configuring or using your registry settings, here are some common problems and their solutions organized by category.

Image Pull Failures

• Verify image mapping syntax is correct
• Ensure internal registry is accessible
• Check if authentication secrets are properly configured

Authentication Issues

• Confirm Kubernetes secret exists in correct namespace
• Verify registry credentials are valid
• Check registry pull secret mapping configuration

Connection Problems

• Validate internal registry connectivity
• Ensure proper network access between runner and registry
• Verify DNS resolution for registry URLs