Tanzu Application Catalog services

Bitnami package for Metrics Server

Last Updated March 07, 2025

Metrics Server aggregates resource usage data, such as container CPU and memory usage, in a Kubernetes cluster and makes it available via the Metrics API.

Overview of Metrics Server

Trademarks: This software listing is packaged by Bitnami. The respective trademarks mentioned in the offering are owned by the respective companies, and use of them does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

TL;DR

helm install my-release oci://REGISTRY_NAME/REPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server

Note: You need to substitute the placeholders REGISTRY_NAME and REPOSITORY_NAME with a reference to your Helm chart registry and repository.

Introduction

This chart bootstraps a Metrics Server deployment on a Kubernetes cluster using the Helm package manager.

Bitnami charts can be used with Kubeapps for deployment and management of Helm Charts in clusters.

Prerequisites

  • Kubernetes 1.23+
  • Helm 3.8.0+

Installing the Chart

To install the chart with the release name my-release:

helm install my-release oci://REGISTRY_NAME/REPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server

Note: You need to substitute the placeholders REGISTRY_NAME and REPOSITORY_NAME with a reference to your Helm chart registry and repository. For example, in the case of Bitnami, you need to use REGISTRY_NAME=registry-1.docker.io and REPOSITORY_NAME=bitnamicharts.

These commands deploy Metrics Server on the Kubernetes cluster in the default configuration. The Parameters section lists the parameters that can be configured during installation.

Tip: List all releases using helm list

Configuration and installation details

Resource requests and limits

Bitnami charts allow setting resource requests and limits for all containers inside the chart deployment. These are inside the resources value (check parameter table). Setting requests is essential for production workloads and these should be adapted to your specific use case.

To make this process easier, the chart contains the resourcesPreset values, which automatically sets the resources section according to different presets. Check these presets in the bitnami/common chart. However, in production workloads using resourcesPreset is discouraged as it may not fully adapt to your specific needs. Find more information on container resource management in the official Kubernetes documentation.

Rolling vs Immutable tags

It is strongly recommended to use immutable tags in a production environment. This ensures your deployment does not change automatically if the same tag is updated with a different image.

Bitnami will release a new chart updating its containers if a new version of the main container, significant changes, or critical vulnerabilities exist.

Enable RBAC security

In order to enable Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for Metrics Server, use the following parameter: rbac.create=true.

Configure certificates

If you are providing your own certificates for the API Service, set insecureSkipTLSVerify to "false", and provide a caBundle consisting of the base64-encoded certificate chain.

Set Pod affinity

This chart allows you to set custom Pod affinity using the affinity parameter. Find more information about Pod affinity in the Kubernetes documentation.

As an alternative, you can use one of the preset configurations for pod affinity, pod anti-affinity, and node affinity available at the bitnami/common chart. To do so, set the podAffinityPreset, podAntiAffinityPreset, or nodeAffinityPreset parameters.

Backup and restore

To back up and restore Helm chart deployments on Kubernetes, you need to back up the persistent volumes from the source deployment and attach them to a new deployment using Velero, a Kubernetes backup/restore tool. Find the instructions for using Velero in this guide.

Parameters

Global parameters

NameDescriptionValue
global.imageRegistryGlobal Docker image registry""
global.imagePullSecretsGlobal Docker registry secret names as an array[]
global.security.allowInsecureImagesAllows skipping image verificationfalse
global.compatibility.openshift.adaptSecurityContextAdapt the securityContext sections of the deployment to make them compatible with Openshift restricted-v2 SCC: remove runAsUser, runAsGroup and fsGroup and let the platform use their allowed default IDs. Possible values: auto (apply if the detected running cluster is Openshift), force (perform the adaptation always), disabled (do not perform adaptation)auto

Common parameters

NameDescriptionValue
kubeVersionForce target Kubernetes version (using Helm capabilities if not set)""
apiVersionsOverride Kubernetes API versions reported by .Capabilities[]
nameOverrideString to partially override common.names.fullname template (will maintain the release name)""
fullnameOverrideString to fully override common.names.fullname template""
namespaceOverrideString to fully override common.names.namespace""
commonLabelsAdd labels to all the deployed resources{}
commonAnnotationsAdd annotations to all the deployed resources{}
extraDeployArray of extra objects to deploy with the release[]
diagnosticMode.enabledEnable diagnostic mode (all probes will be disabled and the command will be overridden)false
diagnosticMode.commandCommand to override all containers in the the deployment(s)/statefulset(s)["sleep"]
diagnosticMode.argsArgs to override all containers in the the deployment(s)/statefulset(s)["infinity"]

Metrics Server parameters

NameDescriptionValue
image.registryMetrics Server image registryREGISTRY_NAME
image.repositoryMetrics Server image repositoryREPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server
image.digestMetrics Server image digest in the way sha256:aa…. Please note this parameter, if set, will override the tag""
image.pullPolicyMetrics Server image pull policyIfNotPresent
image.pullSecretsMetrics Server image pull secrets[]
automountServiceAccountTokenMount Service Account token in podtrue
hostAliasesAdd deployment host aliases[]
replicasNumber of metrics-server nodes to deploy1
updateStrategy.typeSet up update strategy for metrics-server installation.RollingUpdate
rbac.createEnable RBAC authenticationtrue
serviceAccount.createSpecifies whether a ServiceAccount should be createdtrue
serviceAccount.nameThe name of the ServiceAccount to create""
serviceAccount.automountServiceAccountTokenAutomount API credentials for a service accountfalse
serviceAccount.annotationsAnnotations for service account. Evaluated as a template. Only used if create is true.{}
apiService.createSpecifies whether the v1beta1.metrics.k8s.io API service should be created. You can check if it is needed with kubectl get --raw "/apis/metrics.k8s.io/v1beta1/nodes".false
apiService.insecureSkipTLSVerifySpecifies whether to skip self-verifying self-signed TLS certificates. Set to “false” if you are providing your own certificates.true
apiService.caBundleA base64-encoded string of concatenated certificates for the CA chain for the APIService.""
containerPorts.httpsPort where metrics-server will be running8443
hostNetworkEnable hostNetwork modefalse
dnsPolicyDefault dnsPolicy settingClusterFirst
commandOverride default container command (useful when using custom images)[]
argsOverride default container args (useful when using custom images)[]
lifecycleHooksfor the metrics-server container(s) to automate configuration before or after startup{}
extraEnvVarsArray with extra environment variables to add to metrics-server nodes[]
extraEnvVarsCMName of existing ConfigMap containing extra env vars for metrics-server nodes""
extraEnvVarsSecretName of existing Secret containing extra env vars for metrics-server nodes""
extraArgsExtra arguments to pass to metrics-server on start up[]
sidecarsAdd additional sidecar containers to the metrics-server pod(s)[]
initContainersAdd additional init containers to the metrics-server pod(s)[]
podLabelsPod labels{}
podAnnotationsPod annotations{}
priorityClassNamePriority class for pod scheduling""
schedulerNameName of the k8s scheduler (other than default)""
terminationGracePeriodSecondsIn seconds, time the given to the metrics-server pod needs to terminate gracefully""
podAffinityPresetPod affinity preset. Ignored if affinity is set. Allowed values: soft or hard""
podAntiAffinityPresetPod anti-affinity preset. Ignored if affinity is set. Allowed values: soft or hardsoft
pdb.createCreate a PodDisruptionBudgettrue
pdb.minAvailableMinimum available instances""
pdb.maxUnavailableMaximum unavailable instances""
nodeAffinityPreset.typeNode affinity preset type. Ignored if affinity is set. Allowed values: soft or hard""
nodeAffinityPreset.keyNode label key to match. Ignored if affinity is set.""
nodeAffinityPreset.valuesNode label values to match. Ignored if affinity is set.[]
affinityAffinity for pod assignment{}
topologySpreadConstraintsTopology spread constraints for pod[]
nodeSelectorNode labels for pod assignment{}
tolerationsTolerations for pod assignment[]
service.typeKubernetes Service typeClusterIP
service.ports.httpsKubernetes Service port443
service.nodePorts.httpsKubernetes Service port""
service.clusterIPmetrics-server service Cluster IP""
service.loadBalancerIPLoadBalancer IP if Service type is LoadBalancer""
service.loadBalancerSourceRangesmetrics-server service Load Balancer sources[]
service.externalTrafficPolicymetrics-server service external traffic policyCluster
service.extraPortsExtra ports to expose (normally used with the sidecar value)[]
service.annotationsAnnotations for the Service{}
service.labelsLabels for the Service{}
service.sessionAffinitySession Affinity for Kubernetes service, can be “None” or “ClientIP”None
service.sessionAffinityConfigAdditional settings for the sessionAffinity{}
networkPolicy.enabledEnable creation of NetworkPolicy resourcestrue
networkPolicy.allowExternalThe Policy model to applytrue
networkPolicy.allowExternalEgressAllow the pod to access any range of port and all destinations.true
networkPolicy.kubernetesPortsList of possible endpoints to kubernetes components like kube-apiserver or kubelet (limit to your cluster settings to increase security)[]
networkPolicy.extraIngressAdd extra ingress rules to the NetworkPolicy[]
networkPolicy.extraEgressAdd extra ingress rules to the NetworkPolicy[]
networkPolicy.ingressNSMatchLabelsLabels to match to allow traffic from other namespaces{}
networkPolicy.ingressNSPodMatchLabelsPod labels to match to allow traffic from other namespaces{}
resourcesPresetSet container resources according to one common preset (allowed values: none, nano, micro, small, medium, large, xlarge, 2xlarge). This is ignored if resources is set (resources is recommended for production).nano
resourcesSet container requests and limits for different resources like CPU or memory (essential for production workloads){}
startupProbe.enabledEnable startupProbefalse
startupProbe.initialDelaySecondsInitial delay seconds for startupProbe0
startupProbe.periodSecondsPeriod seconds for startupProbe10
startupProbe.timeoutSecondsTimeout seconds for startupProbe1
startupProbe.failureThresholdFailure threshold for startupProbe3
startupProbe.successThresholdSuccess threshold for startupProbe1
livenessProbe.enabledEnable livenessProbetrue
livenessProbe.initialDelaySecondsInitial delay seconds for livenessProbe0
livenessProbe.periodSecondsPeriod seconds for livenessProbe10
livenessProbe.timeoutSecondsTimeout seconds for livenessProbe1
livenessProbe.failureThresholdFailure threshold for livenessProbe3
livenessProbe.successThresholdSuccess threshold for livenessProbe1
readinessProbe.enabledEnable readinessProbetrue
readinessProbe.initialDelaySecondsInitial delay seconds for readinessProbe0
readinessProbe.periodSecondsPeriod seconds for readinessProbe10
readinessProbe.timeoutSecondsTimeout seconds for readinessProbe1
readinessProbe.failureThresholdFailure threshold for readinessProbe3
readinessProbe.successThresholdSuccess threshold for readinessProbe1
customStartupProbeCustom liveness probe for the Web component{}
customLivenessProbeCustom Liveness probes for metrics-server{}
customReadinessProbeCustom Readiness probes metrics-server{}
containerSecurityContext.enabledEnabled containers’ Security Contexttrue
containerSecurityContext.seLinuxOptionsSet SELinux options in container{}
containerSecurityContext.runAsUserSet containers’ Security Context runAsUser1001
containerSecurityContext.runAsGroupSet containers’ Security Context runAsGroup1001
containerSecurityContext.runAsNonRootSet container’s Security Context runAsNonRoottrue
containerSecurityContext.privilegedSet container’s Security Context privilegedfalse
containerSecurityContext.readOnlyRootFilesystemSet container’s Security Context readOnlyRootFilesystemtrue
containerSecurityContext.allowPrivilegeEscalationSet container’s Security Context allowPrivilegeEscalationfalse
containerSecurityContext.capabilities.dropList of capabilities to be dropped["ALL"]
containerSecurityContext.seccompProfile.typeSet container’s Security Context seccomp profileRuntimeDefault
podSecurityContext.enabledPod security contexttrue
podSecurityContext.fsGroupChangePolicySet filesystem group change policyAlways
podSecurityContext.sysctlsSet kernel settings using the sysctl interface[]
podSecurityContext.supplementalGroupsSet filesystem extra groups[]
podSecurityContext.fsGroupSet %%MAIN_CONTAINER_NAME%% pod’s Security Context fsGroup1001
extraVolumesExtra volumes[]
extraVolumeMountsMount extra volume(s)[]

Specify each parameter using the --set key=value[,key=value] argument to helm install. For example,

helm install my-release \
  --set rbac.create=true oci://REGISTRY_NAME/REPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server

Note: You need to substitute the placeholders REGISTRY_NAME and REPOSITORY_NAME with a reference to your Helm chart registry and repository. For example, in the case of Bitnami, you need to use REGISTRY_NAME=registry-1.docker.io and REPOSITORY_NAME=bitnamicharts.

The above command enables RBAC authentication.

Alternatively, a YAML file that specifies the values for the parameters can be provided while installing the chart. For example,

helm install my-release -f values.yaml oci://REGISTRY_NAME/REPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server

Note: You need to substitute the placeholders REGISTRY_NAME and REPOSITORY_NAME with a reference to your Helm chart registry and repository. For example, in the case of Bitnami, you need to use REGISTRY_NAME=registry-1.docker.io and REPOSITORY_NAME=bitnamicharts. Tip: You can use the default values.yaml

Troubleshooting

Find more information about how to deal with common errors related to Bitnami’s Helm charts in this troubleshooting guide.

Upgrading

To 7.3.0

This version introduces image verification for security purposes. To disable it, set global.security.allowInsecureImages to true. More details at GitHub issue.

To 7.0.0

This major bump changes the following security defaults:

  • runAsGroup is changed from 0 to 1001
  • readOnlyRootFilesystem is set to true
  • resourcesPreset is changed from none to the minimum size working in our test suites (NOTE: resourcesPreset is not meant for production usage, but resources adapted to your use case).
  • global.compatibility.openshift.adaptSecurityContext is changed from disabled to auto.

This could potentially break any customization or init scripts used in your deployment. If this is the case, change the default values to the previous ones.

To 6.0.0

This major release renames several values in this chart and adds missing features, in order to be aligned with the rest of the assets in the Bitnami charts repository.

Affected values:

  • service.port was deprecated. We recommend using service.ports.http instead.
  • service.nodePort was deprecated. We recommend using service.nodePorts.https instead.
  • extraArgs is now interpreted as an array.

To 5.2.0

This version introduces bitnami/common, a library chart as a dependency. More documentation about this new utility could be found here. Please, make sure that you have updated the chart dependencies before executing any upgrade.

To 5.0.0

On November 13, 2020, Helm v2 support formally ended. This major version is the result of the required changes applied to the Helm Chart to be able to incorporate the different features added in Helm v3 and to be consistent with the Helm project itself regarding the Helm v2 EOL.

To 4.0.0

Backwards compatibility is not guaranteed unless you modify the labels used on the chart’s deployments. Use the workaround below to upgrade from versions previous to 4.0.0. The following example assumes that the release name is metrics-server:

kubectl delete deployment metrics-server --cascade=false
helm upgrade metrics-server oci://REGISTRY_NAME/REPOSITORY_NAME/metrics-server

Note: You need to substitute the placeholders REGISTRY_NAME and REPOSITORY_NAME with a reference to your Helm chart registry and repository. For example, in the case of Bitnami, you need to use REGISTRY_NAME=registry-1.docker.io and REPOSITORY_NAME=bitnamicharts.

To 2.0.0

Backwards compatibility is not guaranteed unless you modify the labels used on the chart’s deployments. Use the workaround below to upgrade from versions previous to 2.0.0. The following example assumes that the release name is metrics-server:

kubectl patch deployment metrics-server --type=json -p='[{"op": "remove", "path": "/spec/selector/matchLabels/chart"}]'

License

Copyright © 2025 Broadcom. The term “Broadcom” refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the “License”); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.