How to test Rancher RC/Alpha versions

This document (000020721) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

Helm

Situation

By default, Helm only returns the final releases.
This article provides details on how to install Rancher RC versions.

Resolution

First, you need to add the Rancher 'latest' helm repository.

helm repo add rancher-latest https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/latest

Then you can list the current repositories on your configuration machine with

$ helm repo ls
NAME          	URL
coredns       	https://coredns.github.io/helm
rancher-charts	https://charts.rancher.io
rancher-stable	https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/stable
rancher-latest	https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/latest

You can list the final releases with

$ helm search repo "rancher-latest" --versions
NAME                  	CHART VERSION	APP VERSION	DESCRIPTION
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.6        	v2.6.6     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.5        	v2.6.5     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.4        	v2.6.4     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
[...]
rancher-latest/rancher  2.0.4           v2.0.4      Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...

To list the RC versions, you can use the --devel argument.

helm search repo "rancher-latest" --versions --devel
NAME                  	CHART VERSION   	APP VERSION      	DESCRIPTION
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.7-rc7       	v2.6.7-rc7       	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.7-rc6       	v2.6.7-rc6       	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
rancher-latest/rancher	2.6.7-rc5       	v2.6.7-rc5       	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
[...]
rancher-latest/rancher  2.0.4               v2.0.4              Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...

The Rancher installation command line becomes

helm install rancher <rancher-latest-repo> 
  --devel
  --version 2.6.7-rc1
  --namespace cattle-system \
  --set hostname=rancher.my.org \
  --set replicas=3

Additional Information

https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/v2.6/en/installation/install-rancher-on-k8s/#install-the-rancher-helm-chart

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.