From b7fd384aaf7ba1d6470dd590ea866b76c64126f9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: michaelawyu <chenyu1@microsoft.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2024 08:49:23 +0800
Subject: [PATCH] docs: add the report diff mode how-to doc (preview) (#968)

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 docs/howtos/reportdiff.md | 175 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 create mode 100644 docs/howtos/reportdiff.md

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+# How-to Guide: Using the `ReportDiff` Apply Mode
+
+This guide provides an overview on how to use the `ReportDiff` apply mode, which allows one to
+easily evaluate how things will change in the system without the risk of incurring unexpected
+changes. In this mode, Fleet will check for configuration differences between the hub cluster
+resource templates and their corresponding resources on the member clusters, but will not
+perform any apply op. This is most helpful in cases of experimentation and drift/diff analysis.
+
+# How the `ReportDiff` mode can help
+
+To use this mode, simply set the `type` field in the apply strategy part of the CRP API
+from `ClientSideApply` (the default) or `ServerSideApply` to `ReportDiff`. Configuration
+differences are checked per `comparisonOption` setting, in consistency with the behavior
+documented in the drift detection how-to guide; see the document for more information.
+
+The steps below might help explain the workflow better; it assumes that you have a fleet
+of two member clusters, `member-1` and `member-2`:
+
+* Switch to the hub cluster and create a namespace, `work-3`, with some labels.
+
+    ```sh
+    kubectl config use-context hub-admin
+    kubectl create ns work-3
+    kubectl label ns work-3 app=work-3
+    kubectl label ns work-3 owner=leon
+    ```
+
+* Create a CRP object that places the namespace to all member clusters:
+
+    ```sh
+    cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
+    # The YAML configuration of the CRP object.
+    apiVersion: placement.kubernetes-fleet.io/v1beta1
+    kind: ClusterResourcePlacement
+    metadata:
+      name: work-3
+    spec:
+      resourceSelectors:
+        - group: ""
+          kind: Namespace
+          version: v1
+          # Select all namespaces with the label app=work. 
+          labelSelector:
+            matchLabels:
+              app: work-3
+      policy:
+        placementType: PickAll
+      strategy:
+        # For simplicity reasons, the CRP is configured to roll out changes to
+        # all member clusters at once. This is not a setup recommended for production
+        # use.      
+        type: RollingUpdate
+        rollingUpdate:
+          maxUnavailable: 100%
+          unavailablePeriodSeconds: 1
+    EOF
+    ```
+
+* In a few seconds, Fleet will complete the placement. Verify that the CRP is available by checking its status.
+
+* After the CRP becomes available, edit its apply strategy and set it to use the ReportDiff mode:
+
+    ```sh
+    cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
+    # The YAML configuration of the CRP object.
+    apiVersion: placement.kubernetes-fleet.io/v1beta1
+    kind: ClusterResourcePlacement
+    metadata:
+      name: work-3
+    spec:
+      resourceSelectors:
+        - group: ""
+          kind: Namespace
+          version: v1
+          # Select all namespaces with the label app=work. 
+          labelSelector:
+            matchLabels:
+              app: work-3
+      policy:
+        placementType: PickAll
+      strategy:
+        # For simplicity reasons, the CRP is configured to roll out changes to
+        # all member clusters at once. This is not a setup recommended for production
+        # use.      
+        type: RollingUpdate
+        rollingUpdate:
+          maxUnavailable: 100%
+          unavailablePeriodSeconds: 1
+        applyStrategy:
+          type: ReportDiff   
+    EOF
+    ```
+
+* The CRP should remain available, as currently there is no configuration difference at all.
+Check the `Applied` condition in the status; it should report no error:
+
+    ```sh
+    kubectl get clusterresourceplacement.v1beta1.placement.kubernetes-fleet.io work-3 -o jsonpath='{.status.placementStatuses[?(@.clusterName=="member-2")].conditions[?(@.type=="Applied")]}' | jq
+    # The command above uses JSON paths to query the drift details directly and
+    # uses the jq utility to pretty print the output JSON.
+    #
+    # jq might not be available in your environment. You may have to install it
+    # separately, or omit it from the command.
+    #
+    # If the output is empty, the status might have not been populated properly
+    # yet. You can switch the output type from jsonpath to yaml to see the full
+    # object.
+    ```
+
+    ```json
+    {
+      "lastTransitionTime": "2024-11-19T12:23:47Z",
+      "message": "...",
+      "observedGeneration": ...,
+      "reason": "AllWorkHaveBeenApplied",
+      "status": "True",
+      "type": "Applied"
+    }
+    ```
+
+* Now, switch to the second member cluster and make a label change on the applied namespace.
+After the change is done, switch back to the hub cluster.
+
+    ```sh
+    kubectl config use-context member-2-admin
+    kubectl label ns work-3 owner=krauser --overwrite
+    #
+    kubectl config use-context hub-admin
+    ```
+
+* Fleet will detect this configuration difference shortly (w/in 15 seconds).
+Verify that the diff details have been added to the CRP status:
+
+    ```sh
+    kubectl get clusterresourceplacement.v1beta1.placement.kubernetes-fleet.io work-3 -o jsonpath='{.status.placementStatuses[?(@.clusterName=="member-2")].diffedPlacements}' | jq
+    # The command above uses JSON paths to query the drift details directly and
+    # uses the jq utility to pretty print the output JSON.
+    #
+    # jq might not be available in your environment. You may have to install it
+    # separately, or omit it from the command.
+    #
+    # If the output is empty, the status might have not been populated properly
+    # yet. You can switch the output type from jsonpath to yaml to see the full
+    # object.
+    ```
+
+    ```json
+    [
+      {
+          "firstDiffedObservedTime": "2024-11-19T14:55:39Z",
+          "group": "",
+          "version": "v1",
+          "kind": "Namespace",    
+          "name": "work-3",
+          "observationTime": "2024-11-19T14:55:39Z",
+          "observedDiffs": [
+            {
+                "path": "/metadata/labels/owner",
+                "valueInHub": "leon",
+                "valueInMember": "krauser"
+            }
+          ],
+          "targetClusterObservedGeneration": 0    
+      }
+    ]
+    ```
+
+## More information on the ReportDiff mode
+
+* As mentioned earlier, with this mode no apply op will be run at all; it is up to the user to
+decide the best way to handle found configuration differences (if any).
+* Fleet will report an apply error (with diff details) in this mode if configuration
+differences are found on any resource. If a resource has not been applied yet, an apply error
+would also be returned with a message that configuration differences cannot be reported; in
+this case there would be no diff details.