Install InferNex Bridge
This guide covers Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge v26.6.0, published in the
OLM alpha channel for arm64 clusters.
TOC
PrerequisitesRequired DependenciesCRDs Installed by This OperatorRuntime Templates and ImagesConfigure ImageWhiteListPrepare the ModelOptional DependenciesOptional EagleEye ObservabilityUpload OperatorInstall OperatorVerificationCommunity ExamplesUpgrading Alauda Build of InferNex BridgeVerificationRollbackPrerequisites
Before installing Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge, ensure the target cluster has the required platform and inference dependencies.
Required Dependencies
InferNexService mode does not require users to install the InferNex main chart first. The operator installs the InferNex Bridge control plane; service templates, inference runtime images, model files, and feature-specific prerequisite CRDs must be prepared separately before deploying inference services.
CRDs Installed by This Operator
The Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge OLM bundle installs the two product APIs and three CRDs used by its managed elastic orchestration components:
The following CRDs are not installed by this OLM bundle. Install them separately according to the requirement shown below:
The rolebasedgroups.workloads.x-k8s.io CRD is provided by the upstream RoleBasedGroup (RBG) project. It is a conditional dependency and is not required for Deployment or LeaderWorkerSet targets. To install the upstream RBG v0.7.0 controller and CRDs, use the versioned release manifest:
The expected result is v1alpha2 served=true storage=true. The manifest uses
docker.io/rolebasedgroup/rbgs-controller:v0.7.0-888ade7, which provides an
arm64 image. For a disconnected cluster, mirror this image to a registry
accessible from the cluster and update the manifest image reference before
applying it.
See the upstream RBG releases when selecting a different version.
Enabling the managed Tidal, ElasticScaler, or ResourceScalingGroup components
deploys their controller workloads. Scaling policy resources such as Tidal
and ElasticScaler must still be created separately by the user or platform
workflow.
Runtime Templates and Images
The operator package synchronizes its declared relatedImages, but the OLM runtime templates retain their community source references. Before creating an inference service, configure the platform image allowlist and rewrite rules so those source references resolve to the synchronized images in the target cluster registry.
The model-serving image hub.oepkgs.net/openfuyao/ascend/vllm-ascend:v0.18.0 is not included in the operator relatedImages. Before deploying an NPU inference service, obtain the arm64 image, upload or mirror it to the target registry, and add an image rewrite rule for the complete source reference. Verify the resolved Pod imageID; the source reference remaining in the workload specification does not indicate a rewrite failure.
Configure ImageWhiteList
The platform creates an operator-managed ImageWhiteList when the InferNex Bridge package is uploaded. Do not create or delete this object manually. Operator-managed ImageWhiteList objects are reconciled by olm-registry and may be recreated after deletion.
Before creating an inference service, verify that the generated object contains the required source image references and source-to-target rewrite rules. Keep unrelated entries that are already present.
The following table shows the expected repository mappings. Each rule preserves the original image tag.
The relevant part of the final object should look like this. The complete object contains additional package images and platform-managed entries.
The vllm-ascend entry must be added explicitly because the image is not part
of the operator relatedImages. Import the arm64 image into the target registry
before creating inference workloads. For example:
For BusyBox, retain both busybox:1.36.1 and
docker.io/library/busybox:1.36.1 in repoList, but do not add a custom
BusyBox rewrite rule. The platform _default rule handles the short name and
Docker Hub normalization.
You can back up and edit the operator-managed object with these commands. If
the object has a different name, locate it with
kubectl get imagewhitelist -A.
The workload specification may continue to show the community source image.
The rewrite is successful only when the actual Pod imageID points to the
target registry. A package-owned component and the package-external runtime
should resolve as follows:
Verify the imported image architecture and inspect the workload image IDs:
Prepare the Model
Model artifacts are not included in the InferNex Bridge operator package. Use the Alauda AI model catalog to prepare a ModelCar when OCI model storage is selected. See Model Storage.
The Alauda OLM bundle registers the InferNex Bridge admission webhook for the KServe LLMInferenceService API versions used by the release examples, including serving.kserve.io/v1alpha2. The webhook is used for admission-time compatibility patches when infernex.io/runtime: "true" is set on a KServe LLMInferenceService; it does not create or reconcile the LLMInferenceService resource itself.
Optional Dependencies
Optional EagleEye Observability
EagleEye is disabled by default in the Alauda OLM templates. Disabling EagleEye does not affect the inference engine, aggregate or prefill-decode deployment modes, Mooncake, cache-indexer, or PD-Orchestrator. It disables only the following optional observability workloads:
Before enabling EagleEye, verify that NATS has a ready Service and endpoint:
The EagleEye init containers connect to nats.nats:4222. If this endpoint is unavailable, the enabled EagleEye Pods remain in the init phase.
Enable EagleEye explicitly in an InferNexService or a referenced InferNexServiceConfig:
After applying the resource, verify the optional workloads in the inference service namespace:
Expected workloads include the EagleEye hardware diagnosis Deployment, hardware monitor DaemonSet, and network performance exporter DaemonSet. If EagleEye is not required, keep all three child switches set to false.
Upload Operator
Obtain the arm64 installation package from your Alauda product delivery channel:
infernex-bridge.alpha.arm64.v26.6.0.tgz.
Use the violet command to publish it to the platform repository:
Install Operator
In Administrator view:
- Click Marketplace / OperatorHub.
- At the top of the console, from the Cluster dropdown list, select the destination cluster where you want to install the InferNex Bridge Operator.
- Search for and select Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge, then click Install.
- Select the
alphaChannel. - Select version
v26.6.0. - Leave Installation Location unchanged, it should be
infernex-systemby default. - Select Manual for Upgrade Strategy.
- Click Install.
Verification
Confirm that the Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge tile shows one of the following states:
Installing: installation is in progress; wait for this to change toInstalled.Installed: installation is complete.
Verify that the operator controller and webhooks are running:
The controller pod should be Running, all five bundled CRDs should be established, and the LLMInferenceService mutating webhook should include v1alpha2.
Community Examples
For community-maintained examples, see InferNex Bridge v26.6.0 examples.
Upgrading Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge
-
Back up the existing custom resources:
-
Upload the new version of the Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge operator package using the
violettool. -
Go to the
Administrator->Marketplace->OperatorHubpage, find Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge, review the target version, and click Confirm to apply it.
Verification
After upgrading, confirm that the Alauda Build of InferNex Bridge tile shows Installed and verify the controller and CRD status:
Rollback
Use a previous package only when its CRDs are compatible with the custom
resources already stored in the cluster. In OperatorHub, select the previous
available version and confirm the manual upgrade action. If the previous version
is not available, upload its installation package with violet first.
After rollback, verify the controller, CRDs, inference services, runtime image IDs, and one representative inference request. Do not delete the five bundled CRDs while custom resources still exist; deleting them also deletes the stored custom resources.