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Version: 6.12.0

Setup And Upgrade The Pillars Of Creation Pipeline Repository In An Air-Gapped Environment

Introduction​

Air-gap mode is a pipeline configuration that disables automatic updates for offline environments. Useful for DIL environments (Disconnected, Intermittent, and Low-Bandwidth).

This guide demonstrates how to enable air-gap mode and maintain (upgrade) it for the Pillars of Creation repository in an air-gapped environment.

Organization Administrators and Privileged only

Enable Air-Gap Mode​

Air-gap mode is used to disable in-pipeline vulnerability database updates for air-gapped environments: (If set to true, it prevents the security tool from automatically updating the vulnerability database).

  1. Open your pipeline.yaml file. See Pillars of Creation for more context.
  2. Set the AIRGAP_MODE variable to true:
variables:
  AIRGAP_MODE: "true" # Disables automatic updates in air-gapped environments

Upgrading Pillars of Creation on External GitLab Instances​

This section explains how to promote changes from the Pillars of Creation repository to an external GitLab instance while maintaining a clean commit history.

Fetch the Latest Changes​

Ensure your local branch is up-to-date before proceeding:

git clone https://code.build.smoothglue.io/getting-started/pillars/pipeline.git

Create a New Branch from main​

For better organization, create a new branch based on main:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b <your-branch>

Replace <your-branch> with a descriptive name for your branch.

Reset the Branch to the Initial Commit​

To prepare a clean commit history:

git reset $(git rev-list --max-parents=0 HEAD)

This command resets the branch to the first commit, retaining the current working directory's latest state.

Stage All Changes​

Stage all modifications:

git add --all
note

Ensure your SSH key is added to the target Git instance for signing the commit. Also, configure the Git signing key in your Git configuration.

Commit the Changes​

Create a single commit summarizing the promotion:

git commit -S -s -m "chore: promote changes"

Configure the Target Remote​

If you haven't already set up the target remote, configure it now:

git remote add target https://gitlab.<external-domain>/pillars/pipeline

To use SSH for authentication:

git remote set-url target git@gitlab.<external-domain>:pillars/pipeline.git

Verify the Remote Configuration​

Check that the remote URL is correctly configured:

git remote -v

Example output:

target  git@gitlab.<external-domain>:pillars/pipeline.git (fetch)
target  git@gitlab.<external-domain>:pillars/pipeline.git (push)

Push the Changes to the Target Repository​

Consider these alternatives if main is a protected branch and force-push is not allowed:

  • Create a new branch and submit a merge request.
  • Temporarily adjust branch protection settings.

To force-push the changes:

git push --force target <your-branch>:main

Replace <your-branch> with your current branch's name.

warning

Use --force carefully, as it rewrites commit history and is irreversible.

Upgrading the Pillars of Creation Zarf Package​

Currently, the Zarf package is generated manually. This will be automated in the future. Follow these steps for manual generation:

  1. Update the zarf.yaml file: Remove images that haven't changed.
  2. Create the package:
zarf package create . -a amd64
  1. Upload the Zarf package to an S3 bucket accessible from the Bastion host.
  2. Deploy the package from the Bastion host:
zarf package deploy zarf-package-pillars2-amd64.tar.zst