Adding Labels and Annotations

Configure custom Kubernetes labels and annotations on Connectware and Connectware agent resources using global and per-component Helm values.

Labels and annotations let you attach metadata to Kubernetes objects managed by the Connectware Helm charts. Use labels to select and organize resources. Use annotations to carry non-identifying metadata for external tooling such as monitoring systems, cost management platforms, and policy engines.

When to Use Labels and Annotations

Use labels and annotations when you need to:

Apply organizational tagging policies, such as team ownership, environment, or cost center, across Connectware resources.
Integrate with external tools that select resources by label, such as Prometheus, Datadog, or Kubernetes network policies.
Add annotations required by cloud provider load balancers or ingress controllers on Service resources.

Configuration Values

The following Helm values control labels and annotations for each chart.

Value

Description

global.commonLabels

Labels applied to all Kubernetes resources created by this Helm chart.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.labels

Labels applied to the component's resources such as Deployment, StatefulSet, Pods, and Services.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.annotations

Annotations applied to the component's resources such as Deployment, StatefulSet, Pods, and Services.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.podLabels

Labels applied to the component's Pods only.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.podAnnotations

Annotations applied to the component's Pods only.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.service.labels

Labels applied to the component's Service only.

${COMPONENT_NAME}.service.annotations

Annotations applied to the component's Service only.

How values are merged

Labels and annotations are merged, not overridden. If you supply both global.commonLabels and ${COMPONENT_NAME}.labels, the resulting labels and annotations on the Kubernetes object are the union of both sets.

Configuring Labels and Annotations

The following tabs show how to configure labels and annotations. Pick the tab that matches your deployment.

Applying Labels to All Connectware Resources

To apply labels to every Kubernetes resource managed by the connectware Helm chart, use global.commonLabels.

Example: Applying common labels to all resources

values.yaml

global:
  commonLabels:
    team: platform
    environment: production

All Deployments, StatefulSets, Pods, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets, and other objects created by the Helm chart receive these labels.

Configuring Labels and Annotations Per Component

Individual components can be given labels and annotations independently by setting the values under their own configuration section. Use podLabels, podAnnotations, service.labels, and service.annotations to target a specific resource type within a component.

All Connectware components support these values.

Example: Adding labels and annotations to a specific component

values.yaml

# Note: 'broker' is used as an example, but this configuration
# is applicable to any Connectware component.
broker:
  labels:
    team: platform
  annotations:
    cost-center: '12345'
  podLabels:
    broker-pod-label: broker-pod-value
  service:
    labels:
      broker-service-label: broker-service-value

In this example, the broker StatefulSet, its Pods, and its Services all receive the team: platform label and the cost-center annotation. The broker-pod-label label is added to Pods only, and the broker-service-label label is added to the Service only.

Combining Global Common Labels with Per-Component Values

You can use global.commonLabels and component-level values together. Both sets of labels and annotations are added to the relevant Kubernetes objects — neither overrides the other.

Example: Global common labels combined with per-component labels and annotations

values.yaml

global:
  commonLabels:
    team: platform
    environment: production

# Add a component-specific label and pod label to the broker in addition
# to the global common labels.
broker:
  labels:
    additional-label: additional-value
  podLabels:
    broker-pod-label: broker-pod-value
  service:
    labels:
      broker-service-label: broker-service-value

Use this tab if you deploy the connectware-agent Helm chart on its own. If you deploy it as a subchart of the connectware Helm chart, see the connectware-agent Helm Chart (As Subchart) tab instead.

Configuring Default Labels and Annotations for All Agents

To apply labels and annotations to all agent resources at once, set the values under protocolMapperAgentDefaults.

Example: Shared defaults for all agents

values.yaml

protocolMapperAgentDefaults:
  labels:
    team: shopfloor
  annotations:
    cost-center: '12345'
  podLabels:
    pod-label: pod-value
  podAnnotations:
    pod-annotation: pod-annotation-value
  service:
    labels:
      service-label: service-value
    annotations:
      service-annotation: service-annotation-value

protocolMapperAgents:
  - name: my-agent-1
  - name: my-agent-2

Configuring Labels and Annotations Per Agent

Individual agents can be given labels and annotations in addition to the defaults by setting the values under their own entry in protocolMapperAgents[]. Per-agent values are merged with the defaults: both are applied to the Kubernetes objects.

Example: Adding a per-agent label in addition to shared defaults

values.yaml

protocolMapperAgentDefaults:
  labels:
    team: shopfloor
  annotations:
    cost-center: '12345'

protocolMapperAgents:
  - name: bending-unit
    labels:
      line: bending
  - name: welding-unit
    labels:
      line: welding

In this example, all agents receive the team: shopfloor label and the cost-center annotation. The bending-unit agent additionally receives line: bending, and welding-unit receives line: welding.

Use this tab if you deploy the connectware-agent Helm chart as a subchart of the connectware Helm chart. If you deploy it on its own, see the connectware-agent Helm Chart (Standalone) tab instead.

When deployed as a subchart, all connectware-agent values must be nested under the connectwareAgent section. Agents also inherit global.commonLabels from the parent chart.

Configuring Default Labels and Annotations for All Agents

Example: Deploying agents as part of the connectware Helm chart with shared labels

values.yaml

global:
  commonLabels:
    environment: production

connectwareAgent:
  protocolMapperAgentDefaults:
    labels:
      team: shopfloor
    annotations:
      cost-center: '12345'

  protocolMapperAgents:
    - name: my-agent-1
    - name: my-agent-2

Configuring Labels and Annotations Per Agent

You can combine agent-level defaults with per-agent label overrides. Set shared values under protocolMapperAgentDefaults, then add agent-specific values in each protocolMapperAgents[] entry.

Example: Shared defaults with per-agent label overrides

values.yaml

global:
  commonLabels:
    environment: production

connectwareAgent:
  protocolMapperAgentDefaults:
    labels:
      team: shopfloor
    annotations:
      cost-center: '12345'

  protocolMapperAgents:
    - name: bending-robots
      labels:
        line: bending
    - name: welding-robots
      labels:
        line: welding

In this example, all agents receive the environment: production label from global.commonLabels. Additionally, all agents receive the team: shopfloor label and cost-center: 12345 annotation from protocolMapperAgentDefaults. The bending-robots agent additionally receives line: bending, and welding-robots receives line: welding.

Applying Configuration Changes

After editing your values.yaml file, apply the changes by running the helm upgrade command. For details, see Applying Helm Configuration Changes.

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Last updated 5 days ago

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