Create a support package from a Helm installation

Legacy 'nms' references
Some commands, file paths, and configuration references still use nms due to the ongoing transition from NGINX Management Suite (NMS) to NGINX Instance Manager (NIM). These will be updated in future releases.

Overview

Use the Kubernetes support package script to collect system and service information for troubleshooting and debugging. The script packages the data into a tar archive that you can share with NGINX Customer Support.

Before you begin

To follow this guide, ensure you have:

  • bash 4.0 or higher.

Usage

The F5 NGINX Instance Manager Helm chart includes the k8s-support-package.sh script located at:

  • /support-package/k8s-support-package.sh.

Steps to create a support package

  1. Download the latest NGINX Instance Manager Helm chart:

    helm repo add nginx-stable https://helm.nginx.com/stable
helm repo update
helm pull nginx-stable/nms
tar zxvf nms-<version>.tgz

  2. Run the Kubernetes support package script. For available options, refer to the arguments section:

    bash ./nms/charts/nms-hybrid/support-package/k8s-support-package.sh

    The support package is saved in the directory where the script is run.

  3. Extract the package using the tar command:

    tar -xvf k8s-support-pkg-<timestamp>.tar.gz

Arguments

The table below lists arguments available for the Kubernetes support package script.

Short Long Description Example Default
-h --help Prints information about the script arguments to stdout. --help N/A
-o --output_dir Specifies the output directory for the tar archive. -o ~/output $(pwd)
-n --namespace Specifies the namespace of the Helm installation. -n nms <none>
-xd --exclude_databases Excludes Dqlite database backup data. -xd False
-xt --exclude_timeseries Excludes ClickHouse time series data. -xt False
-m --modules Includes specific modules in Dqlite database backup data. -m acm False

Package contents

The Kubernetes support package includes directories with detailed information about your cluster, namespace, application, and database state.

k8s-support-package.log

A log of all output generated by the k8s-support-package.sh script.

chart-files

A snapshot of the Helm chart files in the parent directory, excluding the directory where the script runs.

version-info

Versions of:

  • Helm chart
  • kubectl tool
  • helm tool
  • NGINX gateway
  • ClickHouse

cluster-info

Cluster-related data, including:

  • Cluster details
  • Node information
  • Storage class configurations

namespace-info

Namespace-specific details, including:

  • General namespace data
  • Events
  • API version
  • API services and resources

app-info

Application-related information for NGINX Instance Manager:

  • Deployments
  • Services
  • Persistent Volumes and Claims
  • Secrets and Configmaps
  • Pods

pod-logs

Logs of processes for NGINX Instance Manager, NGINX gateway, and ClickHouse. Files in this directory follow the naming convention: pod_name-<timestamp>.logs.

pod-system-info

Status and state details for each pod, including:

  • Operating system version
  • Environment variables
  • Running processes

dqlite

The script uses the dqlite-backup executable (located in /etc/nms/scripts/ within relevant containers) to collect database dumps. Data is saved in:

  • dqlite/core
  • dqlite/dpm
  • dqlite/integrations

If the --modules flag is specified, data is saved to dqlite/<moduleName>.

timeseries

Contains metrics, events, and statistics from the nms ClickHouse database.

Last modified January 3, 2025