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Resource quotas per project

A resource quota, defined by a ResourceQuota object, limits aggregate resource consumption per project. It limits the quantity of objects that you can create in a project by type, and the total amount of compute resources and storage consumed by the resources in that project.

This guide describes how resource quotas work, how cluster administrators can set and manage resource quotas on a per project basis, and how developers and cluster administrators can view them.

Resources managed by quotas​

Review the specific compute resources, storage resources, and object counts that you can manage with a project quota.

note

A pod is in a terminal state if status.phase in (Failed, Succeeded) is true.

Compute resources managed by quota

Resource Name Description
cpu The sum of CPU requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. cpu and requests.cpu are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
memory The sum of memory requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. memory and requests.memory are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
requests.cpu The sum of CPU requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. cpu and requests.cpu are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
requests.memory The sum of memory requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. memory and requests.memory are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
limits.cpu The sum of CPU limits across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value.
limits.memory The sum of memory limits across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value.

Storage resources managed by quota

Resource Name Description
requests.storage The sum of storage requests across all persistent volume claims in any state cannot exceed this value.
persistentvolumeclaims The total number of persistent volume claims that can exist in the project.
<storage-class-name>.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage The sum of storage requests across all persistent volume claims in any state that have a matching storage class, cannot exceed this value.
<storage-class-name>.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims The total number of persistent volume claims with a matching storage class that can exist in the project.
ephemeral-storage The sum of local ephemeral storage requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. ephemeral-storage and requests.ephemeral-storage are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
requests.ephemeral-storage The sum of ephemeral storage requests across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value. ephemeral-storage and requests.ephemeral-storage are the same value and can be used interchangeably.
limits.ephemeral-storage The sum of ephemeral storage limits across all pods in a non-terminal state cannot exceed this value.

Object counts managed by quota

Resource Name Description
pods The total number of pods in a non-terminal state that can exist in the project.
replicationcontrollers The total number of ReplicationControllers that can exist in the project.
resourcequotas The total number of resource quotas that can exist in the project.
services The total number of services that can exist in the project.
services.loadbalancers The total number of services of type LoadBalancer that can exist in the project.
services.nodeports The total number of services of type NodePort that can exist in the project.
secrets The total number of secrets that can exist in the project.
configmaps The total number of ConfigMap objects that can exist in the project.
persistentvolumeclaims The total number of persistent volume claims that can exist in the project.
openshift.io/imagestreams The total number of imagestreams that can exist in the project.

Quota scopes​

Measure resource usage with a quota, and add scopes to restrict the allowed set of target resources to prevent validation errors.

Each quota can have an associated set of scopes. A quota only measures usage for a resource if it matches the intersection of enumerated scopes.

ScopeDescription
BestEffortMatch pods that have best effort quality of service for either cpu or memory.
NotBestEffortMatch pods that do not have best effort quality of service for cpu and memory.

A BestEffort scope restricts a quota to limiting the following resources:

  • pods

A NotBestEffort scope restricts a quota to tracking the following resources:

  • pods
  • memory
  • requests.memory
  • limits.memory
  • cpu
  • requests.cpu
  • limits.cpu

Quota enforcement​

Track project resource usage, such as compute and storage, and automatically deny modifications that exceed defined limits to prevent quota violations.

After a resource quota for a project is first created, the project restricts the ability to create any new resources that may violate a quota constraint until it has calculated updated usage statistics.

After a quota is created and usage statistics are updated, the project accepts the creation of new content. When you create or modify resources, your quota usage is incremented immediately upon the request to create or modify the resource.

When you delete a resource, your quota use is decremented during the next full recalculation of quota statistics for the project. A configurable amount of time determines how long it takes to reduce quota usage statistics to their current observed system value.

If project modifications exceed a quota usage limit, the server denies the action, and an appropriate error message is returned to the user explaining the quota constraint violated, and what their currently observed usage statistics are in the system.

Requests versus limits​

To manage cluster capacity, use a project quota to restrict container compute resources. When you configure CPU and memory quotas, incoming containers can explicitly request or limit resources to ensure stable performance.

If the quota has a value specified for requests.cpu or requests.memory, then it requires that every incoming container make an explicit request for those resources. If the quota has a value specified for limits.cpu or limits.memory, then it requires that every incoming container specify an explicit limit for those resources.

Sample resource quota definitions​

View sample YAML definitions for resource quotas, including specifications for object counts, compute resources, QoS scopes, and storage classes, to configure custom quota manifests for your project.

core-object-counts.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: core-object-counts
spec:
  hard:
    configmaps: "10"
    persistentvolumeclaims: "4"
    replicationcontrollers: "20"
    secrets: "10"
    services: "10"
    services.loadbalancers: "2"

where:

spec.hard.configmaps
The total number of ConfigMap objects that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.persistentvolumeclaims
The total number of persistent volume claims (PVCs) that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.replicationcontrollers
The total number of replication controllers that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.secrets
The total number of secrets that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.services
The total number of services that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.services.loadbalancers
The total number of services of type LoadBalancer that can exist in the project.
openshift-object-counts.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: openshift-object-counts
spec:
  hard:
    openshift.io/imagestreams: "10"

where:

spec.hard.openshift.io/imagestreams
The total number of image streams that can exist in the project.
compute-resources.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: compute-resources
spec:
  hard:
    pods: "4"
    requests.cpu: "1"
    requests.memory: 1Gi
    limits.cpu: "2"
    limits.memory: 2Gi

where:

spec.hard.pods
The total number of pods in a non-terminal state that can exist in the project.
spec.hard.requests.cpu
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of CPU requests cannot exceed 1 core.
spec.hard.requests.memory
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of memory requests cannot exceed 1Gi.
spec.hard.limits.cpu
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of CPU limits cannot exceed 2 cores.
spec.hard.limits.memory
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of memory limits cannot exceed 2Gi.
besteffort.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: besteffort
spec:
  hard:
    pods: "1"
  scopes:
  - BestEffort

where:

spec.hard.pods
The total number of pods in a non-terminal state with BestEffort quality of service that can exist in the project.
spec.scopes
Restricts the quota to only matching pods that have BestEffort quality of service for either memory or CPU.
compute-resources-long-running.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: compute-resources-long-running
spec:
  hard:
    pods: "4"
    limits.cpu: "4"
    limits.memory: "2Gi"
  scopes:
  - NotTerminating

where:

spec.hard.pods
The total number of pods in a non-terminal state.
spec.hard.limits.cpu
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of CPU limits cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.limits.memory
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of memory limits cannot exceed this value.
spec.scopes
Restricts the quota to only matching pods where spec.activeDeadlineSeconds is set to nil. Build pods fall under NotTerminating unless the RestartNever policy is applied.
compute-resources-time-bound.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: compute-resources-time-bound
spec:
  hard:
    pods: "2"
    limits.cpu: "1"
    limits.memory: "1Gi"
  scopes:
  - Terminating

where:

spec.hard.pods
The total number of pods in a terminating state.
spec.hard.limits.cpu
Across all pods in a terminating state, the sum of CPU limits cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.limits.memory
Across all pods in a terminating state, the sum of memory limits cannot exceed this value.
spec.scopes
Restricts the quota to only matching pods where spec.activeDeadlineSeconds >=0. For example, this quota charges for build or deployer pods, but not long running pods like a web server or database.
storage-consumption.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: storage-consumption
spec:
  hard:
    persistentvolumeclaims: "10"
    requests.storage: "50Gi"
    gold.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "10Gi"
    silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "20Gi"
    silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims: "5"
    bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "0"
    bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims: "0"
    requests.ephemeral-storage: 2Gi
    limits.ephemeral-storage: 4Gi

where:

spec.hard.persistentvolumeclaims
The total number of persistent volume claims in a project.
spec.hard.requests.storage
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.gold.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the gold storage class cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the silver storage class cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the total number of claims in the silver storage class cannot exceed this value.
spec.hard.bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the bronze storage class cannot exceed this value. When this is set to 0, it means bronze storage class cannot request storage.
spec.hard.bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims
Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the bronze storage class cannot exceed this value. When this is set to 0, it means bronze storage class cannot create claims.
spec.hard.requests.ephemeral-storage
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of ephemeral storage requests cannot exceed 2Gi.
spec.hard.limits.ephemeral-storage
Across all pods in a non-terminal state, the sum of ephemeral storage limits cannot exceed 4Gi.

Creating a quota​

Create a defined quota in the project to limit resource consumption and object counts, preventing cluster resource exhaustion.

Procedure

  1. Define the quota in a file.

  2. Use the file to create the quota and apply it to a project:

    $ oc create -f <file> [-n <project_name>]

    For example:

    $ oc create -f core-object-counts.yaml -n demoproject

Creating object count quotas​

Restrict resource consumption and standard object creation in a project by creating an object count quota for standard namespaced resource types.

You can create an object count quota for all standard namespaced resource types on OpenShift Container Platform, such as BuildConfig and DeploymentConfig objects.

When using a resource quota, an object is charged against the quota upon creation. These types of quotas are useful to protect against exhaustion of resources. The quota can only be created if there are enough spare resources within the project.

Procedure

  1. To configure an object count quota for a resource, run the following command:

    $ oc create quota <name> \
        --hard=count/<resource>.<group>=<quota>,count/<resource>.<group>=<quota>

    where:

    <resource>

    Specifies the name of the resource

    <group>

    Specifies the API group, if applicable. Use the oc api-resources command for a list of resources and their associated API groups.

    For example:

    $ oc create quota test \
        --hard=count/deployments.apps=2,count/replicasets.apps=4,count/pods=3,count/secrets=4

    The following is an example output:

    resourcequota "test" created

    This example limits the listed resources to the hard limit in each project in the cluster.

  2. Verify that the quota was created:

    $ oc describe quota test
    Example output
    Name:                         test
    Namespace:                    quota
    Resource                      Used  Hard
    --------                      ----  ----
    count/deployments.apps        0     2
    count/pods                    0     3
    count/replicasets.apps        0     4
    count/secrets                 0     4

Setting resource quota for extended resources​

Configure extended resources, such as GPUs, in a resource quota file and apply it to a project to enforce strict capacity limits and prevent pods from exceeding available capacity.

Overcommitment of resources is not allowed for extended resources, so you must specify requests and limits for the same extended resource in a quota. Currently, only quota items with the prefix requests. is allowed for extended resources. The following is an example scenario of how to set resource quota for the GPU resource nvidia.com/gpu.

Procedure

  1. Determine how many GPUs are available on a node in your cluster. For example:

    # oc describe node ip-172-31-27-209.us-west-2.compute.internal | egrep 'Capacity|Allocatable|gpu'
    Example output
                        openshift.com/gpu-accelerator=true
    Capacity:
     nvidia.com/gpu:  2
    Allocatable:
     nvidia.com/gpu:  2
      nvidia.com/gpu  0           0

    In this example, 2 GPUs are available.

  2. Create a ResourceQuota object to set a quota in the namespace nvidia. In this example, the quota is 1:

    Example output
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ResourceQuota
    metadata:
      name: gpu-quota
      namespace: nvidia
    spec:
      hard:
        requests.nvidia.com/gpu: 1

  3. Create the quota:

    # oc create -f gpu-quota.yaml
    Example output
    resourcequota/gpu-quota created

  4. Verify that the namespace has the correct quota set:

    # oc describe quota gpu-quota -n nvidia
    Example output
    Name:                    gpu-quota
    Namespace:               nvidia
    Resource                 Used  Hard
    --------                 ----  ----
    requests.nvidia.com/gpu  0     1

  5. Define a pod that asks for a single GPU. The following example definition file is called gpu-pod.yaml:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Pod
    metadata:
      generateName: gpu-pod-
      namespace: nvidia
    spec:
      restartPolicy: OnFailure
      containers:
      - name: rhel7-gpu-pod
        image: rhel7
        env:
          - name: NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
            value: all
          - name: NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES
            value: "compute,utility"
          - name: NVIDIA_REQUIRE_CUDA
            value: "cuda>=5.0"
        command: ["sleep"]
        args: ["infinity"]
        resources:
          limits:
            nvidia.com/gpu: 1

  6. Create the pod:

    # oc create -f gpu-pod.yaml

  7. Verify that the pod is running:

    # oc get pods
    Example output
    NAME              READY     STATUS      RESTARTS   AGE
    gpu-pod-s46h7     1/1       Running     0          1m

  8. Verify that the quota Used counter is correct:

    # oc describe quota gpu-quota -n nvidia
    Example output
    Name:                    gpu-quota
    Namespace:               nvidia
    Resource                 Used  Hard
    --------                 ----  ----
    requests.nvidia.com/gpu  1     1

  9. Attempt to create a second GPU pod in the nvidia namespace. This is technically available on the node because it has 2 GPUs:

    # oc create -f gpu-pod.yaml
    Example output
    Error from server (Forbidden): error when creating "gpu-pod.yaml": pods "gpu-pod-f7z2w" is forbidden: exceeded quota: gpu-quota, requested: requests.nvidia.com/gpu=1, used: requests.nvidia.com/gpu=1, limited: requests.nvidia.com/gpu=1

    This Forbidden error message is expected because you have a quota of 1 GPU and this pod tried to allocate a second GPU, which exceeds its quota.

Viewing a quota​

View the usage statistics for the hard limits defined in a project quota to monitor resource consumption and plan cluster capacity.

You can view quota usage statistics on the project’s Quota page in the web console or by using the CLI.

Procedure

  1. Get the list of quotas defined in the project. For example, for a project called demoproject:

    $ oc get quota -n demoproject
    Example output
    NAME                           AGE    REQUEST                                                                                                      LIMIT
    besteffort                     4s     pods: 1/2
    compute-resources-time-bound   10m    pods: 0/2                                                                                                    limits.cpu: 0/1, limits.memory: 0/1Gi
    core-object-counts             109s   configmaps: 2/10, persistentvolumeclaims: 1/4, replicationcontrollers: 1/20, secrets: 9/10, services: 2/10

  2. Describe the quota you are interested in, for example the core-object-counts quota:

    $ oc describe quota core-object-counts -n demoproject
    Example output
    Name:			core-object-counts
    Namespace:		demoproject
    Resource		Used	Hard
    --------		----	----
    configmaps		3	10
    persistentvolumeclaims	0	4
    replicationcontrollers	3	20
    secrets			9	10
    services		2	10

Configuring explicit resource quotas​

Configure explicit resource quotas in a project request template to apply specific resource quotas in new projects.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Add a resource quota definition to a project request template:

    • If a project request template does not exist in a cluster:

      1. Create a bootstrap project template and output it to a file called template.yaml:

        $ oc adm create-bootstrap-project-template -o yaml > template.yaml

      2. Add a resource quota definition to template.yaml. The following example defines a resource quota named 'storage-consumption'. The definition must be added before the parameters: section in the template:

        - apiVersion: v1
          kind: ResourceQuota
          metadata:
            name: storage-consumption
            namespace: ${PROJECT_NAME}
          spec:
            hard:
              persistentvolumeclaims: "10"
              requests.storage: "50Gi"
              gold.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "10Gi"
              silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "20Gi"
              silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims: "5"
              bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "0"
              bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims: "0"

        where:

        spec.hard.persistentvolumeclaims
        The total number of persistent volume claims in a project.
        spec.hard.requests.storage
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested cannot exceed this value.
        spec.hard.gold.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the gold storage class cannot exceed this value.
        spec.hard.silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the silver storage class cannot exceed this value.
        spec.hard.silver.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the total number of claims in the silver storage class cannot exceed this value.
        spec.hard.bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the bronze storage class cannot exceed this value. When this value is set to 0, the bronze storage class cannot request storage.
        spec.hard.bronze.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims
        Across all persistent volume claims in a project, the sum of storage requested in the bronze storage class cannot exceed this value. When this value is set to 0, the bronze storage class cannot create claims.

      3. Create a project request template from the modified template.yaml file in the openshift-config namespace:

        $ oc create -f template.yaml -n openshift-config
        note

        To include the configuration as a kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration annotation, add the --save-config option to the oc create command.

        By default, the template is called project-request.

    • If a project request template already exists within a cluster:

      note

      If you declaratively or imperatively manage objects within your cluster by using configuration files, edit the existing project request template through those files instead.

      1. List templates in the openshift-config namespace: 
        $ oc get templates -n openshift-config
      2. Edit an existing project request template: 
        $ oc edit template <project_request_template> -n openshift-config
      3. Add a resource quota definition, such as the preceding storage-consumption example, into the existing template. The definition must be added before the parameters: section in the template.
  2. If you created a project request template, reference it in the cluster’s project configuration resource:
    1. Access the project configuration resource for editing:
      • By using the web console:
        1. Navigate to the Administration → Cluster Settings page.
        2. Click Configuration to view all configuration resources.
        3. Find the entry for Project and click Edit YAML.
      • By using the CLI:
        1. Edit the project.config.openshift.io/cluster resource: 
          $ oc edit project.config.openshift.io/cluster
    2. Update the spec section of the project configuration resource to include the projectRequestTemplate and name parameters. The following example references the default project request template name project-request: 
      apiVersion: config.openshift.io/v1
      kind: Project
      metadata:
      #  ...
      spec:
        projectRequestTemplate:
          name: project-request
  3. Verify that the resource quota is applied when projects are created:
    1. Create a project: 
      $ oc new-project <project_name>
    2. List the project’s resource quotas: 
      $ oc get resourcequotas
    3. Describe the resource quota in detail: 
      $ oc describe resourcequotas <resource_quota_name>