Getting Started with SlimFaas

This guide covers two primary ways to start using SlimFaas:

  1. Kubernetes (including local clusters via Docker Desktop)
  2. Docker Compose (for quick local testing)
  3. Manual Installation (for your own Kubernetes setup)

You can also find advanced installation details below.

1. Kubernetes Quick Start

Below is an example workflow for running SlimFaas on Kubernetes locally (e.g., via Docker Desktop, kind or minikube).:

git clone https://github.com/AxaFrance/slimfaas.git
cd slimfaas/demo

# Deploy SlimFaas (StatefulSet) and related ServiceAccount
kubectl apply -f service-account-slimfaas.yml
kubectl apply -f deployment-slimfaas.yml

# Expose SlimFaas Service as NodePort or Ingress
kubectl apply -f slimfaas-nodeport.yml
# Alternatively:
# kubectl apply -f slimfaas-ingress.yml

# Deploy three sample Fibonacci functions
kubectl apply -f deployment-functions.yml

# Deploy MySQL (used by the Fibonacci functions)
kubectl apply -f deployment-mysql.yml

# (Optional) Run a single-page demo webapp on http://localhost:8000
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 --rm axaguildev/fibonacci-webapp:latest

Test Synchronous Calls

If you used slimfaas-nodeport.yml, port 30021 might be exposed. You can call your functions via SlimFaas:

Test Asynchronous Calls

Wake Up a Function

List All Functions

[
  {"NumberReady":1,"numberRequested":1,"PodType":"Deployment","Visibility":"Public","Name":"fibonacci1"},
  {"NumberReady":1,"numberRequested":1,"PodType":"Deployment","Visibility":"Public","Name":"fibonacci2"},
  {"NumberReady":1,"numberRequested":1,"PodType":"Deployment","Visibility":"Public","Name":"fibonacci3"},
  {"NumberReady":2,"numberRequested":2,"PodType":"Deployment","Visibility":"Private","Name":"fibonacci4"}
]

Single Page WebApp Demo

If you ran the Fibonacci webapp container above:

Browse to http://localhost:8000

2. Docker Compose Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/AxaFrance/slimfaas.git
cd slimfaas
docker-compose up

When it’s ready:

Enjoy SlimFaas!

3. Manual Installation on Kubernetes

You can also set up SlimFaas manually by adapting the sample manifests below. The key steps are:

  1. Deploy SlimFaas (as a StatefulSet or Deployment).
  2. Expose SlimFaas on an internal or external route (NodePort, Ingress, etc.).
  3. Annotate your function pods/Deployments with SlimFaas annotations to enable auto-scaling and routing.

Example partial YAML (from service-account-slimfaas.yml):

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
    name: slimfaas
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
    name: deployment-statefulset-manager
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
rules:
    # On ajoute ici le droit de lister/voir les pods dans ce namespace
    - apiGroups: [""]
      resources: ["pods"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
    - apiGroups: ["apps"]
      resources: ["deployments", "statefulsets"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch", "create", "update", "patch", "delete"]
    - apiGroups: ["apps"]
      resources: ["deployments/scale", "statefulsets/scale"]
      verbs: ["get", "update", "patch"]
    - apiGroups: ["batch"]
      resources: ["jobs"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch", "create", "update", "patch", "delete"]
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
    name: slimfaas-deployment-statefulset-manager
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
subjects:
    - kind: ServiceAccount
      name: slimfaas
      namespace: slimfaas-demo
roleRef:
    kind: Role
    name: deployment-statefulset-manager
    apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
    name: endpoints-viewer
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
rules:
    - apiGroups: [""]
      resources: ["endpoints"]
      verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
    name: slimfaas-endpoints-viewer
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
subjects:
    - kind: ServiceAccount
      name: slimfaas
      namespace: slimfaas-demo
roleRef:
    kind: Role
    name: endpoints-viewer
    apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

Example partial YAML (from deployment-slimfaas.yml):

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: slimfaas
  namespace: slimfaas-demo
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: slimfaas
  serviceName: slimfaas
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: slimfaas
    spec:
      # ...
      containers:
        - name: slimfaas
          image: docker.io/axaguildev/slimfaas:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 5000    # SlimFaas main port
            - containerPort: 3262    # SlimData port
          #env:
          #  - name: SLIMDATA_CONFIGURATION # To start slimfaas with only 1 replica
          #    value: |
          #        {"coldStart":"true"}
          # ...
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
    name: slimfaas
    namespace: slimfaas-demo
spec:
    selector:
        app: slimfaas
    ports:
        - name: "http"
          port: 5000
        - name: "slimdata"
          port: 3262

Example annotation for a function Deployment:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: fibonacci1
  namespace: slimfaas-demo
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      annotations:
        SlimFaas/Function: "true" # Enable SlimFaas
        SlimFaas/ReplicasMin: "0"
        SlimFaas/ReplicasAtStart: "1"
        SlimFaas/TimeoutSecondBeforeSetReplicasMin: "300"
        SlimFaas/NumberParallelRequest: "10"
        SlimFaas/DependsOn: "mysql,fibonacci2"
        SlimFaas/SubscribeEvents: "Public:my-event-name1,Private:my-event-name2,my-event-name3"
        SlimFaas/DefaultVisibility: "Public"
        # ...
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: fibonacci1
          image: axaguildev/fibonacci:latest
          # ...

For more details, see How It Works and the other documentation pages.