✨ [Warm Replicas] Implement warm replica support for controllers.

pkg/config/controller.go

@@ -60,6 +60,16 @@ type Controller struct {
 	// Defaults to true, which means the controller will use leader election.
 	NeedLeaderElection *bool
 
+	// NeedWarmup specifies whether the controller should start its sources when the manager is not
+	// the leader. This is useful for cases where sources take a long time to start, as it allows
+	// for the controller to warm up its caches even before it is elected as the leader. This
+	// improves leadership failover time, as the caches will be prepopulated before the controller
+	// transitions to be leader.
+	//
+	// When set to true, the controller will start its sources without transitioning to be leader.
+	// Defaults to false.
+	NeedWarmup *bool
+
 	// UsePriorityQueue configures the controllers queue to use the controller-runtime provided
 	// priority queue.
 	//

pkg/controller/controller.go

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2018 The Kubernetes Authors.
+/* Copyright 2018 The Kubernetes Authors.
 
 Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -93,6 +92,16 @@ type TypedOptions[request comparable] struct {
 	//
 	// Note: This flag is disabled by default until a future version. It's currently in beta.
 	UsePriorityQueue *bool
+
+	// NeedWarmup specifies whether the controller should start its sources when the manager is not
+	// the leader. This is useful for cases where sources take a long time to start, as it allows
+	// for the controller to warm up its caches even before it is elected as the leader. This
+	// improves leadership failover time, as the caches will be prepopulated before the controller
+	// transitions to be leader.
+	//
+	// When set to true, the controller will start its sources without transitioning to be leader.
+	// Defaults to false.
+	NeedWarmup *bool
 }
 
 // DefaultFromConfig defaults the config from a config.Controller
@@ -124,6 +133,10 @@ func (options *TypedOptions[request]) DefaultFromConfig(config config.Controller
 	if options.NeedLeaderElection == nil {
 		options.NeedLeaderElection = config.NeedLeaderElection
 	}
+
+	if options.NeedWarmup == nil {
+		options.NeedWarmup = config.NeedWarmup
+	}
 }
 
 // Controller implements an API. A Controller manages a work queue fed reconcile.Requests
@@ -253,6 +266,7 @@ func NewTypedUnmanaged[request comparable](name string, options TypedOptions[req
 		LogConstructor:          options.LogConstructor,
 		RecoverPanic:            options.RecoverPanic,
 		LeaderElected:           options.NeedLeaderElection,
+		NeedWarmup:              options.NeedWarmup,
 	}, nil
 }
 

pkg/controller/controller_test.go

@@ -474,5 +474,75 @@ var _ = Describe("controller.Controller", func() {
 			_, ok = q.(priorityqueue.PriorityQueue[reconcile.Request])
 			Expect(ok).To(BeFalse())
 		})
+
+		It("should set ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership correctly", func() {
+			m, err := manager.New(cfg, manager.Options{})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			// Test with ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership set to true
+			ctrlWithWarmup, err := controller.New("warmup-enabled-ctrl", m, controller.Options{
+				Reconciler: reconcile.Func(nil),
+				NeedWarmup: ptr.To(true),
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			internalCtrlWithWarmup, ok := ctrlWithWarmup.(*internalcontroller.Controller[reconcile.Request])
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(internalCtrlWithWarmup.NeedWarmup).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(*internalCtrlWithWarmup.NeedWarmup).To(BeTrue())
+
+			// Test with ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership set to false
+			ctrlWithoutWarmup, err := controller.New("warmup-disabled-ctrl", m, controller.Options{
+				Reconciler: reconcile.Func(nil),
+				NeedWarmup: ptr.To(false),
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			internalCtrlWithoutWarmup, ok := ctrlWithoutWarmup.(*internalcontroller.Controller[reconcile.Request])
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(internalCtrlWithoutWarmup.NeedWarmup).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(*internalCtrlWithoutWarmup.NeedWarmup).To(BeFalse())
+
+			// Test with ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership not set (should default to nil)
+			ctrlWithDefaultWarmup, err := controller.New("warmup-default-ctrl", m, controller.Options{
+				Reconciler: reconcile.Func(nil),
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			internalCtrlWithDefaultWarmup, ok := ctrlWithDefaultWarmup.(*internalcontroller.Controller[reconcile.Request])
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(internalCtrlWithDefaultWarmup.NeedWarmup).To(BeNil())
+		})
+
+		It("should inherit ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership from manager config", func() {
+			// Test with manager default setting ShouldWarmupWithoutLeadership to true
+			managerWithWarmup, err := manager.New(cfg, manager.Options{
+				Controller: config.Controller{
+					NeedWarmup: ptr.To(true),
+				},
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+			ctrlInheritingWarmup, err := controller.New("inherit-warmup-enabled", managerWithWarmup, controller.Options{
+				Reconciler: reconcile.Func(nil),
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			internalCtrlInheritingWarmup, ok := ctrlInheritingWarmup.(*internalcontroller.Controller[reconcile.Request])
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(internalCtrlInheritingWarmup.NeedWarmup).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(*internalCtrlInheritingWarmup.NeedWarmup).To(BeTrue())
+
+			// Test that explicit controller setting overrides manager setting
+			ctrlOverridingWarmup, err := controller.New("override-warmup-disabled", managerWithWarmup, controller.Options{
+				Reconciler: reconcile.Func(nil),
+				NeedWarmup: ptr.To(false),
+			})
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			internalCtrlOverridingWarmup, ok := ctrlOverridingWarmup.(*internalcontroller.Controller[reconcile.Request])
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(internalCtrlOverridingWarmup.NeedWarmup).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(*internalCtrlOverridingWarmup.NeedWarmup).To(BeFalse())
+		})
 	})
 })

pkg/internal/controller/controller.go

@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/uuid"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
+	"k8s.io/utils/ptr"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/priorityqueue"
 	ctrlmetrics "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/controller/metrics"
@@ -38,6 +40,11 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/source"
 )
 
+const (
+	// syncedPollPeriod is the period to poll for cache sync
+	syncedPollPeriod = 100 * time.Millisecond
+)
+
 // Controller implements controller.Controller.
 type Controller[request comparable] struct {
 	// Name is used to uniquely identify a Controller in tracing, logging and monitoring.  Name is required.
@@ -83,6 +90,16 @@ type Controller[request comparable] struct {
 	// startWatches maintains a list of sources, handlers, and predicates to start when the controller is started.
 	startWatches []source.TypedSource[request]
 
+	// didStartEventSources is used to indicate whether the event sources have been started.
+	didStartEventSources atomic.Bool
+
+	// didEventSourcesFinishSync is used to indicate whether the event sources have finished
+	// successfully. It stores a *bool where
+	// - nil: not finished syncing
+	// - true: finished syncing without error
+	// - false: finished syncing with error
+	didEventSourcesFinishSync atomic.Value
+
 	// LogConstructor is used to construct a logger to then log messages to users during reconciliation,
 	// or for example when a watch is started.
 	// Note: LogConstructor has to be able to handle nil requests as we are also using it
@@ -95,6 +112,12 @@ type Controller[request comparable] struct {
 
 	// LeaderElected indicates whether the controller is leader elected or always running.
 	LeaderElected *bool
+
+	// NeedWarmup specifies whether the controller should start its sources
+	// when the manager is not the leader.
+	// Defaults to false, which means that the controller will wait for leader election to start
+	// before starting sources.
+	NeedWarmup *bool
 }
 
 // Reconcile implements reconcile.Reconciler.
@@ -144,6 +167,38 @@ func (c *Controller[request]) NeedLeaderElection() bool {
 	return *c.LeaderElected
 }
 
+// Warmup implements the manager.WarmupRunnable interface.
+func (c *Controller[request]) Warmup(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if c.NeedWarmup == nil || !*c.NeedWarmup {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return c.startEventSources(ctx)
+}
+
+// DidFinishWarmup implements the manager.WarmupRunnable interface.
+func (c *Controller[request]) DidFinishWarmup(ctx context.Context) bool {
+	err := wait.PollUntilContextCancel(ctx, syncedPollPeriod, true, func(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
+		didFinishSync, ok := c.didEventSourcesFinishSync.Load().(*bool)
+		if !ok {
+			return false, errors.New("unexpected error: didEventSourcesFinishSync is not a bool pointer")
+		}
+
+		if didFinishSync == nil {
+			// event sources not finished syncing
+			return false, nil
+		}
+
+		if !*didFinishSync {
+			// event sources finished syncing with an error
+			return true, errors.New("event sources did not finish syncing successfully")
+		}
+
+		return true, nil
+	})
+
+	return err == nil
+}
+
 // Start implements controller.Controller.
 func (c *Controller[request]) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
 	// use an IIFE to get proper lock handling
@@ -221,13 +276,19 @@ func (c *Controller[request]) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
 // startEventSources launches all the sources registered with this controller and waits
 // for them to sync. It returns an error if any of the sources fail to start or sync.
 func (c *Controller[request]) startEventSources(ctx context.Context) error {
+	// CAS returns false if value is already true, so early exit since another goroutine must have
+	// called startEventSources previously
+	if !c.didStartEventSources.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
+		c.LogConstructor(nil).Info("Skipping starting event sources since it was already started")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	errGroup := &errgroup.Group{}
 	for _, watch := range c.startWatches {
 		log := c.LogConstructor(nil)
 		_, ok := watch.(interface {
 			String() string
 		})
-
 		if !ok {
 			log = log.WithValues("source", fmt.Sprintf("%T", watch))
 		} else {
@@ -274,7 +335,11 @@ func (c *Controller[request]) startEventSources(ctx context.Context) error {
 			}
 		})
 	}
-	return errGroup.Wait()
+	err := errGroup.Wait()
+
+	c.didEventSourcesFinishSync.Store(ptr.To(err == nil))
+
+	return err
 }
 
 // processNextWorkItem will read a single work item off the workqueue and

pkg/internal/controller/controller_test.go

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/go-logr/logr"
@@ -403,7 +404,7 @@ var _ = Describe("controller", func() {
 				return expectedErr
 			})
 
-			// // Set a sufficiently long timeout to avoid timeouts interfering with the error being returned
+			// Set a sufficiently long timeout to avoid timeouts interfering with the error being returned
 			ctrl.CacheSyncTimeout = 5 * time.Second
 			ctrl.startWatches = []source.TypedSource[reconcile.Request]{src}
 			err := ctrl.startEventSources(ctx)
@@ -1014,6 +1015,88 @@ var _ = Describe("controller", func() {
 			})
 		})
 	})
+
+	Describe("Warmup", func() {
+		JustBeforeEach(func() {
+			ctrl.NeedWarmup = ptr.To(true)
+		})
+
+		It("should track warmup status correctly with successful sync", func() {
+			// Setup controller with sources that complete successfully
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+			defer cancel()
+
+			ctrl.CacheSyncTimeout = time.Second
+			ctrl.startWatches = []source.TypedSource[reconcile.Request]{
+				source.Func(func(ctx context.Context, _ workqueue.TypedRateLimitingInterface[reconcile.Request]) error {
+					return nil
+				}),
+			}
+
+			err := ctrl.Warmup(ctx)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+			// Verify DidFinishWarmup returns true for successful sync
+			result := ctrl.DidFinishWarmup(ctx)
+			Expect(result).To(BeTrue())
+		})
+
+		It("should track warmup status correctly with unsuccessful sync", func() {
+			// Setup controller with sources that complete with error
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+			defer cancel()
+
+			ctrl.CacheSyncTimeout = time.Second
+			ctrl.startWatches = []source.TypedSource[reconcile.Request]{
+				source.Func(func(ctx context.Context, _ workqueue.TypedRateLimitingInterface[reconcile.Request]) error {
+					return errors.New("sync error")
+				}),
+			}
+
+			err := ctrl.Warmup(ctx)
+			Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
+			Expect(err.Error()).To(ContainSubstring("sync error"))
+
+			// Verify DidFinishWarmup returns false for unsuccessful sync
+			result := ctrl.DidFinishWarmup(ctx)
+			Expect(result).To(BeFalse())
+		})
+	})
+
+	Describe("Warmup with warmup disabled", func() {
+		JustBeforeEach(func() {
+			ctrl.NeedWarmup = ptr.To(false)
+		})
+
+		It("should not start sources when Warmup is called if warmup is disabled but start it when Start is called.", func() {
+			// Setup controller with sources that complete successfully
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+			defer cancel()
+
+			ctrl.CacheSyncTimeout = time.Second
+			var isSourceStarted atomic.Bool
+			isSourceStarted.Store(false)
+			ctrl.startWatches = []source.TypedSource[reconcile.Request]{
+				source.Func(func(ctx context.Context, _ workqueue.TypedRateLimitingInterface[reconcile.Request]) error {
+					isSourceStarted.Store(true)
+					return nil
+				}),
+			}
+
+			By("Calling Warmup when NeedWarmup is false")
+			err := ctrl.Warmup(ctx)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+			Expect(isSourceStarted.Load()).To(BeFalse())
+
+			By("Calling Start when NeedWarmup is false")
+			// Now call Start
+			go func() {
+				defer GinkgoRecover()
+				Expect(ctrl.Start(ctx)).To(Succeed())
+			}()
+			Eventually(isSourceStarted.Load).Should(BeTrue())
+		})
+	})
 })
 
 var _ = Describe("ReconcileIDFromContext function", func() {

pkg/manager/internal.go

@@ -439,6 +439,11 @@ func (cm *controllerManager) Start(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start other runnables: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	// Start and wait for sources to start.
+	if err := cm.runnables.Warmup.Start(cm.internalCtx); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start warmup runnables: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	// Start the leader election and all required runnables.
 	{
 		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
@@ -544,6 +549,10 @@ func (cm *controllerManager) engageStopProcedure(stopComplete <-chan struct{}) e
 		cm.runnables.LeaderElection.startOnce.Do(func() {})
 		cm.runnables.LeaderElection.StopAndWait(cm.shutdownCtx)
 
+		// Stop the warmup runnables
+		cm.logger.Info("Stopping and waiting for warmup runnables")
+		cm.runnables.Warmup.StopAndWait(cm.shutdownCtx)
+
 		// Stop the caches before the leader election runnables, this is an important
 		// step to make sure that we don't race with the reconcilers by receiving more events
 		// from the API servers and enqueueing them.