Add flag to opt out of product telemetry (#1605)

Problem: As a user of NGF
I want an easy option to opt out of recording and sending of all telemetry data
So that if I am not comfortable sending that information, I can still continue to use NGF

Solution: Added a new configurable flag that can disable telemetry. On by default. Also turns off any RBAC if not needed (for N+ usage or telemetry)

Author: sjberman

cmd/gateway/commands.go

@@ -44,23 +44,24 @@ func createRootCommand() *cobra.Command {
 func createStaticModeCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	// flag names
 	const (
-		gatewayFlag                = "gateway"
-		configFlag                 = "config"
-		serviceFlag                = "service"
-		updateGCStatusFlag         = "update-gatewayclass-status"
-		metricsDisableFlag         = "metrics-disable"
-		metricsSecureFlag          = "metrics-secure-serving"
-		metricsPortFlag            = "metrics-port"
-		healthDisableFlag          = "health-disable"
-		healthPortFlag             = "health-port"
-		leaderElectionDisableFlag  = "leader-election-disable"
-		leaderElectionLockNameFlag = "leader-election-lock-name"
-		plusFlag                   = "nginx-plus"
-		gwAPIExperimentalFlag      = "gateway-api-experimental-features"
-		usageReportSecretFlag      = "usage-report-secret"
-		usageReportServerURLFlag   = "usage-report-server-url"
-		usageReportSkipVerifyFlag  = "usage-report-skip-verify"
-		usageReportClusterNameFlag = "usage-report-cluster-name"
+		gatewayFlag                 = "gateway"
+		configFlag                  = "config"
+		serviceFlag                 = "service"
+		updateGCStatusFlag          = "update-gatewayclass-status"
+		metricsDisableFlag          = "metrics-disable"
+		metricsSecureFlag           = "metrics-secure-serving"
+		metricsPortFlag             = "metrics-port"
+		healthDisableFlag           = "health-disable"
+		healthPortFlag              = "health-port"
+		leaderElectionDisableFlag   = "leader-election-disable"
+		leaderElectionLockNameFlag  = "leader-election-lock-name"
+		productTelemetryDisableFlag = "product-telemetry-disable"
+		plusFlag                    = "nginx-plus"
+		gwAPIExperimentalFlag       = "gateway-api-experimental-features"
+		usageReportSecretFlag       = "usage-report-secret"
+		usageReportServerURLFlag    = "usage-report-server-url"
+		usageReportSkipVerifyFlag   = "usage-report-skip-verify"
+		usageReportClusterNameFlag  = "usage-report-cluster-name"
 	)
 
 	// flag values
@@ -101,6 +102,8 @@ func createStaticModeCommand() *cobra.Command {
 
 		gwExperimentalFeatures bool
 
+		disableProductTelemetry bool
+
 		plus                   bool
 		usageReportSkipVerify  bool
 		usageReportClusterName = stringValidatingValue{
@@ -203,12 +206,15 @@ func createStaticModeCommand() *cobra.Command {
 					LockName: leaderElectionLockName.String(),
 					Identity: podName,
 				},
-				UsageReportConfig:     usageReportConfig,
-				Plus:                  plus,
-				TelemetryReportPeriod: period,
-				Version:               version,
-				ExperimentalFeatures:  gwExperimentalFeatures,
-				ImageSource:           imageSource,
+				UsageReportConfig: usageReportConfig,
+				ProductTelemetryConfig: config.ProductTelemetryConfig{
+					TelemetryReportPeriod: period,
+					Enabled:               !disableProductTelemetry,
+				},
+				Plus:                 plus,
+				Version:              version,
+				ExperimentalFeatures: gwExperimentalFeatures,
+				ImageSource:          imageSource,
 			}
 
 			if err := static.StartManager(conf); err != nil {
@@ -315,6 +321,13 @@ func createStaticModeCommand() *cobra.Command {
 			"A Lease object with this name will be created in the same Namespace as the controller.",
 	)
 
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(
+		&disableProductTelemetry,
+		productTelemetryDisableFlag,
+		false,
+		"Disable the collection of product telemetry.",
+	)
+
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(
 		&plus,
 		plusFlag,

deploy/helm-chart/README.md

@@ -293,6 +293,9 @@ The following tables lists the configurable parameters of the NGINX Gateway Fabr
 | `nginxGateway.replicaCount`                       | The number of replicas of the NGINX Gateway Fabric Deployment.                                                                                                                                           | 1                                                                                                               |
 | `nginxGateway.leaderElection.enable`              | Enable leader election. Leader election is used to avoid multiple replicas of the NGINX Gateway Fabric reporting the status of the Gateway API resources.                                                | true                                                                                                            |
 | `nginxGateway.leaderElection.lockName`            | The name of the leader election lock. A Lease object with this name will be created in the same Namespace as the controller.                                                                             | Autogenerated                                                                                                   |
+| `nginxGateway.securityContext.allowPrivilegeEscalation` | Some environments may need this set to true in order for the control plane to successfully reload NGINX. | false |
+| `nginxGateway.productTelemetry.enable`            | Enable the collection of product telemetry. | true |
+| `nginxGateway.gwAPIExperimentalFeatures.enable`   | Enable the experimental features of Gateway API which are supported by NGINX Gateway Fabric. Requires the Gateway APIs installed from the experimental channel. | false |
 | `nginx.image.repository`                          | The repository for the NGINX image.                                                                                                                                                                      | ghcr.io/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx                                                                     |
 | `nginx.image.tag`                                 | The tag for the NGINX image.                                                                                                                                                                             | edge                                                                                                            |
 | `nginx.image.pullPolicy`                          | The `imagePullPolicy` for the NGINX image.                                                                                                                                                               | Always                                                                                                          |

deploy/helm-chart/templates/deployment.yaml

@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ spec:
         {{- else }}
         - --leader-election-disable
         {{- end }}
+        {{- if not .Values.nginxGateway.productTelemetry.enable }}
+        - --product-telemetry-disable
+        {{- end }}
         {{- if .Values.nginxGateway.gwAPIExperimentalFeatures.enable }}
         - --gateway-api-experimental-features
         {{- end }}

deploy/helm-chart/templates/rbac.yaml

@@ -39,34 +39,43 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
-# FIXME(bjee19): make nodes, pods, replicasets permission dependent on telemetry being enabled.
-# https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/issues/1317.
+{{- if .Values.nginxGateway.productTelemetry.enable }}
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - pods
   verbs:
   - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - get
+{{- end }}
+{{- if .Values.nginx.plus }}
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - list
+{{- end }}
+{{- if or .Values.nginxGateway.productTelemetry.enable .Values.nginx.plus }}
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - nodes
   verbs:
   - list
+{{- end }}
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - events
   verbs:
   - create
   - patch
-- apiGroups:
-  - apps
-  resources:
-  - replicasets
-  verbs:
-  - get
-  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - discovery.k8s.io
   resources:

deploy/helm-chart/values.yaml

@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ nginxGateway:
     ## Some environments may need this set to true in order for the control plane to successfully reload NGINX.
     allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
 
+  productTelemetry:
+    ## Enable the collection of product telemetry.
+    enable: true
+
   ## The lifecycle of the nginx-gateway container.
   lifecycle: {}
 

deploy/manifests/nginx-gateway-experimental.yaml

@@ -37,14 +37,18 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
-# FIXME(bjee19): make nodes, pods, replicasets permission dependent on telemetry being enabled.
-# https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/issues/1317.
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - pods
   verbs:
   - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - get
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
@@ -58,13 +62,6 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - create
   - patch
-- apiGroups:
-  - apps
-  resources:
-  - replicasets
-  verbs:
-  - get
-  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - discovery.k8s.io
   resources:

deploy/manifests/nginx-gateway.yaml

@@ -36,14 +36,18 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
-# FIXME(bjee19): make nodes, pods, replicasets permission dependent on telemetry being enabled.
-# https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/issues/1317.
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - pods
   verbs:
   - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - get
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
@@ -57,13 +61,6 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - create
   - patch
-- apiGroups:
-  - apps
-  resources:
-  - replicasets
-  verbs:
-  - get
-  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - discovery.k8s.io
   resources:

deploy/manifests/nginx-plus-gateway-experimental.yaml

@@ -37,14 +37,24 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
-# FIXME(bjee19): make nodes, pods, replicasets permission dependent on telemetry being enabled.
-# https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/issues/1317.
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - pods
   verbs:
   - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
@@ -58,13 +68,6 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - create
   - patch
-- apiGroups:
-  - apps
-  resources:
-  - replicasets
-  verbs:
-  - get
-  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - discovery.k8s.io
   resources:

deploy/manifests/nginx-plus-gateway.yaml

@@ -36,14 +36,24 @@ rules:
   - get
   - list
   - watch
-# FIXME(bjee19): make nodes, pods, replicasets permission dependent on telemetry being enabled.
-# https://github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/issues/1317.
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
   - pods
   verbs:
   - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - get
+- apiGroups:
+  - apps
+  resources:
+  - replicasets
+  verbs:
+  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - ""
   resources:
@@ -57,13 +67,6 @@ rules:
   verbs:
   - create
   - patch
-- apiGroups:
-  - apps
-  resources:
-  - replicasets
-  verbs:
-  - get
-  - list
 - apiGroups:
   - discovery.k8s.io
   resources:

internal/mode/static/config/config.go

@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	MetricsConfig MetricsConfig
 	// HealthConfig specifies the health probe config.
 	HealthConfig HealthConfig
-	// TelemetryReportPeriod is the period at which telemetry reports are sent.
-	TelemetryReportPeriod time.Duration
+	// ProductTelemetryConfig contains the configuration for collecting product telemetry.
+	ProductTelemetryConfig ProductTelemetryConfig
 	// UpdateGatewayClassStatus enables updating the status of the GatewayClass resource.
 	UpdateGatewayClassStatus bool
 	// Plus indicates whether NGINX Plus is being used.
@@ -86,6 +86,14 @@ type LeaderElectionConfig struct {
 	Enabled bool
 }
 
+// ProductTelemetryConfig contains the configuration for collecting product telemetry.
+type ProductTelemetryConfig struct {
+	// TelemetryReportPeriod is the period at which telemetry reports are sent.
+	TelemetryReportPeriod time.Duration
+	// Enabled is the flag for toggling the collection of product telemetry.
+	Enabled bool
+}
+
 // UsageReportConfig contains the configuration for NGINX Plus usage reporting.
 type UsageReportConfig struct {
 	// SecretNsName is the namespaced name of the Secret containing the server credentials.