Volcano is a cloud‑native batch scheduler for Kubernetes, designed for high‑performance computing, AI/ML, and other batch workloads. It adds concepts such as queues, priorities, quotas, and gang scheduling on top of the core Kubernetes API.
Headlamp is an extensible web UI for Kubernetes that supports a plugin system, allowing third‑party resources to be visualized alongside native objects. The Volcano plugin integrates Volcano’s custom resources—Jobs, Queues, and PodGroups—directly into Headlamp, giving operators a visual context that would otherwise require multiple kubectl or Volcano‑CLI commands.
Key UI Features
- Job view: List and detail pages show status, queue, task counts, age, and provide actions such as Suspend and Resume. Logs from all Pods belonging to a Volcano Job can be streamed without leaving the UI.
- Queue view: Displays capacity, allocated resources, deserved and guaranteed resources, reservation details, and child‑queue relationships, helping teams understand how cluster capacity is divided.
- PodGroup view: Highlights gang‑scheduling progress, conditions, and minimum‑resource requirements, making it easy to spot blocked workloads.
- Map view: A graphical representation that links Jobs, PodGroups, Queues, and Pods in one diagram, exposing pending or error states at a glance.
Why Use the Plugin Instead of Pure CLI?
While kubectl and the Volcano CLI remain essential for automation and scripting, the Headlamp plugin reduces the mental overhead of jumping between commands. By surfacing related resources on a single page, it speeds up interactive troubleshooting and improves visibility into scheduling decisions.
Installation Steps
- Install Headlamp (the core UI).
- Open the Plugin Catalog from the Headlamp interface.
- Search for “Volcano” and click Install.
- Connect Headlamp to a Kubernetes cluster where the Volcano controller is already deployed.
After installation, a new “Volcano” section appears in the sidebar, giving access to the list and detail views described above.
Future Directions
The blog notes possible enhancements such as Prometheus integration and deeper scheduling insights, indicating that the plugin is an evolving project driven by community feedback.
Overall, the Volcano‑Headlamp plugin offers a practical way to visualize batch workloads, making it a valuable addition to any Kubernetes observability toolbox.