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Install k3s cluster

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • A load balancer IP or hostname.
  • Access to all control plane and worker nodes.

Architecture

Section titled “Architecture”
graph TD
    VIP[Virtual IP] -->|Routes to| CP1
    VIP -->|Routes to| CP2
    VIP -->|Routes to| CP3
    
    subgraph Control Plane
        CP1[Control Plane 1 
K3s + Keepalived]
        CP2[Control Plane 2 
K3s + Keepalived]
        CP3[Control Plane 3 
K3s + Keepalived]
    end
    
    subgraph Workers
        W1[Worker 1 
Pods]
        W2[Worker 2 
Pods]
        W3[Worker 3 
Pods]
    end
    
    CP1 -->|Orchestrates| W1
    CP1 -->|Orchestrates| W2
    CP1 -->|Orchestrates| W3
    
    CP2 -.->|Redundancy| W1
    CP2 -.->|Redundancy| W2
    CP2 -.->|Redundancy| W3
    
    CP3 -.->|Redundancy| W1
    CP3 -.->|Redundancy| W2
    CP3 -.->|Redundancy| W3

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

  1. Install NFS support (optional)

    If your cluster will use NFS for persistent storage, install the nfs-common package on all nodes (both control plane and worker nodes) by running the following command:

    Terminal window
    sudo apt install nfs-common

  2. Setup Keepalived for Virtual IP (optional)

    To access the cluster via a single Virtual IP (VIP), you can install keepalived on the control plane nodes. This allows you to use a single IP address to access the Kubernetes API server, even if one of the control plane nodes goes down.

    Install keepalived:

    Terminal window
    sudo apt install keepalived

    Create the configuration file:

    Terminal window
    sudo nano /etc/keepalived/keepalived.conf

    Master Node Configuration:

    Replace <interface> with your network interface (e.g., eth0, ens18), <password> with a secure password, and <virtual-ip> with your desired VIP.

    vrrp_instance VI_1 {
        state MASTER
        interface <interface>
        virtual_router_id 56
        priority 255
        advert_int 1
        authentication {
            auth_type PASS
            auth_pass <password>
        }
        virtual_ipaddress {
            <virtual-ip>/24
        }
    }

    Backup Node Configuration:

    For additional control plane nodes, use the BACKUP state and a lower priority (e.g., 254, 253).

    vrrp_instance VI_1 {
        state BACKUP
        interface <interface>
        virtual_router_id 56
        priority 254
        advert_int 1
        authentication {
            auth_type PASS
            auth_pass <password>
        }
        virtual_ipaddress {
            <virtual-ip>/24
        }
    }

    Enable and start the service:

    Terminal window
    sudo systemctl enable --now keepalived.service
    sudo systemctl status keepalived.service

  3. Install k3s on the first control plane node

    Run the following command to install k3s. Replace <load-balancer-ip-or-hostname> with your Load Balancer IP or the Virtual IP (VIP) if you set up Keepalived.

    Terminal window
    curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - server \
        --cluster-init \
        --node-taint CriticalAddonsOnly=true:NoExecute \
        --tls-san <load-balancer-ip-or-hostname>

  4. Retrieve the cluster token

    After the installation, retrieve the <cluster-token> and take note of it:

    Terminal window
    cat /var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/node-token

  5. Install k3s on additional control plane nodes

    Run the following command to install k3s and link it to the cluster. Replace <control-plane-01-ip> with the IP of the first control plane node or the VIP.

    Terminal window
    curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - server \
        --node-taint CriticalAddonsOnly=true:NoExecute \
        --tls-san <load-balancer-ip-or-hostname> \
        --server https://<control-plane-01-ip>:6443 \
        --token <cluster-token>

  6. Install k3s on all the worker nodes

    Run the following command to install k3s and link it to the cluster. Replace <control-plane-01-ip> with the IP of the first control plane node or the VIP.

    Terminal window
    curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - agent \
        --server https://<control-plane-01-ip>:6443 \
        --token <cluster-token>

Configure local kubectl access

Section titled “Configure local kubectl access”

  1. Retrieve the Kubernetes configuration from one of the control plane nodes:

    Terminal window
    sudo cat /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml

  2. Save the content to a file located at %USERPROFILE%/.kube/<filename-without-extension> on your local machine. Rename the default context to your preferred cluster name.

  3. Add configuration to kubectl. In PowerShell, run:

    Terminal window
    Get-ChildItem -Path "$($env:USERPROFILE)/.kube" -File | ForEach-Object {
        $configFiles += $_.FullName + ";"
    }
    

    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KUBECONFIG", $configFiles, "USER")

  4. Switch to the new context:

    Terminal window
    kubectl config use-context <context-name>