Hands-On Lab: Deploying a Kubernetes Cluster

Are you ready to take your cloud deployment skills to the next level? Do you want to learn how to deploy and manage containerized applications at scale? If so, then you're in the right place! In this hands-on lab, we'll walk you through the process of deploying a Kubernetes cluster from scratch.

What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It was originally developed by Google and is now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

Kubernetes provides a powerful set of features that make it easy to manage containerized applications at scale. These features include:

Why Deploy a Kubernetes Cluster?

Deploying a Kubernetes cluster can be a challenging task, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Here are just a few reasons why you might want to deploy a Kubernetes cluster:

Getting Started

Before we dive into the details of deploying a Kubernetes cluster, let's take a moment to review some of the basic concepts and terminology.

Nodes

A node is a physical or virtual machine that runs the Kubernetes software. Nodes are responsible for running containers and providing the necessary resources (such as CPU and memory) for those containers to run.

Pods

A pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. A pod is a logical host for one or more containers, and it provides a shared network namespace and storage volumes for those containers.

Services

A service is an abstraction that defines a logical set of pods and a policy for accessing them. Services provide a stable IP address and DNS name for a set of pods, and they can be used to load balance traffic between those pods.

Deployments

A deployment is a higher-level abstraction that manages a set of replicas of a pod template. Deployments provide a way to declaratively manage the desired state of your application, and they can be used to perform rolling updates and rollbacks.

ConfigMaps

A ConfigMap is a Kubernetes object that provides a way to store configuration data in key-value pairs. ConfigMaps can be used to store environment variables, command-line arguments, and other configuration data that your application needs.

Secrets

A Secret is a Kubernetes object that provides a way to store sensitive information, such as passwords and API keys. Secrets are encrypted at rest and can be mounted as files or environment variables in your application containers.

Deploying a Kubernetes Cluster

Now that we have a basic understanding of the concepts and terminology involved in Kubernetes, let's dive into the process of deploying a Kubernetes cluster.

Step 1: Choose a Kubernetes Distribution

The first step in deploying a Kubernetes cluster is to choose a Kubernetes distribution. There are many different Kubernetes distributions available, each with its own set of features and capabilities.

Some popular Kubernetes distributions include:

For this hands-on lab, we'll be using the Kubernetes distribution provided by the upstream project.

Step 2: Choose a Cloud Provider

The next step in deploying a Kubernetes cluster is to choose a cloud provider. Kubernetes can be deployed on any cloud provider or on-premises infrastructure, but deploying on a cloud provider can make the process much easier.

Some popular cloud providers for Kubernetes include:

For this hands-on lab, we'll be using Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Step 3: Set Up a GCP Account

If you don't already have a GCP account, you'll need to create one. Go to the GCP website and follow the instructions to create a new account.

Step 4: Install the GCP CLI Tools

To interact with GCP from the command line, you'll need to install the GCP CLI tools. Follow the instructions on the GCP website to install the CLI tools for your operating system.

Step 5: Create a GCP Project

Before you can deploy a Kubernetes cluster on GCP, you'll need to create a new GCP project. Follow the instructions on the GCP website to create a new project.

Step 6: Enable the GCP Kubernetes API

To deploy a Kubernetes cluster on GCP, you'll need to enable the GCP Kubernetes API. Follow the instructions on the GCP website to enable the Kubernetes API for your project.

Step 7: Create a GCP Service Account

To deploy a Kubernetes cluster on GCP, you'll need to create a GCP service account with the necessary permissions. Follow the instructions on the GCP website to create a new service account.

Step 8: Create a GCP Kubernetes Cluster

Now that we have all the necessary prerequisites in place, we can finally deploy our Kubernetes cluster on GCP. To create a new Kubernetes cluster, run the following command:

gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --num-nodes=3 --machine-type=n1-standard-2

This command will create a new Kubernetes cluster named my-cluster with three nodes, each running on a machine with 2 vCPUs and 7.5 GB of memory.

Step 9: Verify the Kubernetes Cluster

Once the Kubernetes cluster has been created, you can verify that it's running by running the following command:

kubectl get nodes

This command will display a list of all the nodes in the cluster, along with their status and other information.

Step 10: Deploy an Application to the Kubernetes Cluster

Now that we have a Kubernetes cluster up and running, let's deploy a sample application to the cluster. For this hands-on lab, we'll be deploying the Kubernetes Guestbook application.

To deploy the Guestbook application, run the following command:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/examples/master/guestbook/all-in-one/guestbook-all-in-one.yaml

This command will deploy the Guestbook application to the Kubernetes cluster.

Step 11: Verify the Application Deployment

Once the Guestbook application has been deployed, you can verify that it's running by running the following command:

kubectl get pods

This command will display a list of all the pods in the cluster, including the pods that are running the Guestbook application.

Step 12: Access the Guestbook Application

To access the Guestbook application, you'll need to expose it as a service. To do this, run the following command:

kubectl expose deployment guestbook --type=LoadBalancer --port=80 --target-port=3000

This command will create a new service that exposes the Guestbook application on port 80.

To access the Guestbook application, open a web browser and navigate to the external IP address of the service. You can find the external IP address by running the following command:

kubectl get services

This command will display a list of all the services in the cluster, including the service that was created for the Guestbook application.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully deployed a Kubernetes cluster and deployed a sample application to the cluster. This hands-on lab has provided you with a solid foundation for working with Kubernetes, and you're now ready to explore the many powerful features and capabilities of this powerful container orchestration platform.

If you're interested in learning more about Kubernetes, be sure to check out the official Kubernetes documentation and the many online resources available for learning Kubernetes. And if you're looking for more hands-on labs like this one, be sure to check out handsonlab.dev for more great hands-on learning resources!

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