Blog 1: Kubernetes The Hard Way
This tutorial walks you through setting up Kubernetes the hard way. This guide is not for someone looking for a fully automated tool to bring up a Kubernetes cluster. Kubernetes The Hard Way is optimized for learning, which means taking the long route to ensure you understand each task required to bootstrap a Kubernetes cluster.
The results of this tutorial should not be viewed as production ready, and may receive limited support from the community, but don’t let that stop you from learning!
Target Audience
The target audience for this tutorial is someone who wants to understand the fundamentals of Kubernetes and how the core components fit together.
Why Hard Way ?
There are multiple options available to build a Kubernetes cluster or use a Kubernetes cluster. You can build Kubernetes clusters using tools like Kubeadm, kops, and Kubesparay.
And if you want to use cloud vendor-provided services like EKS, AKS, and GKE, which are most popular these days, use them in production.
Yes, these tools are simple to build clusters and suitable for production use. But if you build a learning cluster from scratch, here are several benefits, like below
- Deep Dive into Kubernetes Components: You get direct experience with key Kubernetes parts like the API server, scheduler, controller manager, etc., and learn how they work together.
- Understanding Networking Concepts: Setting up cluster networking from scratch, like using CNI plugins, helps you better understand Kubernetes networking, how pods communicate, and how services are discovered.
- Problem-Solving and Debugging: Building a cluster manually lets you face possible problems, teaching you how to fix issues like failed node joins, certificate problems, or networking errors.
- Mastering Configuration: You gain practical experience with configuration files like kubeconfig, manifests, and yaml definitions, allowing you to adjust your cluster for specific needs.
- Increasing Security Understanding: Configuring authentication, RBAC policies, and TLS certificates helps you understand how Kubernetes ensures secure communication and access control.
- Boosts Confidence: Starting from scratch helps you to feel more confident in administering and troubleshooting Kubernetes clusters independent of managed services or pre-built setups.