How to get a single-node Kubernetes deployment up in seconds

If you have a need for a single-node Kubernetes deployment (for testing or development), you're probably not too keen on having to jump through all the necessary hoops to get this up and running. Fortunately, there's a way to make this happen in seconds. Said method comes by way of and easy-to-install snap package on Linux.

With a single command, you can get that single-node Kubernetes deployment up and running, so you can concentrate your time on development, not deployment.

SEE: Hiring kit: Network administrator (Tech Pro Research)

Let me show you how this is done.

Microk8s

The snap package in question is called Microk8s, a non-elastic, rails-based single-node Kubernetes tool focused on offline development, prototyping, and testing. Microk8s features:

• Istio
• GPGPU bindings
  
• Daily builds
  
• Local storage
  
• Local registry
  
• Updates
  
• Dashboard
  
• Metrics
  
• Upgrades
• IngressDNS
• Conformant
  

Sold? Let's install.

Installation

The first thing to know is that Microk8s is a snap package, so you need a Linux distribution that supports this universal packaging format. I'll demonstrate on Ubuntu Desktop 19.04. To install, open a terminal window and issue the command:

sudo snap install microk8s --edge --classic

(Note: The dashes in the command should be two dashes and not em dashes, as they are currently appearing on the site.)

Once the installation completes, you're ready to go.

Usage

The first thing you want to do is start Microk8s. To do this, issue the command:

sudo microk8s.start

With Microk8s started, we can now install additional services (in this case kube-dns and dashboard) with the command:

microk8s.enable dns dashboard

You should see output indicating both services have been started (Figure A).

Other add-ons you can install include:

• storage - allows you to make use of storage on the host.
• ingress - create an Ingress controller.
  
• gpu - enable the nvidia-docker runtime and nvidia-device-plugin-daemonset.
  
• istio - enable the core Istio services.
  
• registry - deploy a private Docker registry.
  

Accessing the dashboard

In order to access the Kubernetes Dashboard, you must first find out its associated address. To do this, issue the command:

microk8s.kubctl get all --all-namespaces

(Note: the dashes should be two dashes and not em dashes, as they are currently appearing on the site.)

In the reported listing, you should see the kubernetes-dashboard listed (Figure B).

Point your browser to the IP address listed, and you will arrive at the Kubernetes Dashboard (Figure C), where you can create applications (or any other Kubernetes resource) with a few quick clicks.

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And that's it. Within seconds (maybe minutes, depending on the speed of your network connection and your ability to type quickly) you have a single node Kubernetes deployment, ready for work. It doesn't get much easier than this.

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