Template for deploying a single k3s cluster with k3sup backed by Flux and SOPS.
The purpose here is to showcase how you can deploy an entire Kubernetes cluster and show it off to the world using the GitOps tool Flux. When completed, your Git repository will be driving the state of your Kubernetes cluster. In addition with the help of the Flux SOPS integration you'll be able to commit GPG encrypted secrets to your public repo.
The following components will be installed in your k3s cluster by default. They are only included to get a minimum viable cluster up and running. You are free to add / remove components to your liking but anything outside the scope of the below components are not supported by this template.
Feel free to read up on any of these technologies before you get started to be more familiar with them.
- flannel - default CNI provided by k3s
- local-path-provisioner - default storage class provided by k3s
- flux - GitOps tool for deploying manifests from the
cluster
directory - metallb - bare metal load balancer
- cert-manager - SSL certificates - with Cloudflare DNS challenge
- traefik - ingress controller
- hajimari - start page with ingress discovery
- system-upgrade-controller - upgrade k3s
Already provisioned Bare metal or VMs with any modern operating system like Ubuntu, Debian or CentOS.
If coming from a fresh install of Linux make sure you do the following steps.
-
Copy over your SSH keys to all the hosts
-
Enable packet forwarding on the hosts and increase max_user_watches
cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/k8s.conf
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1
net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
fs.inotify.max_user_watches=65536
EOF
sysctl --system
-
Configure DNS on your nodes to use an upstream provider (e.g.
1.1.1.1
,9.9.9.9
), or your router's IP if you have DNS configured there and it's not pointing to a local Ad-blocker DNS. Ad-blockers should only be used on devices with a web browser. -
Remove any search domains from your hosts
/etc/resolv.conf
. Search domains have an issue with alpine based containers and DNS might not resolve in them. This is usually done by setting static IP on the nodes NOT using DHCP. -
Disable swap
π You should install the below CLI tools on your workstation. Make sure you pull in the latest versions.
Tool | Purpose |
---|---|
k3sup | Tool to install k3s on your nodes |
kubectl | Allows you to run commands against Kubernetes clusters |
flux | Operator that manages your k8s cluster based on your Git repository |
SOPS | Encrypts k8s secrets with GnuPG |
GnuPG | Encrypts and signs your data |
pinentry | Allows GnuPG to read passphrases and PIN numbers |
direnv | Exports env vars based on present working directory |
pre-commit | Runs checks pre git commit |
kustomize | Template-free way to customize application configuration |
helm | Manage Kubernetes applications |
go-task | A task runner / simpler Make alternative written in Go |
prettier | Prettier is an opinionated code formatter. |
It is advisable to install pre-commit and the pre-commit hooks that come with this repository. sops-pre-commit will check to make sure you are not by accident commiting your secrets un-encrypted.
After pre-commit is installed on your machine run:
pre-commit install-hooks
The Git repository contains the following directories under cluster
and are ordered below by how Flux will apply them.
- base directory is the entrypoint to Flux
- crds directory contains custom resource definitions (CRDs) that need to exist globally in your cluster before anything else exists
- core directory (depends on crds) are important infrastructure applications (grouped by namespace) that should never be pruned by Flux
- apps directory (depends on core) is where your common applications (grouped by namespace) could be placed, Flux will prune resources here if they are not tracked by Git anymore
cluster
βββ apps
β βββ default
β βββ networking
β βββ system-upgrade
βββ base
β βββ flux-system
βββ core
β βββ cert-manager
β βββ metallb-system
β βββ namespaces
β βββ system-upgrade
βββ crds
βββ cert-manager
Very first step will be to create a new repository by clicking the Use this template button on this page.
π In these instructions you will be exporting several environment variables to your current shell env. Make sure you stay with in your current shell to not lose any exported variables.
π All of the below commands are run on your local workstation, not on any of your cluster nodes.
π Here we will create a personal and a Flux GPG key. Using SOPS with GnuPG allows us to encrypt and decrypt secrets.
- Create a Personal GPG Key, password protected, and export the fingerprint. It's strongly encouraged to back up this key somewhere safe so you don't lose it.
export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
export PERSONAL_KEY_NAME="First name Last name (location) <email>"
gpg --batch --full-generate-key <<EOF
Key-Type: 1
Key-Length: 4096
Subkey-Type: 1
Subkey-Length: 4096
Expire-Date: 0
Name-Real: ${PERSONAL_KEY_NAME}
EOF
gpg --list-secret-keys "${PERSONAL_KEY_NAME}"
# pub rsa4096 2021-03-11 [SC]
# 772154FFF783DE317KLCA0EC77149AC618D75581
# uid [ultimate] k8s@home (Macbook) <[email protected]>
# sub rsa4096 2021-03-11 [E]
export PERSONAL_KEY_FP=772154FFF783DE317KLCA0EC77149AC618D75581
- Create a Flux GPG Key and export the fingerprint
export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
export FLUX_KEY_NAME="Cluster name (Flux) <email>"
gpg --batch --full-generate-key <<EOF
%no-protection
Key-Type: 1
Key-Length: 4096
Subkey-Type: 1
Subkey-Length: 4096
Expire-Date: 0
Name-Real: ${FLUX_KEY_NAME}
EOF
gpg --list-secret-keys "${FLUX_KEY_NAME}"
# pub rsa4096 2021-03-11 [SC]
# AB675CE4CC64251G3S9AE1DAA88ARRTY2C009E2D
# uid [ultimate] Home cluster (Flux) <[email protected]>
# sub rsa4096 2021-03-11 [E]
export FLUX_KEY_FP=AB675CE4CC64251G3S9AE1DAA88ARRTY2C009E2D
π Here we will be install k3s with k3sup. After completion, k3sup will drop a kubeconfig
in your present working directory for use with interacting with your cluster with kubectl
.
-
Ensure you are able to SSH into you nodes with using your private ssh key. This is how k3sup is able to connect to your remote node.
-
Install the master node
We will be installing metallb instead of servicelb, traefik and metrics-server will be installed with Flux.
k3sup install \
--host=169.254.1.1 \
--user=k8s-at-home \
--k3s-version=v1.21.4+k3s1 \
--k3s-extra-args="--disable servicelb --disable traefik --disable metrics-server"
- Join worker nodes (optional)
k3sup join \
--host=169.254.1.2 \
--server-host=169.254.1.1 \
--k3s-version=v1.21.4+k3s1 \
--user=k8s-at-home
- Verify the nodes are online
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get nodes
# NAME STATUS ROLES AGE VERSION
# k8s-master-a Ready control-plane,master 4d20h v1.21.4+k3s1
# k8s-worker-a Ready worker 4d20h v1.21.4+k3s1
π You may skip this step, however make sure to export
dummy data on item 8 in the below list.
...Be aware you will not have a valid SSL cert until cert-manager
is configured correctly
In order to use cert-manager
with the Cloudflare DNS challenge you will need to create a API token.
- Head over to Cloudflare and create a API token by going here.
- Click the blue
Create Token
button - Scroll down and create a Custom Token by choosing
Get started
- Give your token a name like
cert-manager
- Under
Permissions
give read access toZone
:Zone
and write access toZone
:DNS
- Under
Zone Resources
set it toInclude
:All Zones
- Click
Continue to summary
and thenCreate Token
- Export this token and your Cloudflare email address to an environment variable on your system to be used in the following steps
export BOOTSTRAP_CLOUDFLARE_EMAIL="[email protected]"
export BOOTSTRAP_CLOUDFLARE_TOKEN="kpG6iyg3FS_du_8KRShdFuwfbwu3zMltbvmJV6cD"
π Here we will be installing flux after some quick bootstrap steps.
- Verify Flux can be installed
flux --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig check --pre
# βΊ checking prerequisites
# β kubectl 1.21.4 >=1.18.0-0
# β Kubernetes 1.21.4+k3s1 >=1.16.0-0
# β prerequisites checks passed
- Pre-create the
flux-system
namespace
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig create namespace flux-system --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig apply -f -
- Add the Flux GPG key in-order for Flux to decrypt SOPS secrets
gpg --export-secret-keys --armor "${FLUX_KEY_FP}" |
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig create secret generic sops-gpg \
--namespace=flux-system \
--from-file=sops.asc=/dev/stdin
- Export more environment variables for application configuration
# The repo you created from this template
export BOOTSTRAP_GITHUB_REPOSITORY="https://github.com/k8s-at-home/home-cluster"
# Choose one of your domains or use a made up one
export BOOTSTRAP_DOMAIN="k8s-at-home.com"
# Pick a range of unused IPs that are on the same network as your nodes
export BOOTSTRAP_METALLB_LB_RANGE="169.254.1.10-169.254.1.20"
# The load balancer IP for traefik, choose from one of the available IPs above
export BOOTSTRAP_SVC_TRAEFIK_ADDR="169.254.1.10"
- Create required files based on ALL exported environment variables.
envsubst < ./tmpl/.sops.yaml > ./.sops.yaml
envsubst < ./tmpl/cluster-secrets.sops.yaml > ./cluster/base/cluster-secrets.sops.yaml
envsubst < ./tmpl/cluster-settings.yaml > ./cluster/base/cluster-settings.yaml
envsubst < ./tmpl/gotk-sync.yaml > ./cluster/base/flux-system/gotk-sync.yaml
envsubst < ./tmpl/secret.sops.yaml > ./cluster/core/cert-manager/secret.sops.yaml
-
Verify all the above files have the correct information present
-
Encrypt
cluster/cluster-secrets.sops.yaml
andcert-manager/secret.sops.yaml
with SOPS
export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
sops --encrypt --in-place ./cluster/base/cluster-secrets.sops.yaml
sops --encrypt --in-place ./cluster/core/cert-manager/secret.sops.yaml
π Variables defined in cluster-secrets.sops.yaml
and cluster-settings.sops.yaml
will be usable anywhere in your YAML manifests under ./cluster
-
Verify all the above files are encrypted with SOPS
-
Push you changes to git
git add -A
git commit -m "initial commit"
git push
- Install Flux
π Due to race conditions with the Flux CRDs you will have to run the below command twice. There should be no errors on this second run.
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig apply --kustomize=./cluster/base/flux-system
# namespace/flux-system configured
# customresourcedefinition.apiextensions.k8s.io/alerts.notification.toolkit.fluxcd.io created
# ...
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "Kustomization" in version "kustomize.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta1"
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "GitRepository" in version "source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1"
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "HelmRepository" in version "source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1"
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "HelmRepository" in version "source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1"
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "HelmRepository" in version "source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1"
# unable to recognize "./cluster/base/flux-system": no matches for kind "HelmRepository" in version "source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1"
π Congratulations you have a Kubernetes cluster managed by Flux, your Git repository is driving the state of your cluster.
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get pods -n flux-system
# NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
# helm-controller-5bbd94c75-89sb4 1/1 Running 0 1h
# kustomize-controller-7b67b6b77d-nqc67 1/1 Running 0 1h
# notification-controller-7c46575844-k4bvr 1/1 Running 0 1h
# source-controller-7d6875bcb4-zqw9f 1/1 Running 0 1h
If your cluster is not accessible to outside world you can update your hosts file to verify the ingress controller is working.
echo "${BOOTSTRAP_SVC_TRAEFIK_ADDR} ${BOOTSTRAP_DOMAIN} hajimari.${BOOTSTRAP_DOMAIN}" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
Head over to your browser and you should be able to access https://hajimari.${BOOTSTRAP_DOMAIN}
This is a great tool to export environment variables depending on what your present working directory is, head over to their installation guide and don't forget to hook it into your shell!
When this is done you no longer have to use --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig
in your kubectl
, flux
or helm
commands.
VSCode SOPS is a neat little plugin for those using VSCode. It will automatically decrypt you SOPS secrets when you click on the file in the editor and encrypt them when you save and exit the file.
Manually sync Flux with your Git repository
flux --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig reconcile source git flux-system
# βΊ annotating GitRepository flux-system in flux-system namespace
# β GitRepository annotated
# β waiting for GitRepository reconciliation
# β GitRepository reconciliation completed
# β fetched revision main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998
Show the health of you kustomizations
kubectl --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get kustomization -A
# NAMESPACE NAME READY STATUS AGE
# flux-system apps True Applied revision: main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 3d19h
# flux-system core True Applied revision: main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 4d6h
# flux-system crds True Applied revision: main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 4d6h
# flux-system flux-system True Applied revision: main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 4d6h
Show the health of your main Flux GitRepository
flux --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get sources git
# NAME READY MESSAGE REVISION SUSPENDED
# flux-system True Fetched revision: main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 main/943e4126e74b273ff603aedab89beb7e36be4998 False
Show the health of your HelmRelease
s
flux --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get helmrelease -A
# NAMESPACE NAME READY MESSAGE REVISION SUSPENDED
# cert-manager cert-manager True Release reconciliation succeeded v1.5.2 False
# default hajimari True Release reconciliation succeeded 1.1.1 False
# networking ingress-nginx True Release reconciliation succeeded 3.30.0 False
Show the health of your HelmRepository
s
flux --kubeconfig=./kubeconfig get sources helm -A
# NAMESPACE NAME READY MESSAGE REVISION SUSPENDED
# flux-system bitnami-charts True Fetched revision: 0ec3a3335ff991c45735866feb1c0830c4ed85cf 0ec3a3335ff991c45735866feb1c0830c4ed85cf False
# flux-system hajimari-charts True Fetched revision: 1b24af9c5a1e3da91618d597f58f46a57c70dc13 1b24af9c5a1e3da91618d597f58f46a57c70dc13 False
# flux-system ingress-nginx-charts True Fetched revision: 45669a3117fc93acc09a00e9fb9b4445e8990722 45669a3117fc93acc09a00e9fb9b4445e8990722 False
# flux-system jetstack-charts True Fetched revision: 7bad937cc82a012c9ee7d7a472d7bd66b48dc471 7bad937cc82a012c9ee7d7a472d7bd66b48dc471 False
# flux-system k8s-at-home-charts True Fetched revision: 1b24af9c5a1e3da91618d597f58f46a57c70dc13 1b24af9c5a1e3da91618d597f58f46a57c70dc13 False
Flux has a wide range of CLI options available be sure to run flux --help
to view more!
-
Renovate is a very useful tool that when configured will start to create PRs in your Github repository when Docker images, Helm charts or anything else that can be tracked has a newer version. The configuration for renovate is located here.
-
system-upgrade-controller will watch for new k3s releases and upgrade your nodes when new releases are found.
There's also a couple Github workflows included in this repository that will help automate some processes.
- Flux upgrade schedule - workflow to upgrade Flux.
- Renovate schedule - workflow to annotate
HelmRelease
's which allows Renovate to track Helm chart versions.
The world is your cluster, try installing another application or if you have a NAS and want storage back by that check out the helm charts for democratic-csi, csi-driver-nfs or nfs-subdir-external-provisioner.
If you plan on exposing your ingress to the world from your home. Checkout our rough guide to run a k8s CronJob
to update DDNS.
Big shout out to all the authors and contributors to the projects that we are using in this repository.