Whether you are a software developer or a DevOps engineer, you must have come across the word Kubernetes. It is currently the most popular container orchestration platform used by several big and small organizations for catalyzing the deployment process and managing Containers working for applications. This widely popular platform has lots of good reasons for one to get started with it, however, it comes with quite a sharp learning curve.
For beginners to get started with Kubernetes, it is suggested by experts to make use of Minikube for running Kubernetes clusters locally and get hands-on experience for the same. This article gives detailed information about installing Minikube on your system and getting started with it. But before proceeding, let’s recall what Kubernetes actually is.
Designed and developed by Google, Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform for automating the process of deploying, scaling and managing container-based applications. Therefore, deploying and operating containerized applications in a microservice architecture becomes extremely smooth, quick, and simple.
Developers can create cloud-native applications by making use of the Kubernetes environment as a runtime platform and using certain tools. These tools help in making the process even more feasible for building containerized applications and services along with more scalability in the future. They build an abstraction layer above the clusters that helps development teams for deploying apps. With Kubernetes, organizations would be able to have the following benefits:
- Orchestrate containers on multiple hosts automatically.
- Utilize hardware resources efficiently for making the most out of the available resources.
- Control and automate the deployment and updating applications.
- Efficient functioning of stateful applications by making extra storage.
- Scale applications running under the Kubernetes environment even when they’re serving the customers.
- Kubernetes comes with declaratively managed services through which the deployment of applications always happens the way you want it to be.
- Run regular monitoring and health check-ups to prevent the development environment from crashing. In addition, Kubernetes’s self-healing capabilities ensure everything is repaired and auto-replaced, auto-restarted, auto-replicated, and auto-scaled quickly for keeping the services running seamlessly.
The main benefit of utilizing Kubernetes in any organization’s infrastructure, especially when the application is optimized for the cloud, is that it offers a platform for scheduling and running containers on clusters of physical or virtual machines (VMs).
Key Considerations for Deploying Kubernetes
For getting the grip on Kubernetes, you can go with minikube for learning how to work with it. For this, you just have to execute some commands, install the same, and get started. However, to run Kubernetes at scale, you are required to make strong efforts. Following are some of the most important considerations for deploying a Kubernetes solution:
- High Availability: Ensure that the clusters are available 24*7. It is equally important to check for backups and see if there are backups in case of failure.
- Upgrades: Kubernetes rolls down new updates after every 4 months. Make sure to have strategies for the same to get updated without any downtimes.
- Support for hybrid: Make sure to configure your Kubernetes for supporting private data centers and public cloud endpoints that are crucial for organizations to have future opportunities.
- Federation support: Configure the Kubernetes for supporting and deploying federated clusters that have the scope for growth on both private and public clouds.
- Enterprise-ready features: Enable your Kubernetes for having enterprise-ready features that help the operations team to run Kubernetes at scale and support large-scale users.
What is Minikube?
It is an official tool released by Kubernetes for allowing users to build a complete and fully-fledged Kubernetes cluster locally within a virtual machine. Making the use of Minicube at the start is a pocket-friendly way of creating several servers within your preferable cloud service.
If setting up Kubernetes clusters directly from scratch, users would have to go through lots of hurdles and invest a significant amount of time and effort. This might perplex users and as a result, many of them are likely to quit the process of learning Kubernetes before even getting started. To prevent this, Minicube was launched. Minikube is easy to set up and allows users to create Kubernetes clusters effortlessly.
Installing Minikube
Before installing Minikube, make sure to have a hypervisor installed on your computer device to run Virtual Machines. Trusted by many users all around the world, VirtualBox is one of the best and free hypervisors available in the market. Users can install VirtualBox and use it with the Minikube. Right after this, you can proceed to install Minikube.
1. Downloading the package
To install Minikube, first, you have to download its package.
2. For Linux
Run the following command in Terminal for downloading the package on Linux:
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
Sudo code for installing the same:
sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube
3. For macOS
Run the below-mentioned command for downloading the package on macOS:
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-darwin-amd64
Sudo code for installing the same:
sudo install minikube-darwin-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube
5. For Windows
To download the Minikube package for Windows, click here.
6. Downloading Kubectl
Kubectl is a command-line tool for Kubernetes that enables users to execute actions for managing Kubernetes. Users can also execute commands for making objects work against the clusters in which they are aligned. Kubectl is utilized for deploying applications, inspecting and managing resources, and viewing logs.
7. For Linux
Run the following command for downloading Kubectl on Linux:
curl -LO “https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl”
8. For macOS
For downloading it on macOS, execute the following curl command:
curl -LO “https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/darwin/amd64/kubectl”
9. For Windows
Click here for downloading the latest release of Kubectl. Else, if you have curl installed, use the following command:
curl -LO https://dl.k8s.io/release/v1.21.0/bin/windows/amd64/kubectl.exe
10. Starting Kubernetes Cluster
For making your cluster run properly and make your first move with Kubernetes, simply execute the below-mentioned command. This will prepare the environment for individuals to work in and download kubeadm:
minikube start
Now, for interacting with the cluster, run the following command and create a new cluster within your local Kubernetes environment:
kubectl get po -A
However, if you missed downloading the apt version of Kubectl, you can execute the following command in minikube for downloading the same:
minikube kubectl — get po -A
In the start, only a few services such as storage-provisioner may function. It is an ordinary issue that momentarily gets resolved when cluster starts functioning. For helping users with more precise information regarding the clusters, minikube concludes and effectively displays the information of the Kubernetes dashboard. Run the following command:
minikube dashboard
A Brief Overview of Kubernetes Terms
While working with Kubernetes or Minikube, you’ll come across lots of terms that may be difficult for you to understand in the first place. Therefore, let’s learn about the most frequently used terms associated with Kubernetes architecture:
- Pod: These are the most basic and smallest units of Kubernetes. They are composed of one or more containers that work under a similar host. Pods also contain definitions for required resources that are utilized by containers to function properly.
- Namespaces: In the Kubernetes environment, multiple virtual clusters get supported by one physical cluster. All of these virtual clusters are known as namespaces that run under various environments and users across multiple teams.
- Nodes: All the pods under a Minikube or Kubernetes environment run on nodes which is basically a worker machine that can be both virtual or physical. They are managed by managers.
- Services: Services are used for defining a logical set of Pods and terms onto which the Pods can be accessed. The patterns created for these Pods are often called microservice.
- Logs: Logs are real-time information that helps individuals to stay updated regarding all the things happening in an application. They are useful for identifying issues and updates under one environment.
Conclusion
Kubernetes is a widely popular container orchestration platform that helps various small and big organizations for catalyzing the deployment process and managing application containers. It has lots of benefits for any business, but learning it in the first place may be perplexing.
For beginners, it is suggested to make use of Minikube for running Kubernetes clusters locally and get a better grip on the same. It will help to learn how to run Kubernetes and work with its dynamics and deploy applications with ease. It is an official tool released by Kubernetes for creating fully-fledged Kubernetes clusters locally within a virtual machine.