Setting up a Kubernetes cluster is a fundamental step in learning and using Kubernetes. This section will guide you through the process of setting up a Kubernetes cluster using different methods. We will cover the following:

1. Prerequisites
2. Setting Up a Local Kubernetes Cluster with Minikube
3. Setting Up a Kubernetes Cluster on the Cloud with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
4. Setting Up a Kubernetes Cluster with kubeadm
5. Verifying the Cluster Setup

Before setting up a Kubernetes cluster, ensure you have the following:

• A computer with a supported operating system (Linux, macOS, or Windows).
• Basic knowledge of command-line interface (CLI) operations.
• Installed Docker (for local setups).
• Installed kubectl (Kubernetes command-line tool).

Minikube is a tool that makes it easy to run Kubernetes locally. It runs a single-node Kubernetes cluster inside a virtual machine (VM) on your local machine.

1. Install Minikube:

   • Follow the installation guide for your operating system from the Minikube official documentation.

2. Start Minikube:

   minikube start
   

3. Verify Minikube Installation:

   kubectl get nodes
   

   You should see a single node named minikube.

Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a managed Kubernetes service provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

1. Install Google Cloud SDK:

   • Follow the installation guide from the Google Cloud SDK documentation.

2. Authenticate with GCP:

   gcloud auth login
   

3. Set Your Project:

   gcloud config set project [PROJECT_ID]
   

4. Create a GKE Cluster:

   gcloud container clusters create my-cluster --zone us-central1-a
   

5. Get Cluster Credentials:

   gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --zone us-central1-a
   

6. Verify GKE Cluster:

   kubectl get nodes
   

kubeadm is a tool that helps you bootstrap a Kubernetes cluster. It is designed to be a simple way to set up a cluster on any machine.

1. Install Docker:

   • Follow the installation guide from the Docker official documentation.

2. Install kubeadm, kubelet, and kubectl:

   • Follow the installation guide from the Kubernetes official documentation.

3. Initialize the Master Node:

   sudo kubeadm init --pod-network-cidr=192.168.0.0/16
   

4. Set Up kubeconfig for kubectl:

   mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
   sudo cp -i /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf $HOME/.kube/config
   sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.kube/config
   

5. Install a Pod Network Add-on:

   kubectl apply -f https://docs.projectcalico.org/manifests/calico.yaml
   

6. Join Worker Nodes:

   • On each worker node, run the command provided by kubeadm init to join the cluster.

After setting up your Kubernetes cluster, it's essential to verify that everything is working correctly.

1. Check Nodes:

   kubectl get nodes
   

2. Check System Pods:

   kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
   

3. Deploy a Test Application:

   kubectl create deployment hello-world --image=k8s.gcr.io/echoserver:1.4
   kubectl expose deployment hello-world --type=NodePort --port=8080
   

4. Access the Test Application:

   • Get the NodePort:

     kubectl get service hello-world
     

   • Access the application using the Node IP and NodePort.

In this section, we covered the essential steps to set up a Kubernetes cluster using Minikube, GKE, and kubeadm. Each method has its use cases, and you can choose the one that best fits your needs. By following these steps, you should now have a functional Kubernetes cluster ready for deploying applications and exploring Kubernetes further. In the next section, we will dive into using the Kubernetes CLI (kubectl) to manage your cluster.