Deploying a Kubernetes Cluster Using Minikube

Minikube is a tool that makes it easy to run Kubernetes locally. It runs a single-node Kubernetes cluster inside a VM on your laptop for users looking to try out Kubernetes or develop with it day-to-day. Below are the steps and essential commands for deploying a Kubernetes cluster using Minikube.

Prerequisites

• A computer with at least 2GB of RAM and 2 CPUs.

• Internet connection for downloading Minikube and Kubernetes binaries.

• Ensure no other hypervisors are running (like VMware or VirtualBox).

Steps to Deploy Kubernetes Cluster Using Minikube

1. Install Minikube

• Windows: Download the installer or use Chocolatey (choco install minikube).

• macOS: Use Homebrew (brew install minikube) or download the binary.

• Linux: Download the binary and install it manually.

2. Start Minikube

• Open a terminal or command prompt.

• Run the command: minikube start. This command starts a Minikube VM and Kubernetes cluster. By default, it uses the virtualization technology available on the platform (like Hyper-V, KVM, Docker, etc.).

3. Check Minikube Status

• Run minikube status to check the status of the Minikube VM and the Kubernetes cluster running inside it.

4. Access Kubernetes Dashboard

• Run minikube dashboard to open the Kubernetes dashboard in a web browser.

5. Deploy Applications

• Use kubectl commands to deploy applications. For example, kubectl create deployment hello-minikube --image=k8s.gcr.io/echoserver:1.4.

6. Expose Applications

• To access the deployed applications, expose them as services. For example, kubectl expose deployment hello-minikube --type=NodePort --port=8080.

7. Access the Application

• Use minikube service hello-minikube to access the exposed application.

8. Stop Minikube

• When finished, you can stop the Minikube VM with minikube stop.

9. Delete Minikube Cluster

• If you want to delete the Minikube cluster and start over, use minikube delete.

Essential Minikube Commands

• minikube start: Starts a Minikube Kubernetes cluster.

• minikube status: Shows the status of the Minikube cluster.

• minikube dashboard: Opens the Kubernetes dashboard.

• minikube stop: Stops the running Minikube cluster.

• minikube delete: Deletes the Minikube cluster.

• minikube service [service-name]: Exposes a service to the host system.

• minikube ip: Displays the IP address of the Minikube VM.

• minikube addons list: Lists available addons.

• minikube addons enable [addon-name]: Enables an addon.

• minikube addons disable [addon-name]: Disables an addon.

Conclusion

Minikube provides an easy and convenient way to get a Kubernetes cluster up and running locally for development and testing purposes. It’s a great tool for anyone starting out with Kubernetes or those needing a quick way to prototype and test Kubernetes applications. Remember, Minikube is not meant for production use, but it's a valuable tool for learning and experimentation.