Kube-DC Installation Overview ¶

This document provides a technical overview of the Kube-DC installation process, with detailed explanations of key configuration files and their parameters.

Installation Methods ¶

Kube-DC can be installed in several ways:

Master-Worker deployment: Recommended starting point for new deployments
Multi-node HA cluster: For production environments

Start with actual tested deployment on Hetzner Bare Metal Servers.

Prerequisites ¶

Before installing Kube-DC, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

Hardware: Minimum 4 CPU cores, 8GB RAM per node
Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer (24.04 LTS recommended)
Network: Dedicated network interface for VM traffic with VLAN support
Storage: Local or network storage with support for dynamic provisioning
Kubernetes: Version 1.31+ if installing on existing cluster

Network Configuration ¶

Kube-DC requires proper network configuration for optimal performance. The key requirement is that your external network must be routed through a VLAN to enable advanced networking features.

External Network Requirements ¶

Kube-DC networking is built on top of Kube-OVN and requires the following network configuration:

VLAN-capable network interface: A dedicated network interface with VLAN support
External subnet with routing: An external subnet that's properly routed to your infrastructure
Static IP configuration: Static IP addressing (no DHCP) to ensure network stability

This configuration allows Kube-DC to implement:

Floating IP allocation: Dynamically assign public IPs to workloads
Load balancer with external IPs: Distribute traffic to services with public visibility
Default gateway per project: Isolate network traffic between projects

All of these features work as a wrapper on top of Kube-OVN, providing enterprise-grade networking capabilities for your infrastructure.

Example Network Configuration ¶

Below is an example Netplan configuration with detailed comments for a VLAN-enabled network:

network:
  version: 2  # Netplan version
  renderer: networkd  # Network renderer to use
  ethernets:
    eth0:  # Primary network interface name (check your actual interface name)
      addresses:
        - 192.168.1.2/24  # Primary IP address and subnet mask
      routes:
        - to: 0.0.0.0/0  # Default route for all traffic
          via: 192.168.1.1  # Gateway IP address
          on-link: true  # Indicates the gateway is directly reachable
          metric: 100  # Route priority (lower = higher priority)
      nameservers:
        addresses:
          - 8.8.8.8  # Primary DNS server (Google)
          - 8.8.4.4  # Secondary DNS server (Google)
  vlans:
    eth0.100:  # VLAN interface (format: interface.vlan_id)
      id: 100  # VLAN ID
      link: eth0  # Parent interface for VLAN 
      mtu: 1500  # Recommended MTU for your network
      addresses:
        - 10.100.0.2/24  # Private IP on the VLAN network

Important

Do not use DHCP for the VLAN interface as it would break the initial Kube-OVN setup. Always use static IP configuration.

Networking Components ¶

The Kube-DC network setup consists of several key components that work together:

Kube-OVN: Core CNI providing overlay and underlay networking
Multus CNI: Enables multiple network interfaces for pods
VLAN Integration: Connects Kubernetes networking to physical infrastructure

Core Components ¶

The Kube-DC installer deploys the following core components:

Kube-OVN: Advanced networking solution that provides overlay and underlay networking
Multus CNI: CNI that enables attaching multiple network interfaces to pods
KubeVirt: Virtualization layer for running VMs on Kubernetes
Keycloak: Identity and access management solution
Cert-Manager: Certificate management for TLS
Ingress-NGINX: Ingress controller for external access
Prometheus & Loki: Monitoring and logging stack
Kube-DC Core: The core management components for Kube-DC

Installation Process Overview ¶

The installation process follows these high-level steps:

System Preparation: Configure network, optimize system settings, and install prerequisites
Kubernetes Installation: Install RKE2 on master and worker nodes
Kube-DC Installation: Use cluster.dev to deploy Kube-DC components
Post-Installation Setup: Configure authentication, networking, and initial organization

For detailed step-by-step instructions, refer to: - Master-Worker Setup (Dedicated Servers)