Generating Kubernetes Configuration Files for Authentication

In this lab you will generate Kubernetes configuration files, also known as kubeconfigs, which enable Kubernetes clients to locate and authenticate to the Kubernetes API Servers.

Client Authentication Configs

In this section you will generate kubeconfig files for the controller manager, kubelet, kube-proxy, and scheduler clients and the admin user.

Kubernetes Public IP Address

Each kubeconfig requires a Kubernetes API Server to connect to. To support high availability the IP address assigned to the external load balancer fronting the Kubernetes API Servers will be used. In our case, the load balancer is the HAProxy container. It is a single container and a single point of failure. For production deployments, another solution should be used.

Use the static IP address from the Load Balance:

KUBERNETES_PUBLIC_ADDRESS=10.0.1.100

The kubelet Kubernetes Configuration File

When generating kubeconfig files for Kubelets the client certificate matching the Kubelet’s node name must be used. This will ensure Kubelets are properly authorized by the Kubernetes Node Authorizer.

Generate a kubeconfig file for each worker node:

for instance in worker-0 worker-1 worker-2; do
  kubectl config set-cluster kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --certificate-authority=ca.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --server=https://${KUBERNETES_PUBLIC_ADDRESS}:6443 \
    --kubeconfig=${instance}.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-credentials system:node:${instance} \
    --client-certificate=${instance}.pem \
    --client-key=${instance}-key.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --kubeconfig=${instance}.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-context default \
    --cluster=kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --user=system:node:${instance} \
    --kubeconfig=${instance}.kubeconfig

  kubectl config use-context default --kubeconfig=${instance}.kubeconfig
done

Results:

worker-0.kubeconfig
worker-1.kubeconfig
worker-2.kubeconfig

The kube-proxy Kubernetes Configuration File

Generate a kubeconfig file for the kube-proxy service:

{
  kubectl config set-cluster kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --certificate-authority=ca.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --server=https://${KUBERNETES_PUBLIC_ADDRESS}:6443 \
    --kubeconfig=kube-proxy.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-credentials system:kube-proxy \
    --client-certificate=kube-proxy.pem \
    --client-key=kube-proxy-key.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --kubeconfig=kube-proxy.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-context default \
    --cluster=kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --user=system:kube-proxy \
    --kubeconfig=kube-proxy.kubeconfig

  kubectl config use-context default --kubeconfig=kube-proxy.kubeconfig
}

Results:

kube-proxy.kubeconfig

The kube-controller-manager Kubernetes Configuration File

Generate a kubeconfig file for the kube-controller-manager service:

{
  kubectl config set-cluster kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --certificate-authority=ca.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --server=https://127.0.0.1:6443 \
    --kubeconfig=kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-credentials system:kube-controller-manager \
    --client-certificate=kube-controller-manager.pem \
    --client-key=kube-controller-manager-key.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --kubeconfig=kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-context default \
    --cluster=kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --user=system:kube-controller-manager \
    --kubeconfig=kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig

  kubectl config use-context default --kubeconfig=kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig
}

Results:

kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig

The kube-scheduler Kubernetes Configuration File

Generate a kubeconfig file for the kube-scheduler service:

{
  kubectl config set-cluster kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --certificate-authority=ca.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --server=https://127.0.0.1:6443 \
    --kubeconfig=kube-scheduler.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-credentials system:kube-scheduler \
    --client-certificate=kube-scheduler.pem \
    --client-key=kube-scheduler-key.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --kubeconfig=kube-scheduler.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-context default \
    --cluster=kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --user=system:kube-scheduler \
    --kubeconfig=kube-scheduler.kubeconfig

  kubectl config use-context default --kubeconfig=kube-scheduler.kubeconfig
}

Results:

kube-scheduler.kubeconfig

The admin Kubernetes Configuration File

Generate a kubeconfig file for the admin user:

{
  kubectl config set-cluster kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --certificate-authority=ca.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --server=https://127.0.0.1:6443 \
    --kubeconfig=admin.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-credentials admin \
    --client-certificate=admin.pem \
    --client-key=admin-key.pem \
    --embed-certs=true \
    --kubeconfig=admin.kubeconfig

  kubectl config set-context default \
    --cluster=kubernetes-the-hard-way \
    --user=admin \
    --kubeconfig=admin.kubeconfig

  kubectl config use-context default --kubeconfig=admin.kubeconfig
}

Results:

admin.kubeconfig

##

Distribute the Kubernetes Configuration Files

Copy the appropriate kubelet and kube-proxy kubeconfig files to each worker instance:

for instance in worker-0 worker-1 worker-2; do  
  lxc file push ${instance}.kubeconfig ${instance}/home/ubuntu/
  lxc file push kube-proxy.kubeconfig ${instance}/home/ubuntu/
done

Copy the appropriate kube-controller-manager and kube-scheduler kubeconfig files to each controller instance:

for instance in controller-0 controller-1 controller-2; do
  lxc file push admin.kubeconfig ${instance}/home/ubuntu/
  lxc file push kube-controller-manager.kubeconfig ${instance}/home/ubuntu/
  lxc file push kube-scheduler.kubeconfig ${instance}/home/ubuntu/  
done

Next: Generating the Data Encryption Config and Key