Mastering Kubernetes One Task at a Time — Know Thy Cluster, Thy (Kubectl) Commands!
18 kubectl commands you must have in your back pocket to know and explore your Kubernetes cluster with ease, like a Pro.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Mastering Kubernetes One Task at a Time is off to a great start with my first post, RBAC Authorization with X509 Client Cert Authentication, on the series. I hope you find it helpful and keep in touch with the entire series as it evolves.
Keeping the momentum going, the next task is ready. This one is designed to equip you with commands, all 18 of them, to situate yourself very quickly; start exploring a Kubernetes cluster to learn the basic setup before beginning on the tasks needed to build and deploy applications.
As a reminder, this script know-thy-cluster.sh is available in the GitHub repository /home/ec2-user/jdluther-kubernetes-io-tasks folder. You can either refer to and run the script directly or follow the gist page I will demonstrate below.
Let’s get hands-on!
Create KIND Cluster
We begin by creating the cluster using the terraform IaC, following the gist code links below. Refer to the blog for a detailed explanation.
- Gist code — The AWS Way — IaC in Action — A Docker and KIND Ready Amazon EC2 Node-IaC Code. See the raw version for better readability and easier command copy/paste.
- See blog for more details — The AWS Way — IaC in Action — A Docker and KIND Ready Amazon EC2 Node.
Know Thy Cluster Script and Commands
We continue after the terraform script is done running. The gist code below shows the continuation starting with the terraform output output. Just following the command one after another is all that’s needed.
I’d highlight the Kuberneter.io documentation reference pages, as one of the main goals here is to learn to be able to look up the documentation to find your way while dealing with any Kubernetes work.
- Command line tool (kubectl) — https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/
- API Overview — https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/using-api/
On any Kubernetes.io page, in addition to reading the page, please explore the links on the left side menu as well as the links under the What’s Next section at the bottom. In total that provides a full coverage as both links above prove.
Conclusion
The 18 kubectl commands I’ve covered here are essential to knowing and exploring a Kubernetes cluster and performing a quick test to ensure the cluster is accessible and functional.
I wanted to logically club them all under the Know Thy Cluster, Thy (Kubectl) Commands! task to provide an end-to-end demonstration to get a feel of the process and an opportunity to know these commands well since they’re frequently used by those who deal with Kubernetes clusters daily. Once familiar, it’s easy to venture out, explore, and deep dive into other commands and functionalities offered by the vast and rich world of Kubernetes at https://kubernetes.io/docs/home/.
All the best, and feel free to browse the next post of the series Containers and Pods with the link below.
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