Create Your Own K8s Multi-Node Platform – KUBEADM & DIND

40 Days of K8s – CKA Challenge (06/40)

@piyushsachdeva

Day 6/40 - Kubernetes Multi Node Cluster Setup Step By Step | Kind Tutorial

In this post, I demonstrate two architectures I used to create a functioning multi-node Kubernetes environment.

This environment serves as a sandbox for upcoming lessons.

The two environments are based on different architectures:

1. Containerized architecture – using the KIND Kubernetes provider over Docker

2. VM-based architecture – using a fully functioning KUBEADM setup

1. KIND: Containerized Architecture (KIND over Docker)

Prerequisites:

Golang > 1.6
```
sudo apt install golang-go
```
Docker (already installed)

kubectl – Kubernetes CLI

# 1. Download the latest version
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl.sha256"

# 2. Install kubectl
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

# 3. Test the installation
kubectl version --client

Installation:

KIND:

# For AMD64 / x86_64
[ $(uname -m) = x86_64 ] && curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/v0.27.0/kind-linux-amd64

# For ARM64
[ $(uname -m) = aarch64 ] && curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/v0.27.0/kind-linux-arm64

chmod +x ./kind
sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind

Create a Cluster:

You can create a cluster either by running a single-node setup:

kind create cluster --image kindest/node:v1.32.2@sha256:f226345927d7e348497136874b6d207e0b32cc52154ad8323129352923a3142f --name cka-cluster-1

Or by preparing a YAML configuration for a multi-node setup:

1. Create a YAML file describing the cluster:

kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
  - role: control-plane
  - role: control-plane
  - role: worker
  - role: worker
  - role: worker
  - role: worker

2. Create the cluster using the YAML file:

kind create cluster       --image kindest/node:v1.32.2@sha256:f226345927d7e348497136874b6d207e0b32cc52154ad8323129352923a3142f       --name cka-cluster-2       --config kind-2master-4workers

Verify the Created Cluster:

After creating the cluster, validate its configuration using the kubectl CLI:

kubectl config get-clusters
kubectl config get-users

Docker View of KIND Nodes:

Since KIND uses Docker under the hood, each Kubernetes node is represented as a Docker container. Switching context via kubectl config use-context will show the corresponding containers becoming active:

docker ps

Example output:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                    ...        NAMES
16462509a712   kindest/haproxy:...     ...        cka-cluster-2-external-load-balancer
4016000812c4   kindest/node:...        ...        cka-cluster-2-control-plane2
...

Common Commands:

kubectl config current-context
kubectl get nodes

kubectl config use-context kind-cka-cluster-1
kubectl get nodes

2. VM-Based Architecture – KUBEADM Kubernetes Using VAGRANT

The VM architecture differs from Docker:

Each VM is a full OS instance acting as a node (master or worker).

The general flow:

Install Kubeadm on the main master node and run kubeadm init.
Create a token to allow other nodes to join.
Other nodes (including additional masters) join using this token.

I used Vagrant to automate both VM creation and the Kubeadm setup process.

1. VM Setup

You need a VM platform like VirtualBox, VMware, or Hyper-V that supports Vagrant.

Folder structure:

k8s-vmware-cluster/
├── Vagrantfile
├── common.sh
├── master.sh
├── worker.sh
└── disable-swap.sh

2. Vagrant Installation

Ensure you're running on a system with a hypervisor (macOS, Windows, Linux).

Do not run Vagrant-based VMs on WSL.

Install Vagrant:

Follow Vagrant installation instructions
For VMware users:

Install the vagrant-vmware-desktop plugin

3. Vagrantfile – VM Orchestration

Each VM is provisioned with common resources and then initialized using shell scripts.

Master Node:

config.vm.define "master-node" do |node_config|
  node_config.vm.hostname = "master-node"
  node_config.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.10"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "common.sh"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "master.sh"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "disable-swap.sh", run: "always"
end

In master.sh, the following happens:

Runs kubeadm init
Generates the join.sh script containing the token
Other nodes will use this script to join the cluster

Worker Node:

config.vm.define "worker-node-1" do |node_config|
  node_config.vm.hostname = "worker-node-1"
  node_config.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.56.11"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "common.sh"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "worker.sh"
  node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "disable-swap.sh", run: "always"
end

The worker script waits for join.sh to be generated by the master and then executes it.

# Wait for join.sh
for i in {1..30}; do
  if [ -f /vagrant/join.sh ]; then
    break
  fi
  echo "[$(date '+%T')] Waiting for /vagrant/join.sh... (try $i/30)"
  sleep 10
  if [ "$i" == "30" ]; then
    echo "Timeout waiting for /vagrant/join.sh"
    exit 1
  fi
done

SWAP Management:

Kubernetes requires swap to be disabled.

Even though common.sh disables swap on boot, VM restarts may re-enable it.

Ensure swap is disabled always:

node_config.vm.provision "shell", path: "disable-swap.sh", run: "always"

Summary

Both KIND and KUBEADM architectures achieve the same goal with different approaches:

KIND:

Simple and fast
Uses Docker containers
Best for development or sandbox use

Image description

KUBEADM on VMs:

Production-grade realism
Full control over networking, bootstrapping, and configuration
Greater complexity and overhead

Image description

Both setups follow a similar underlying flow:

crations of master node
- + container-D
- + contrl plan components
- + kubeadm & kubeproxy (since the control plan components are executed inside pods after all ...)
creation of worker nodes
- + container-D
- + kubeproxy + kubeadm (since this are the worker node processes )
join the workers to the master by using kubeadm join (with the master token generated at master process)

Image description

SOME KIND EXECUTIONS :

kubectl get nodes

kubectl config get-clusters

✘ idubi@DESKTOP-82998RE  3.12  ~/.../40DAysOfK8-CKA/Resources   Day06 ●  kubectl config get-clusters
NAME
kind-cka-cluster-1
kind-cka-cluster-2
docker-desktop

kubectl config get-contexts

✘ idubi@DESKTOP-82998RE  3.12  ~/.../40DAysOfK8-CKA/Resources   Day06 ●  kubectl config get-contexts
CURRENT   NAME                 CLUSTER              AUTHINFO             NAMESPACE
          docker-desktop       docker-desktop       docker-desktop       
          kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   
*         kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2

kubectl config use-context kind-cka-cluster-1

Switched to context "kind-cka-cluster-1".

kubectl config get-contexts

CURRENT   NAME                 CLUSTER              AUTHINFO             NAMESPACE
          docker-desktop       docker-desktop       docker-desktop       
*         kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   
          kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2   
 idubi@DESKTOP-82998RE  3.12  ~/.../40DAysOfK8-CKA/Resources   Day06 ● 

kind delete cluster --name cka-cluster-2

Deleting cluster "cka-cluster-2" ...
Deleted nodes: ["cka-cluster-2-control-plane2" "cka-cluster-2-worker2" "cka-cluster-2-control-plane" "cka-cluster-2-external-load-balancer" "cka-cluster-2-worker4" "cka-cluster-2-worker" "cka-cluster-2-worker3"]

kind get clusters

cka-cluster-1

kubectl config get-clusters

NAME
docker-desktop
kind-cka-cluster-1`

kind create cluster --image kindest/node:v1.32.2@sha256:f226345927d7e348497136874b6d207e0b32cc52154ad8323129352923a3142f --name cka-cluster-2 --config kind-2master-4workers.yaml

Creating cluster "cka-cluster-2" ...
 ✓ Ensuring node image (kindest/node:v1.32.2) 🖼
 ✓ Preparing nodes 📦 📦 📦 📦 📦 📦  
 ✓ Configuring the external load balancer ⚖️ 
 ✓ Writing configuration 📜 
 ✓ Starting control-plane 🕹️ 
 ✓ Installing CNI 🔌 
 ✓ Installing StorageClass 💾 
 ✓ Joining more control-plane nodes 🎮 
 ✓ Joining worker nodes 🚜 
Set kubectl context to "kind-cka-cluster-2"
You can now use your cluster with:

kubectl cluster-info --context kind-cka-cluster-2

Have a question, bug, or feature request? Let us know! https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/#community 🙂

kubectl cluster-info --context kind-cka-cluster-2

Kubernetes control plane is running at https://127.0.0.1:42379
CoreDNS is running at https://127.0.0.1:42379/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/kube-dns:dns/proxy

To further debug and diagnose cluster problems, use 'kubectl cluster-info dump'.

kubectl get nodes

NAME                           STATUS   ROLES           AGE     VERSION
cka-cluster-2-control-plane    Ready    control-plane   4m40s   v1.32.2
cka-cluster-2-control-plane2   Ready    control-plane   4m34s   v1.32.2
cka-cluster-2-worker           Ready              4m27s   v1.32.2
cka-cluster-2-worker2          Ready              4m27s   v1.32.2
cka-cluster-2-worker3          Ready              4m27s   v1.32.2
cka-cluster-2-worker4          Ready              4m27s   v1.32.2

kubectl config get-contexts

CURRENT   NAME                 CLUSTER              AUTHINFO             NAMESPACE
          docker-desktop       docker-desktop       docker-desktop       
          kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   kind-cka-cluster-1   
*         kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2   kind-cka-cluster-2

kubectl config get-clusters

NAME
kind-cka-cluster-2
docker-desktop
kind-cka-cluster-1

create your own k8s - Multi nodes - KUBEADM & DIND platform

Create Your Own K8s Multi-Node Platform – KUBEADM & DIND

40 Days of K8s – CKA Challenge (06/40)

In this post, I demonstrate two architectures I used to create a functioning multi-node Kubernetes environment.

The two environments are based on different architectures:

1. Containerized architecture – using the KIND Kubernetes provider over Docker

2. VM-based architecture – using a fully functioning KUBEADM setup

1. KIND: Containerized Architecture (KIND over Docker)

Prerequisites:

Installation:

Create a Cluster:

Verify the Created Cluster:

Docker View of KIND Nodes:

Example output:

Common Commands:

2. VM-Based Architecture – KUBEADM Kubernetes Using VAGRANT

The VM architecture differs from Docker:

1. VM Setup

Folder structure:

2. Vagrant Installation

3. Vagrantfile – VM Orchestration

Master Node:

Worker Node:

SWAP Management:

Ensure swap is disabled always:

Summary

Both KIND and KUBEADM architectures achieve the same goal with different approaches:

KIND:

KUBEADM on VMs:

Both setups follow a similar underlying flow:

SOME KIND EXECUTIONS :

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create your own k8s - Multi nodes - KUBEADM & DIND platform

Create Your Own K8s Multi-Node Platform – KUBEADM & DIND

40 Days of K8s – CKA Challenge (06/40)

In this post, I demonstrate two architectures I used to create a functioning multi-node Kubernetes environment.

The two environments are based on different architectures:

1. Containerized architecture – using the KIND Kubernetes provider over Docker

2. VM-based architecture – using a fully functioning KUBEADM setup

1. KIND: Containerized Architecture (KIND over Docker)

Prerequisites:

Installation:

Create a Cluster:

Verify the Created Cluster:

Docker View of KIND Nodes:

Example output:

Common Commands:

2. VM-Based Architecture – KUBEADM Kubernetes Using VAGRANT

The VM architecture differs from Docker:

1. VM Setup

Folder structure:

2. Vagrant Installation

3. Vagrantfile – VM Orchestration

Master Node:

Worker Node:

SWAP Management:

Ensure swap is disabled always:

Summary

Both KIND and KUBEADM architectures achieve the same goal with different approaches:

KIND:

KUBEADM on VMs:

Both setups follow a similar underlying flow:

SOME KIND EXECUTIONS :

Comments (0)

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