Kubernetes is an open source platform that automates container deployment, scaling, and management. It enables businesses to run applications in containers, which can be deployed across various environments.
As part of its Kubernetes portfolio Tanzu, VMware offers Kubeapps – a web application for Kubernetes clusters that was originally developed by Bitnami. Kubeapps requires the Kubernetes package manager Helm and the command line interface kubectl in addition to the running cluster.
To install Kubeapps, users need to declare the repository with the Bitnami Application Catalog, which contains the Helm Chart for Kubeapps. They then need to define the namespace in the cluster for the installation and run the helm chart.
VMware recommends trying out Kubeapps on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), kind, minikube, and Docker Desktop. Of these options, Docker Desktop, kind, and minikube can be tried without cloud fees.
However, it is important to note that if a local firewall is active on Windows and cannot be switched off, users should use the VirtualBox virtualization driver instead of Hyper-V, as the latter causes errors.
Jürgen Schuck, an employee of Materna Information & Communications SE who works as a project manager in the field of cloud technology consulting, suggests that a Kubernetes service account will be sufficient for authentication in most cases in a test installation. The commands for creating the account and an API token required for authentication are available on the Kubeapps readme on Github.
After starting, Kubeapps requires the token when logging into the browser and opens the dashboard.
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In conclusion, businesses looking to streamline their container deployment, scaling, and management can benefit massively from Kubernetes and its related tools such as Kubeapps. While the installation process might require some technical expertise, following the outlined steps and recommendations will surely make it smoother.
