Deploying a Kubernetes Cluster with Civo

Civo is a cloud platform designed for simplicity and speed, offering one of the easiest ways to leverage Kubernetes clusters. It’s a convenient solution for testing new features on Kubernetes due to its fast deployment capabilities. You can have a basic cluster up and running in less than two minutes. Moreover, Civo provides cost-effective infrastructure options, including extra-small clusters, and offers new users $250 in credit for the first month.

Getting Started with Civo

1. Create Your Account

Sign up on the Civo platform. Once your account is validated by the Civo team, you can proceed to set up your API key.

2. Set Up Your API Key

After downloading and installing the Civo CLI, add your API key as an environment variable:

civo apikey add civo-key ${CIVO_API_KEY}
civo apikey current civo-key

3. Define Environment Variables

Prepare the necessary environment variables for your cluster:

CLUSTER_NAME="civo-easy-cluster"
CLUSTER_NODES=1
CLUSTER_SIZE="g4s.kube.xsmall"
CLUSTER_REGION="FRA1"

4. Create Your Cluster

With a single command, you can create your Kubernetes cluster:

civo kubernetes create ${CLUSTER_NAME} \
--size=${CLUSTER_SIZE} \
--nodes=${CLUSTER_NODES} \
--region=${CLUSTER_REGION} \
--wait

Managing your cluster

• Visualize Your Cluster: Check the status and details of your newly created cluster on the Civo dashboard

• Access Your Cluster via CLI: Export the configuration to access your cluster using CLI tools like kubectl or k9s:

civo --region=${CLUSTER_REGION} \
kubernetes config ${CLUSTER_NAME} > ./config.yaml

export KUBECONFIG=$PWD/config.yaml

Deleting your cluster

• Finally, do not forget to delete the cluster easily like that:

CLUSTER_NAME="civo-easy-cluster"
CLUSTER_REGION="FRA1"
civo kubernetes remove ${CLUSTER_NAME} --region=${CLUSTER_REGION} --yes

• For more detailed information, refer to this repository