Getting Started with Mirantis Kubernetes Engine on Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

We recently released Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE) 3.6, which features support for Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In this blog, we will cover a little background on Google Cloud Platform and Mirantis Kubernetes Engine, the benefits of using MKE on GCP, and details on how to install and run MKE on GCP.  

Choice of Cloud Offering 

The need to address scalability, ensure application availability, and manage cost has led many businesses to leverage public cloud in conjunction with on-prem infrastructure as part of their IT strategies. By augmenting their existing on-prem infrastructure with public cloud, businesses have been able to improve innovation, cut costs and increase agility.

No two cloud deployments are alike - various models, types, and services have emerged to cater to the specific needs of different users. Mirantis provides an automated way to install and configure Mirantis Kubernetes Engine across public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud deployments. These environments include:

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

• Amazon (AWS)

• Microsoft Azure 

• Equinix Metal for hosted bare-metal

• VMware for bare metal for on-prem infrastructure

Mirantis provides a tool called Mirantis Launchpad, which makes it easy to install MKE on cloud providers such as GCP. Mirantis also provides example Terraform scripts to create the resources needed to run MKE for a variety of cloud providers, including GCP.

1. An account and credentials for GCP

2. Install Launchpad (instructions here)

3. Install Terraform

4. Authenticate Terraform provider: https://github.com/Mirantis/launchpad/tree/master/examples/terraform/gcp#authentication

1. Checkout this repo containing Terraform scripts:
   git clone git@github.com:Mirantis/launchpad.git

2. cd launchpad/examples/terraform/gcp

3. Create the terraform.tfvars file with needed details. You can use the provided terraform.tfvars.example as a baseline.

   Sample terraform.tfvars content:

cluster_name         = "demo-gcp"
manager_count        = 1
msr_count            = 0
worker_count         = 2
windows_worker_count = 0
admin_password       = "DemoMke@gcp!"
mke_version          = "3.6.0"
vpc_mtu              = 1500

4. Create resources on GCP

terraform apply

5 . terraform output -raw mke_cluster > ./launchpad.yaml

This will create a launchpad.yamlfile with content similar to:

"apiVersion": "launchpad.mirantis.com/mke/v1.3"
"kind": "mke"
"spec":
  "hosts":
  - "privateInterface": "ens4"
    "role": "manager"
    "ssh":
      "address": "34.134.216.166"
      "keyPath": "./ssh_keys/demo-gcp.pem"
      "user": "ubuntu"
  - "privateInterface": "ens4"
    "role": "worker"
    "ssh":
      "address": "34.170.197.170"
      "keyPath": "./ssh_keys/demo-gcp.pem"
      "user": "ubuntu"
  - "privateInterface": "ens4"
    "role": "worker"
    "ssh":
      "address": "35.184.137.244"
      "keyPath": "./ssh_keys/demo-gcp.pem"
      "user": "ubuntu"
  "mke":
    "adminPassword": "DemoMke@gcp!"
    "adminUsername": "admin"
    "installFlags":
    - "--default-node-orchestrator=kubernetes"
    - "--san=34.135.7.233"
    "version": "3.6.0"
  "msr": {}

Update launchpad.yaml to use MCR 20.10.13. Add a new spec.mcr section to launchpad.yaml:

…
"mcr":
  "version": "20.10.13"

For full GCP integration, add the --cloud-provider=gce  the installFlags section of the launchpad.yaml

...
"mke":
    "adminPassword": "DemoMke@gcp!"
    "adminUsername": "admin"
    "installFlags":
    - "--default-node-orchestrator=kubernetes"
    - "--san=34.135.7.233"
    - "--cloud-provider=gce"
    "version": "3.6.0"

Now that the infrastructure is ready, install MKE using;

launchpad apply

This command will use the previously created  launchpad.yaml file to install MKE.

After installation is finished, it should display the admin URL for MKE:

INFO ==> Running phase: MKE cluster info
INFO Cluster is now configured.
INFO MKE cluster admin UI: https://34.134.216.166/
INFO You can download the admin client bundle with the command 'launchpad client-config'

Once MKE is successfully installed, your Google Cloud Platform interface should look like this:

To destroy the cluster, run:

terraform destroy

This command deletes all the resources created in GCP.

Be aware of the following limitations in the MKE support for GCP:

Installing Mirantis Kubernetes Engine on Google Cloud Platform is quick and easy, and provides you with the ability to deploy your container workloads on additional public cloud environments.  With MKE, you get the power of choice--not just in terms of cloud infrastructure, but in other areas, such as your choice of orchestrator--enabling you to choose between Kubernetes and Swarm, or both.  

Mirantis Kubernetes Engine can provide immediate value to your business by giving you the power of choice. You can learn more about Mirantis Kubernetes Engine on our website, or check out the product documentation for deeper details. 

To get started, try our free trial or contact us to learn more about how MKE can benefit you.