Getting Started with Kubernetes (K8s) – A Step-by-Step Guide

Kubernetes (K8s) is the leading container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. If you’re new to Kubernetes, this guide will walk you through setting up a Kubernetes cluster, deploying applications, and managing workloads efficiently.

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📌 1. Prerequisites

Before starting Kubernetes, ensure you have the following:

✅ Basic Linux & Docker Knowledge (Containers, Images, Networking)
✅ A Machine with at least 2 vCPUs & 4GB RAM (for local cluster)
✅ Docker Installed (Required for Kubernetes container runtime)
✅ kubectl (Kubernetes CLI) Installed
✅ Minikube, Kind, or a Cloud Provider for Kubernetes Deployment

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📌 2. Installing Kubernetes CLI (kubectl)

kubectl is the Kubernetes command-line tool used to manage clusters and workloads.

🔹 Install kubectl on Linux / macOS / Windows

# Linux
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
chmod +x kubectl
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install kubectl

# Windows (Chocolatey)
choco install kubernetes-cli

✅ Verify Installation

kubectl version --client

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📌 3. Setting Up a Kubernetes Cluster

There are multiple ways to run Kubernetes:

Environment	Tool	Best For
Local Machine	Minikube, Kind	Learning, Development
Cloud	AWS EKS, GCP GKE, Azure AKS	Production Deployment
On-Premise	K3s, kubeadm	Self-Managed Cluster

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🔹 Option 1: Running Kubernetes Locally with Minikube

Minikube is the easiest way to create a local Kubernetes cluster.

Step 1: Install Minikube

# Linux/macOS
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

# Windows (Powershell)
choco install minikube

Step 2: Start Minikube

minikube start --driver=docker

Step 3: Check Cluster Status

kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes

Step 4: Enable Kubernetes Dashboard

minikube dashboard

This opens a GUI dashboard for monitoring cluster resources.

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🔹 Option 2: Running Kubernetes on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure)

For production, use managed Kubernetes services like:

Cloud Provider	Kubernetes Service	Command to Deploy
AWS	Amazon EKS	eksctl create cluster
Google Cloud	Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)	gcloud container clusters create
Azure	Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)	az aks create

Example (AWS EKS):

eksctl create cluster --name my-cluster --region us-west-2

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📌 4. Deploying Your First Application in Kubernetes

Now that your Kubernetes cluster is running, let’s deploy an application.

Step 1: Create a Deployment

A Deployment manages replica pods of your application.

# nginx-deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80

Apply the deployment:

kubectl apply -f nginx-deployment.yaml

Verify the deployment:

kubectl get deployments
kubectl get pods

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Step 2: Expose the Application

To access the app from outside the cluster, create a Service.

# nginx-service.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: nginx-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: nginx
  ports:
  - protocol: TCP
    port: 80
    targetPort: 80
  type: LoadBalancer

Apply the service:

kubectl apply -f nginx-service.yaml

Get the service details:

kubectl get svc

If using Minikube, open the service:

minikube service nginx-service

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📌 5. Scaling Applications in Kubernetes

Kubernetes makes it easy to scale applications.

Scale Pods Up or Down

kubectl scale deployment nginx-deployment --replicas=5

Enable Auto-Scaling

Automatically scale based on CPU usage:

kubectl autoscale deployment nginx-deployment --cpu-percent=50 --min=2 --max=10

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📌 6. Managing Kubernetes Resources

Command	Description
kubectl get nodes	List all cluster nodes
kubectl get pods	List all running pods
kubectl describe pod <pod-name>	Detailed info about a pod
kubectl logs <pod-name>	View logs of a running pod
kubectl delete pod <pod-name>	Delete a specific pod
kubectl delete deployment nginx-deployment	Remove deployment

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📌 7. Monitoring & Logging in Kubernetes

Enable Metrics Server for Monitoring

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/metrics-server/releases/latest/download/components.yaml

View Real-Time Pod Metrics

kubectl top pod

Set Up Prometheus & Grafana for Advanced Monitoring

helm repo add prometheus-community https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
helm install prometheus prometheus-community/kube-prometheus-stack

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📌 8. Kubernetes Networking & Ingress

Use an Ingress Controller

An Ingress Controller allows external access to services.

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: nginx-ingress
spec:
  rules:
  - host: myapp.example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: nginx-service
            port:
              number: 80

Apply the Ingress:

kubectl apply -f nginx-ingress.yaml

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📌 9. Cleaning Up

To remove resources:

kubectl delete -f nginx-deployment.yaml
kubectl delete -f nginx-service.yaml

To delete the Minikube cluster:

minikube delete

To remove AWS/GCP cluster:

eksctl delete cluster --name my-cluster

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📌 10. Summary: Kubernetes Learning Path

✅ Beginner:

• Install Minikube or use Cloud Kubernetes (EKS/GKE/AKS)
• Learn basic kubectl commands
• Deploy simple applications with Pods, Deployments, Services

✅ Intermediate:

• Implement Scaling & Auto-scaling
• Configure Storage (Persistent Volumes, PVCs)
• Use ConfigMaps & Secrets for external configurations

✅ Advanced:

• Set up Ingress Controllers & Load Balancers
• Implement Monitoring (Prometheus, Grafana)
• Deploy real-world Microservices with Kubernetes

🚀 Kubernetes is the backbone of modern cloud-native applications! Mastering it will boost your DevOps & Cloud career. 🚀