Getting started with Ncloud Kubernetes Service

Available in VPC

Once the cloud environment is ready, you can subscribe to Ncloud Kubernetes Service in the console and create clusters. Learn how to install the kubectl CLI required to access the created clusters and how to use the Kubernetes Dashboard, which provides a graphical interface for more intuitive cluster management.

On this Getting started page, you can learn how to do the following:

• Subscribe to the service
• Create cluster
  • 1. Set cluster
  • 2. Set node
  • 3. Set login key
  • 4. Add-on
  • 5. Final confirmation
• Install kubectl
• Kubernetes Dashboard

Subscribe to the service

To subscribe to Ncloud Kubernetes Service:

1. Access the NAVER Cloud Platform console.
2. In the top-right corner, click Region & Platform.
3. Select your region and the VPC platform, then click [Apply].
4. In the top-left corner, click Menu.
5. Navigate to All Services > Containers > Ncloud Kubernetes Service.
6. Click [Subscribe].
7. Read the terms of service, check the agreement box, and click [OK].

Create cluster

You must create a cluster to use various features offered by Kubernetes. You can create clusters after completing the subscription request.

To create a cluster:

1. In the VPC environment of the NAVER Cloud Platform console, navigate to Menu > All Services > Containers > Ncloud Kubernetes Service.
2. Click [Create] and proceed with the following steps in order:

• 1. Set cluster
• 2. Set node
• 3. Set login key
• 4. Add-on
• 5. Final confirmation

1. Set cluster

1. Enter a cluster name and select a hypervisor, Kubernetes version, and CNI plugin.
2. Select the cluster availability type.
   • Single Zone: The cluster runs in a single Availability Zone.
   • Multi Zone: Improves availability by placing nodes across multiple Availability Zones.
   • Multi Zone is supported only in the Korea Region, and you must select a Kubernetes version that supports Multi Zone.
   • After creating a cluster, you cannot change the availability type.
3. Select the VPC where you want to create the cluster, then select the network type (Private/Public).
   • If you select Single Zone, select an Availability Zone, then select a subnet and a load balancer subnet in the VPC.
   • If you select Multi Zone, the Availability Zone field does not appear, and subnets in all Zones of the VPC are displayed. Select at least 1 general (VM) subnet for each Zone. For a Zone with a Bare Metal subnet, you must also select a VM subnet.
   • If you have not created a VPC, subnet, or load balancer subnet, click [Create VPC], [Create Subnet], or [Create LB Subnet] to go to the creation page of each service.
   • You can select up to 50 subnets.
   • If you create a cluster with fewer than 50 subnets, you can add subnets in details.
4. Select whether to configure Maximum number of nodes, Audit Log, and Return protection.
   • The Maximum number of nodes option appears only when the hypervisor is XEN and cannot be changed after creation.
   • Audit Log is a control plane audit logging feature that records activities within the cluster. You can enable or disable Audit Log after cluster creation.
   • Return protection prevents accidental deletion of clusters and can be modified after cluster creation.
5. Select Cluster admin access and Cluster authentication mode settings.
   • Cluster admin access appears only when the cluster authentication mode is API and cannot be changed after creation.
   • Cluster authentication mode determines where authenticated IAM security principals are managed when accessing the cluster.
     • API: The cluster sources authenticated IAM security principals only from the NKS access entry API.
     • ConfigMap: The cluster sources authenticated IAM security principals only from the nks-auth ConfigMap.
6. Select whether to enable Secret encryption.
   • Secret encryption uses a key managed by Key Management Service (KMS) to additionally encrypt secrets stored in etcd. Secret data is already encrypted at the storage layer by default. This setting can be enabled after cluster creation, but once enabled, it cannot be disabled.
7. Click [Next].

2. Set node

1. Enter a name for the node pool to be created within the cluster.
2. For a Multi Zone cluster, select the Availability Zone where you want to create the node pool.
   • When you select a Zone, the server types and subnets available in that Zone are displayed.
   • You can specify different Zones for node pools to distribute workloads across multiple Zones.
3. Select a server image and server type.
4. Set the number of nodes in the node pool.
5. Set Kubernetes labels for the node pool.
   • You can set up to 50 labels.
   • For more information about Kubernetes labels, see here.
6. Set taints for the node pool.
   • You can set up to 50 taints.
   • For more information about node taints, see here.
7. Select the subnet to assign, then click [Add] to add the node pool.
   • For a Multi Zone cluster, subnets are not assigned automatically, so select them manually.
8. If all servers in the node pool require a Sub Account role, select Node IAM Role.
   • For more information about Sub Account roles, see here.
   • Node IAM Role can only be selected at creation and cannot be modified afterward.
9. Once the node pool is added, click [Next].

3. Set login key

1. Set a login key to use for accessing worker nodes.
   • Use the existing login key: Select one of the login keys you have.
   • Create a new login key: Enter the login key name and click [Create and save authentication key].
2. Click [Next].

4. Add-ons

Specify the add-ons to install with the cluster. The specified add-ons are installed during cluster creation. This step is optional. If you do not specify any add-ons, you can install them at any time after the cluster is created.

1. Select the add-ons to install. You can specify multiple add-ons at once.
2. Select the version to install for each add-on. Only versions compatible with the cluster's Kubernetes version can be selected.
3. If necessary, enter the configuration values for each add-on. If no values are entered, the default values are used. For available add-ons and their configuration values, see Add-on list.
4. Click [Next].

5. Final confirmation

After reviewing the cluster settings, click [Create].

Install Kubectl

kubectl is a CLI used to control clusters and is required to run the kubectl and helm commands described in the guide. Refer to the following links and install kubectl using the method appropriate for your operating system:

• Install on Linux
• Install on macOS
• Install on Windows (PowerShell)
• Install on Windows (Command Prompt)

Kubernetes Dashboard

The Kubernetes Dashboard lets you control clusters through a GUI instead of a CLI and can be accessed via a browser.

• Kubernetes Dashboard